Sint-Michielsgestel Sint-Michielsgestel () is a village in the municipality of Sint-Michielsgestel, Netherlands. Geography The 120 km long river Dommel flows north from a well near Peer in Belgium. Just north of 's-Hertogenbosch it is joined by the Aa and ...

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 ...

Dommel The Dommel is a small river in Belgium and the Netherlands, left tributary of the Dieze. It is 120 km long, of which 85 km in the Netherlands. The Dommel takes in water from the Keersop, Tongelreep, Run, Gender and Kleine Dommel streams and merg ...

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

Dieze The Dieze is a short river in North Brabant, the Netherlands, tributary of the Meuse (). It is formed by the confluence of the rivers Aa and Dommel in 's-Hertogenbosch. The part of the Dieze in the centre of 's-Hertogenbosch is called Binnendieze ...

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,A2 motorway, but towards 's-Hertogenbosch the village has an even more direct access via the N617. No wonder that the village grew when the

suburbanization Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...

process started, and it still does. A major employer in Sint-Michielsgestel is Kentalis (nl), a resource center for sensory and communicative disabled people formerly known as ''Institute for the deaf and hearing impaired'' called Instituut voor Doven (nl) aka Viataal. There is little industry in the village.

Gymnasium Beekvliet Gymnasium Beekvliet is a Catholic independent school with gymnasium status in Sint-Michielsgestel, The Netherlands. 784 students attended it in the school year of 2019–2020. History Today's "Gymnasium Beekvliet" originated from the episc ...

is a popular school that attracts lots of students from outside the village.

History

Antiquity

Archeological finds near the hamlet of Halder prove that the hamlet Halder was probably the most important settlement on the Dommel during the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

. Thousands of Roman coins were found in 1962 not far from Nieuw Herlaer

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. These and other local archeological finds are now on display in the Museum Romeins Halder at

Haanwijk Haanwijk is an Estate (land), estate and nature reserve with a manor house near Sint-Michielsgestel in North-Brabant, Netherlands. Nature Reserve The Haanwijk nature reserve that is now owned by Brabants Landschap measures 431 hectares. It i ...

.

Medieval times

The current center of Sint-Michielsgestel is not the same as the medieval center. Right into the 15th century, there were references to 'Gestel near Herlaar'. The economic center of the parish was in the current hamlet Halder, with its water mills. In Halder was also the ruined

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

of Oud Herlaer, which probably dates from the 11th or 12th century. The associated Lords of Herlaer start to get mentioned from 1079. During medieval times a surprising number of castles and other moated sites was built in vicinity of Sint-Michielsgestel. The importance of the village Sint-Michielsgestel probably stems from the possibility to safely cross the Dommel. The remains of a wooden 10th century church were found at the foot of the church tower Oude toren in the village. The church of Sint-Michielsgestel is dedicated to the archangel St. Michael, and this was already the case in medieval times. Remains of another 10th century church were found in the hamlet Ruimel, between Halder and Herlaer. In the village name, 'Gestel' is a concatenation of , meaning sandy ground at a higher level, and (), meaning forest. In other words an elevated sandy ground in the forest. The prefix 'Sint-Michiels' comes in handy, because in Brabant there are multiple places named Gastel/Gestel. The first certain reference to the village (Sint-Michiels)gestel dates from 1281. Its name was first mentioned when the estates or heerlijkheden (nl) Herlaer and Gestel were joined in approx. 1314 AD.

Kingdom of the Netherlands

The

French period In Northern European historiography, the term French period (french: Période française, german: Franzosenzeit, nl, Franse tijd) refers to the period between 1794 and 1815 during which most of Northern Europe was controlled by Republican or Napo ...

would prove disastrous for the many castles and manors. For the Catholics in the area it brought freedom of religion, and in 1799 they established a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in what was left of

Nieuw-Herlaer Castle Nieuw-Herlaer Castle is a manor in Sint-Michielsgestel, the Netherlands. It contains a tower which was part of the preceding castle. Location Nieuw-Herlaar Castle is on the east bank of the Dommel, about a hundred meters from the hamlet Halde ...

