The Tongelreep is a small tributary of the
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 ...
that flows through
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and the
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 ...
. It begins in Belgium near
Neerpelt
Neerpelt (, literally ''Lower Pelt'') is a town in Pelt and a former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. In 2018, the municipality had a total population of 17,174. The total area is 42.78 kmĀ².
Effective 1 January 201 ...
(where the stream is called the Warmbeek) and runs into the Dommel in
Eindhoven by way of
Valkenswaard
Valkenswaard () is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant. The municipality had a population of in and spans an area of of which is water.
The name Valkenswaard ...
and
Aalst. The stream runs near the
Achel Abbey, the
Leenderbos, the
Valkenhorst estates and the
Genneper Parken park area.
The Tongelreep has always remained a relatively naturally flowing, clear river with natural interaction between water and landscape; this despite the fact that man has tried to alter the river bed since the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, the stretch to the west of the current Leenderbos was canaled in 1890 in order to create a series of fishing ponds and the stretch to the south of that was canaled by the Achel Abbey monks before that. The natural character of the southern Tongelreep has been returning since 1989, when the Achel Abbey agricultural activities were ceased and the lands were sold to environmental groups, who are restoring the natural flow of the river. The grassy lands of the Warmbeek valleys are also being restored.
Etymology
The word Tongelreep derives from the old regional words ''tonge'' and ''reep''. ''Tonge'' is an older, local word for a sandy plain or hill in a
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 (ombrot ...
; a ''reep'' is a Dutch word (still in use today) which means ''strip'' (in this case a strip of land). ''Tongelreep'' therefore means "a strip of land with sandy hills", which is borne out by its surroundings: there are a number of sandy hills along the run of the river, including the Stepkesberg, the Wolfsberg and the Zeelberg (which is now part of Valkenswaard).
The land formations of the region most likely also explain why the Tongelreep is called the Tongelreep and not just the Warmbeek. When the region was first settled, the land south of the Zeelberg was very rugged and impassable. Since the region was not tractable to extensive exploration, the early settlers probably never realized that the Tongelreep was a continuation of the Warmbeek. This theory is reinforced by early maps of the region, which show varying sources for the Tongelreep but do not suggest any link to the Belgian river.
Drainage area
The spring of the Tongelreep is southwest of
Erpekom in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, where the name is ''Jongemansbeek'' or ''Vrenenbeek''. It then flows north by
Brogel and
Kaulille, where the local name is ''Kleine Broekbeek''. The stream is joined by the
Dorperloop just south of
Sint-Huibrechts-Lille; this is where the stream starts being called ''Warmbeek''. The Warmbeek is then led under the
Bocholt-Herentals Canal and flows into a
water-meadow. In this area the river is joined by a parallel canal, which was built to power the
Grevenbroek mill. Continuing on to the
Achel Abbey, the river is then joined by the
Haagbroekerloop. Upon crossing the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
border, the river becomes the ''Tongelreep''. The river was canaled at this point, but this was undone by
Staatsbosbeheer
Staatsbosbeheer, founded in 1899, is a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves.
Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250,000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public ...
after they bought the land from the Abbey monks.
The current river runs west of the
Leenderbos and past Valkenswaard. Water from the Tongelreep feeds several fishing ponds along the way to
Aalst, where the Tongelreep enters the
Genneper Parken area. Finally, the river reaches the
Eindhoven Stadswandelpark and runs into the
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 ...
.
Natural landscapes
The Warmbeek/Tongelreep is one of the clearest rivers of
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
and
North Brabant
North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called 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 the w ...
. It flows through
natural landscape areas across its entire length, including the following:
*
Warmbeekvallei,
*
Warande,
*
Achelse Kluis,
*
Leenderbos,
*
Valkenhorst estates
*
Genneper Parken
Watermills
There are a number of
watermill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
s on the Warmbeek, including:
*The
Broekkantmill at
Sint-Huibrechts-Lille, on the Geuskens
*The
Grevenbroekmill north of
Achel, on the Molendijk
There were more watermills on the Warmbeek, including the old Grevenbroekmill near Genenbroek, a mill near the Catharinadal cloister of Achel, and one mill called ''Numolen'' (''New Mill'') near the Grevenbroek castle.
Rivers of Belgium
Rivers of the Netherlands
Rivers of Limburg (Belgium)
Rivers of North Brabant
Eindhoven
Hamont-Achel
Valkenswaard