Veghel () is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an o ...
and 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 ...
in the southern
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 ...
. On 1 January 2017 Veghel, together with
Schijndel and
Sint-Oedenrode, merged into a new municipality called
Meierijstad creating the largest municipality of the province
North-Brabant in terms of land area.
History
The first settlements date back to
Roman times and were established near the
River Aa. The oldest written record of Veghel dates from 1225. It is a document of the
Abbey of Berne, written in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
on a piece of
parchment
Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins ...
, and describes several properties owned by the abbey. Among those is an
estate located in the settlement of "Vehchele".
In 1310, John II of Brabant granted the inhabitants the right to use common grounds. For some decades in the 16th and 17th century the municipality was ruled by the Lords Van Erp, residing at their castle of Frisselsteijn in Veghel.
In 1648 Veghel became part of the
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...
. As a former part of the
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg ...
, Veghel is situated in the
Meierij of
'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 ...
. As a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
town, Veghel (like all the other areas of Brabant and
Limburg which were transferred to the Netherlands by the
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pe ...
) suffered economic and religious oppression from the Protestant Dutch and was part of the military buffer zone of the Dutch Republic.
In 1719 Veghel became a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
, when it was granted
market rights
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small r ...
by the
States General of the Netherlands
The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague.
The State ...
, receiving the privilege of holding weekly
markets
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
and four
annual fairs. However, it was not until the French wars of 1795 that Veghel formally received freedom of religion again and received a guarantee of full common rights from the Dutch government. In 1810 Veghel became part of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
, national_anthem = )
, image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg
, map_width = 250px
, image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png
, map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale
, capital = ...
. From the middle of the 19th century the agrarian market town began developing into an industrial town as a consequence of the opening of the
South Willem's Canal. The construction of large-scale buildings like the neogothic
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chri ...
by
Pierre Cuypers and the neoclassical
town hall dates from that period. Monastic orders made Veghel a regional centre of health care and education, which it remains to this day.
In 1940 Veghel was occupied by
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
troops. With the beginning of
Operation Market Garden in 1944 Veghel was one of the dropping-places for Allied
paratroops
A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...
owing to its strategic location.
The period since the 1950s has seen much growth, with the development of new industries and the establishment in Veghel of several international companies (e.g.
Mars, Incorporated,
FrieslandCampina,
DMV International,
Agrifirm,
Kuehne + Nagel
Kuehne + Nagel International AG (or Kühne + Nagel) is a global transport and logistics company based in Schindellegi, Switzerland. It was founded in 1890, in Bremen, Germany, by August Kühne and Friedrich Nagel. It provides sea freight and ai ...
,
DHL Supply Chain
DHL Supply Chain is a division of Deutsche Post DHL and is affiliated with DHL. Headquartered in Bonn, Deutsche Post has 510,000 employees.
In 2016, DHL Supply Chain was primarily competing in strategic life sciences and healthcare, automotive ...
,
Alliance Healthcare
Alliance Healthcare, formerly Alliance UniChem, wholesales, distributes, and retails pharmaceutical, surgical, medical, and healthcare products throughout Europe. The company supplies more than 110,000 pharmacies, doctors, health centres and hos ...
,
ThyssenKrupp
ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It is the result of the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg a ...
and
Vanderlande Industries). Its shopping centre and marketplace earned the town the name of "Pearl of the Meierij". Veghel is an educational centre for the surrounding district with several secondary schools, a senior secondary vocational school, and one of the oldest higher vocational schools in the area: the Pedagogic Academy, which was founded in 1872.
Since 1994, Veghel and the neighbouring town of
Erp have formed a single municipality.
Demographics
Towns
Population figures as of 1 January 2015, ranked by size:
Population centres
Population figures as of 1 January 2015, ranked by size:
Language
The language spoken by the native population is North Meierijs (an
East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to colloquial
Dutch).
[Jos & Cor Swanenberg: Taal in stad en land: Oost-Brabants, ]
Nationalities
Compared to other towns in the region, the ethnic makeup of Veghel is relatively diverse.
More than 22% of the town's population, or 17% of the municipality's population, is of foreign origin.
In total, Veghel is home to people of more than a hundred different nationalities.
About 90% of the municipality's total foreign population lives inside the
town proper of Veghel.
Local festivals
Every November sees the celebration of the entry of St Nicholas (''
Sinterklaas'').
Every two years in June or July, the Slokdarmfestival takes place.
On 1 September the harbour festival takes place.
In February or March the traditional
carnival is held.
Attractions
*The neogothic church of St Lambert and its graveyard containing war graves
*The neorenaissance former town hall
*The neogothic former
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...
(recently rebuilt)
*The Protestant church
*The
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
of the
Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception from the Holy Mother of God with its gardens and church
Notable residents
*
Anky van Grunsven
Theodora Elisabeth Gerarda "Anky" van Grunsven (born 2 January 1968) is a Dutch dressage champion who is the only rider to record three successive Olympic wins in the same event. Along with he ...
,
dressage
Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined by ...
champion.
*
Dillianne van den Boogaard
Dillianne van den Boogaard (born 9 August 1974) was a Dutch field hockey defender, who played 174 international matches, representing the Netherlands, in which she has scored 68 goals. She was born in Veghel
Veghel () is a town and a former ...
, former
Netherlands international field hockey player.
*
Earnie Stewart, former
United States international soccer player.
*
Theo Lucius, former professional footballer for
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, w ...
and
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after i ...
.
*
Theo Maassen, comedian and actor.
Twin towns - sister cities
Veghel is
twinned with:
*
Goch in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
*
Pont-Audemer in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
Gallery
File:Gemeentehuis Veghel, Stadhuisplein 1.JPG, Town Hall of Veghel
File:Villa Klondike - Veghel, 2014.jpg, Villa Klondike, former headquarters of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
)
File:Heilig Hartplein, Binnenhaven Veghel.jpg, Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the marina square
Marina Square is a shopping mall in Singapore which opened in the late 1980s. It is part of the first building complex built on the reclaimed land at Marina Centre, and was the largest shopping mall in the country at the time. The complex also hou ...
File:West-zijde toren - Veghel - 20239979 - RCE.jpg, Saint Lambert Church
File:Overzicht voorgevel en linker zijgevel - Veghel - 20347829 - RCE.jpg, Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Mother of God nunnery
File:Graansilo CHV, J.G. Wiebenga - Het Nieuwe Bouwen.jpg, Modernist silo by J.G. Wiebenga, part of the New Objectivity movement
File:Binnenhaven Veghel, Zuidkade, Zuid-Willemsvaart.jpg, Inland port of Veghel
File:Langshaven Veghel, De Heus Voeders & Inland Terminal Veghel - Zuid-Willemsvaart+N279.jpg, Inland port of Veghel
File:Duits-lijntje-in-veghel-07.jpg, Boxtel-Wesel Railway
File:T.T Aa-Brug Veghel (5).JPG, Railroad crossing the Aa river
File:Binnenhaven Veghel - 2.jpg, Marina of Veghel
File:Binnenhaven Veghel - 3.jpg, Marina of Veghel
File:Intocht van Sinterklaas in Veghel 2014 - 2.JPG, Marina of Veghel during the entry parade of Sinterklaas, 16 November 2014
References
External links
*
Official website
{{Authority control
Meierijstad
Former municipalities of North Brabant
Populated places in North Brabant
Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2017
Port cities and towns in the Netherlands