Mill is a village in the south of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, located in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Land van Cuijk Land van Cuijk is a municipality in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands, formed from the merger of Boxmeer, Cuijk, Sint Anthonis, Mill en Sint Hubert and Grave on 1 January 2022. It belongs to the region of De Peel. The municipality is ma ...

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

. Mill is known from the

Battle of Mill The Battle of Mill was a day long struggle in and around the Dutch village of Mill along the Peel-Raam line on the first day of the invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. Although the Germans broke through, they suffered heavy casualties and w ...

, a two-day fight during the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. On 1 January 2006, Mill had 6,049 inhabitants and was the capital village of the municipality.

History

The name Mill is not clearly derivable from history, although it is more or less clear that the village originates at least from 1166, under the name ''Millen'' or ''Mylle''. In Roman times there was a population center west of the current village center. In the 11th and 12th centuries people settled near some brooks on the western high ride of the Land van Cuijk. The Lords of Cuijk had quite some possessions in the area. They were closely involved in the foundation of Mariënweerd abbey. During the 14th century, Mill became a village with its own (municipal council and lower court). The seal of the schepenbank displayed the image of

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop, and missionary. He became the first Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580), Bishop of Utrecht in what is now the Netherlands, dying at Echternach in Luxembourg, and ...

, which is still in the municipal coat of arms. In 1128 the Norbertine abbey of van Mariënweerd in Beesd already owned lands in Mill, and these possessions steadily increased. In 1323 the monastery got the

jus patronatus The right of patronage (in Latin ''jus patronatus'' or ''ius patronatus'') in Roman Catholic canon law is a set of rights and obligations of someone, known as the patron in connection with a gift of land (benefice). It is a grant made by the chu ...

of Mill from Jan Boc de Meere Lord of Boxmeer. In 1326 Mill became a parish dedicated to Willibrord. Later several parishes became independent from Mill:

Wanroij Wanroij is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the former municipality of Sint Anthonis, about 9 km west of the town of Boxmeer. Wanroij was a separate municipality until 1994, when it became part of Sint An ...

in 1559, Sint Hubert in 1796 and Wilbertoord in 1962. During World War II the

started on 10 May 1940, only 30 minutes after the start of hostilities. The German army surprised the Dutch defenders by driving an armored train through the

Peel-Raam Line 230px, Peel-Raam Line The Peel-Raam Line (Dutch: Peel-Raamstelling) was a Dutch defence line built in 1939 and attacked and conquered on 10 May 1940 by the German forces. The defence line was behind the Maas Line (about 9 km to 21 km ...

, and unloading troops at

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

village behind the line. These then attacked the Dutch from the rear. The surprise failed because the Germans were unaware that the defenders had received some antique artillery shortly before.

Attractions

The church of Mill has been destroyed multiple times. In 1648 it was expropriated by the Protestants. In 1820 the Catholic church got it back. Soon after, it was demolished. A successor church was demolished in 1879. The current church was started in 1877 and consecrated in 1881.

Aldendriel Castle Aldendriel Castle is late medieval castle in Mill, North Brabant, Mill, North-Brabant, Netherlands Castle Characteristics Aldendriel Castle is a late medieval castle with a large outer bailey. It dates back to 1477. There are no indications t ...

is in Mill. North of Mill is Tongelaar Castle.

Notable people

Father Chrysanthus Wilhelmus Egbertus Antonius Janssen (1 September 1905 – 4 May 1972), better known as Father Chrysanthus OFMCap, was a Dutch priest and biology teacher. He was known for his studies in arachnology. Initially he was concerned with the spiders o ...

* Kees Bastiaans *

Reinout Oerlemans Reinout Oerlemans (; born 10 June 1971) is a Dutch soap opera actor, film director, television presenter and television producer. He is the founder of the TV production company Eyeworks. In 1989, while studying law at the University of Amsterd ...

Gallery

File:Mill, de stenen schoorsteen op het voormalig terrein van houtfabriek Van Hout GM0815-WN001 in straatzicht foto4 2017-02-15 13.56.jpg, Stone chimney from former Van Hout factory File:1866_Mill.png, Map of Mill in 1866 File:Aldendriel Castle Front.jpg, Aldendriel Castle File:Aerialviewofmill.jpg, Aerial view

References

{{Authority control Populated places in North Brabant Geography of Land van Cuijk