. When the Netherlands regained their independence, a preparatory small seminary was founded in the village in 1815. It is the precursor of

Gymnasium Beekvliet Gymnasium Beekvliet is a Catholic independent school with gymnasium status in Sint-Michielsgestel, The Netherlands. 784 students attended it in the school year of 2019–2020. History Today's "Gymnasium Beekvliet" originated from the episc ...

.

World War II

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 ...

this facility was used as prison-camp, along with the grootseminarie (nl) in Haaren. On 4 May 1942 the Germans imprisoned 460 Dutch men in Beekvliet. All prisoners were politically involved or otherwise important to the Dutch people. Luuk van Driel, father of the famous Tim and Dirk, also known as 'grote spelers', got to escape along with a group of people, by calling the police. They became local heroes after this. Amongst the prisoners were writers

Simon Vestdijk Simon Vestdijk (; 17 October 1898 – 23 March 1971) was a Dutch writer. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature fifteen times. Life Born in the small Frisian town of Harlingen, Vestdijk studied medicine in Amsterdam, but turned t ...

and Anton van Duinkerken. Political prisoners were

Wim Schermerhorn Willem "Wim" Schermerhorn (17 December 1894 – 10 March 1977) was a Dutch politician who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 25 June 1945 until 3 July 1946. He was a member of the now-defunct Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) a ...

(Prime Minister 1945-1946),

Willem Banning Willem Banning ( Makkum, 21 February 1888 – Driebergen, 7 January 1971) was a Dutch theologian, philosopher, sociologist and politician, who played an important role in Dutch 20th-century politics. Personal life Banning was born the son of Jan ...

,

Pieter Geyl Pieter Catharinus Arie Geyl (15 December 1887, Dordrecht – 31 December 1966, Utrecht) was a Dutch historian, well known for his studies in early modern Dutch history and in historiography. Background Geyl was born in Dordrecht and graduated ...

and

Jan de Quay Jan Eduard de Quay (26 August 1901 – 4 July 1985) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and psychologist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 Ma ...

, all post-war politicians.

Attractions

Sint Michielsgestel, de Dommel 2010-04-10 17

The Petrus Dondersplein is the central square of the village, close to the Dommel. It has two major monuments. The (old tower) is a nice 15th century church tower made with alternating rows of brick and

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

stone. The Protestant church was built in 1808, when the Protestant minority had to return the big church to the Catholics. After the main church connected to the Oude toren had to be demolished, a new St. Michael's was built on Nieuwstraat. This is a well preserved example of 1930s church architecture. The imposing former institute for the deaf is on the western side of the Dommel at Theerestraat. It dates from 1908, and as institute for the deaf it is a rare building. Sint-Michielsgestel and surroundings are best known for the many (former) castles and manors. * Little remains of the great castle at Oud Herlaer, but it will be a museum in the future. *

Nieuw-Herlaer Castle Nieuw-Herlaer Castle is a manor in Sint-Michielsgestel, the Netherlands. It contains a tower which was part of the preceding castle. Location Nieuw-Herlaar Castle is on the east bank of the Dommel, about a hundred meters from the hamlet Halde ...

was a true castle. It is now a manor with a 15th century stair tower, and an 18th century wing. *

Haanwijk Haanwijk is an Estate (land), estate and nature reserve with a manor house near Sint-Michielsgestel in North-Brabant, Netherlands. Nature Reserve The Haanwijk nature reserve that is now owned by Brabants Landschap measures 431 hectares. It i ...

is a well preserved 16th century manor, which includes some other buildings, and the small Museum Romeins Halder. * The Grote Ruwenberg near Ruimel was a moated manor, later a school, and now a conference venue. The tower is part of the original manor. * The Kleine Ruwenberg is a 19th century mansion which replaced a 15th century manor. The above attractions do not attract many visitors to Sint-Michielsgestel, even while many spend the night in the village in order to visit the tourist magnate 's-Hertogenbosch. The challenge is that the village Sint-Michielsgestel and the surrounding hamlets do not have a major attraction. Instead it has to rely on nature, and the cultural history reflected in castles and farms. This makes that the municipality wants to focus on all kinds of healthy outdoor activities. Meanwhile these outdoor activities, like cycling, running, horse-riding are already popular with the locals.

