Meijel (; li, Méél) is a former

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

and a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in south-eastern

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1303 as "Iohannes et Henricus fratres dicti van der Vloet de Meyele". The etymology is uncertain. It might mean "middle of the forest". Meijel developed on a sandy ridge in the

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombro ...

of the Peel. It became a free ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800. ...

'' (no fief). In 1716, it became part of the Austrian

Upper Guelders {{unreferenced, date=November 2011 Upper Guelders or Spanish Guelders was one of the four quarters in the Imperial Duchy of Guelders. In the Dutch Revolt, it was the only quarter that did not secede from the Habsburg monarchy to become part of the ...

. The Catholic St Nicolaas Church is a three aisled church with wide tower which was constructed between 1953 and 1955 to replace the church which was destroyed in 1944. Meijel was home to 996 inhabitants in 1840. It was severely damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Meijel was an independent municipality until 2010 when it was merged into

Peel en Maas Peel en Maas (; li, Pieël en Maas) has been a new municipality in the southeastern Netherlands since 1 January 2010. It is situated in the province of Limburg. The municipality is formed by the towns of Panningen, Helden, Kessel, Kessel-Eik, M ...

References

External links

Official website
* Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2010 Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) Former municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Peel en Maas {{LimburgNL-geo-stub