Maasbracht (; li, Brach ) 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 ori ...

in the southeastern

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 was a separate municipality until 1 January 2007, when it became a part of the new municipality of

Maasgouw Maasgouw () is a municipality in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located on both banks of the river Meuse southwest of the city of Roermond. It was formed in a merger of the former municipalities of Heel, Maasbracht and Thorn on 1 January 200 ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1265 as "de Bragth", and means "newly cultivated land near the river Maas. Maasbracht developed along the river Maas in the Early Middle Ages. In 1294, it became part of

Ambt Montfort Ambt Montfort () is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Limburg. In 1991, the municipalities of Montfort, Posterholt, Reutje and Sint Odiliënberg merged. The original name of the merged municipality was "Posterholt", but it was cha ...

. In 1716, it became part of the

Dutch Republic 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 historiography ...

. The Catholic St Gertrudis Church is a long church with double

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

. The tower was built in the 14th century. It was severely damaged in 1944, and a new church was built between 1948 and 1949. Maasbracht was home to 305 people in 1840. In 1934, the Juliana Canal was dug as a bypass for the unnavigable parts of the Maas. The canal transformed Maasbracht in a main harbour and it started to industrialise. Maasbracht has the largest inland harbour of the Netherlands. It was an independent municipality until 2007 when it was merged into

. It is the capital of the municipality of Maasgouw.

Notable people

* Mark van Bommel (born 1977), football player

Gallery

File:Maasbracht, sculptuur met chinees restaurant bij de rotonde op de Hoofdstraat foto6 2017-05-10 13.13.jpg, Sculpture at the roundabout Image:Maasbracht, het Julianakanaal foto8 2017-05-10 13.37.jpg, The village near Julianakanaal and the river Maas File:Hafen Maasbracht Restaurant Kolentip.jpg, Harbour of Maasbracht File:Blick von der Schleuse aus über Maasbracht.jpg, View on Maasbracht

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2007 Former municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) Maasgouw