Transport

Sint-Michielsgestel is located near the central transport axis in the Netherlands, between

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

and

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,A2 motorway, but towards 's-Hertogenbosch, the village has an even more direct access via the N617.The village has grown by

suburbanization Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...

.

Services

A major employer in Sint-Michielsgestel is Kentalis (nl), a resource centre for sensory and communicative disabled people formerly known as ''Institute for the deaf and hearing impaired'' called Instituut voor Doven (nl) aka Viataal. There is little industry in the village.

Gymnasium Beekvliet Gymnasium Beekvliet is a Catholic independent school with gymnasium status in Sint-Michielsgestel, The Netherlands. 784 students attended it in the school year of 2019–2020. History Today's "Gymnasium Beekvliet" originated from the episc ...

is a popular school that attracts many students from outside the village.

Sport

Sint-Michielsgestel is a major venue for Cyclo-cross. Stichting Wielerbelang Sint-Michielsgeste
(SWG)
organizes major cyclo-cross events in the village since 1974. The absolute highlight was the 2000

UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships are the world championships for cyclo-cross organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Starting in 2020, six events are organized each year – men's elite, women's elite, men's under 23, wome ...

won by local

Richard Groenendaal Richard Marinus Anthonius Groenendaal (born 13 July 1971) is a Dutch former professional cyclo-cross cyclist. Groenendaal won the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2000 and the overall titles in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup 1997–1998, ...

. The

Dutch National Cyclo-cross Championships The Dutch National Cyclo-cross Championships were first held in 1963 and have been held annually since then by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union The Royal Dutch Cycling Union or KNWU (in Dutch: ''Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie'') is the nati ...

have been held in the village five times.

Notable people

*

Gerrit Braks Gerardus Johannes Maria "Gerrit" Braks (23 May 1933 – 12 July 2017) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and agronomist. Braks applied at the Wageningen Agr ...

(1933–2017) a Dutch politician and agronomist * Cas Wouters (born 1943) a Dutch sociologist who embraces

figurational sociology Figurational sociology is a research tradition in which figurations of humans—evolving networks of interdependent humans—are the unit of investigation. Although more a methodological stance than a determinate school of practice, the tradition h ...

*

Anneke van Giersbergen Anna Maria "Anneke" van Giersbergen (born 8 March 1973) is a Dutch singer, songwriter and guitarist who became known worldwide as the lead singer for the rock band The Gathering between 1994 and 2007. She also has a solo career. The project wa ...

(born 1973) a Dutch singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist; IMDb Database
retrieved 30 March 2020 formerly of The Gathering

Sport

* Ronald Jansen (born 1963) a former field hockey goalkeeper, gold medallist in the

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

*

Kees Akerboom Jr. Kees Akerboom Jr. (born 20 December 1983) is a retired Dutch basketball player. Kees is the son of Kees Akerboom Sr., a former successful professional basketball player as well. During the majority of his career, Akerboom played with Den Bosch Ba ...

(born 1983) a retired Dutch basketball player *

Tom van Weert Tom van Weert (born 7 June 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for Greek Super League club AEK Athens. Career Den Bosch Van Weert made his debut in professional football in the Eerste Divisie (second-tier) for Den ...

(born 1990) a footballer with more than 350 club caps, currently playing at Volos F.C. , Greece

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{Authority control Sint-Michielsgestel Populated places in North Brabant

Geography

Contemporary Sint-Michielsgestel

History

Antiquity

Medieval times

Kingdom of the Netherlands

World War II

Attractions

Transport

Services

Sport

Notable people

Sport

Notes

References