Pepinusbrug is a hamlet south-east of
Pey in the
Dutch municipality
Echt-Susteren.
The name Pepinusbrug originates from a legend about
Pepin of Herstal, who was the lord of the
Frankish kingdom
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
. According to this legend, he went on an annual pilgrimage from his hometown of
Herstal to the monastery on Mount Petrus (nowadays known as
Sint Odiliënberg), which was supposedly founded by saints
Wiro of Roermond
Wiro of Roermond, also Wiro or Wera of Utrecht (and possibly also the same as Vira of Northumbria; d. c. 700) is a Christian saint of the 8th century. His feast day is May 8.
Life
Wiro was a native of Anglo-Saxon England, probably of Northumb ...
,
Plechelmus, and
Otgerus. On his way to this monastery, Pepin got stuck in the vast swamps south of
Echt
Echt may refer to:
* Echt, Aberdeenshire, a village in Scotland
* Echt-Susteren, a municipality in the Netherlands
** Echt, Netherlands
Echt (; ) is a city in the Dutch municipality of Echt-Susteren in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. ...
, but a few neighbors saved him from drowning. Pepin was so grateful to the inhabitants of Echt that he donated a large piece of land and had a dyke and bridge built across the swamp.
Nowadays the reliability of this legend is doubted. It was first recorded in 1477 in the 'Cleernis van de gemeynte van Echt'. In this document the people of Echte ask their lord, the duke of
Gelre
The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.
Geography
The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in p ...
, for protection against attacks from the neighbouring duke of
Gulik. In return for the protection offered, the Duke of Gelre stipulated that the citizens of Echt should receive one third of the land from the donation of Pepin of Herstal, thus acknowledging the donation of Pepin of Herstal. In November 1940, the legend was also told to the Reich Commissioner of the occupied Netherlands,
Arthur Seyss-Inquart, during his visit to the province of
Limburg. The latter was so interested in the story that he commissioned architect
Hendrik Willem Valk Hendrik may refer to:
* Hendrik (given name)
* Hans Hendrik, Greenlandic Arctic traveller and interpreter
* Hendrik Island, an island in Greenland
* Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, a municipality in the Netherlands
* A character from ''Dragon Quest XI''
See ...
to design a new Pepinus bridge decorated with episodes from the legend, but this design was never executed.
In 1883, a
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monastery opened in Pepinusbrug. In 1912, it was elevated to
Lilbosch Abbey
Lilbosch Abbey ( nl, Abdij Lilbosch) is a monastery of the Trappists ( Cistercians of the Strict Observance) founded in 1883 and located in Lilboscherveld in Pepinusbrug, Echt, Limburg, in the Netherlands.
The abbey is largely self-sufficient tha ...
. Pepinusbrug does not have place name signs, and consists of about 40 houses excluding the care facility Pergamijn which is home to about 200 people.
Citations
References
*
*
{{Authority control
Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands)
Echt-Susteren