Nederweert (; li, Ni-jwieërt ) is a

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 ...

and 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 ...

in 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 ...

with a population of as of and has an area of of which is water. Nederweert lies at the intersection of three channels: the

Zuid-Willemsvaart The Zuid-Willemsvaart (; translated: ''South William's Canal'') is a canal in the south of the Netherlands and the east of Belgium. Route The Zuid-Willemsvaart is a canal in the provinces Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg (Belgium) and North Br ...

, the Noordervaart and the Wessem-Nederweert Canal. In the 19th century these channels provided transport routes to export

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...

that was harvested from the Peel. These channels connect Nederweert to

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

and

'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 ...

History

Nederweert was originally called 'Merefelt' which means 'amongst the lakes', though it was later named ''Weert van den nedersten eynde''. A 'Weert' in old Dutch means a high place in the landscape. This latter name later changed into Nederweert as it is called today. Overzicht zuidgevel met kerktoren - Nederweert - 20369142 - RCE

Overzicht zuidgevel met kerktoren - Nederweert - 20369142 - RCE

Before the 14th century Nederweert was part of the

of Weert. The first reference which speaks of Nederweert as independent was in 1419. Nederweert has been under rule of the ''Graven van Horn'' (the dukes of Horn) until 1701. Later in 1715 it became part of the southern states of the Netherlands. In 1785 it was annexed by the French. During this era it was part of the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

departement In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

of the Nedermaas. Gem-Nederweert-OpenTopo

Monuments

The most prominent monument of Nederweert is the ''Sint-Lambertus Kerk''. It is a

Brabantine Gothic Brabantine Gothic, occasionally called Brabantian Gothic, is a significant variant of Gothic architecture that is typical for the Low Countries. It surfaced in the first half of the 14th century at St. Rumbold's Cathedral in the City of Mechele ...

-style church that was built in 1467.

Population centres

Notable people

Margriet Tindemans Margriet E. Tindemans (March 26, 1951 – December 31, 2014) was a musician, specializing in medieval music. The fourth child of Wilhelmina Coenen and Henricus Tindemans, Margriet demonstrated her musical talents early, and was named first viol ...

(1951 in Nederweert – 2014) a musician, specializing in medieval music *

Marie Kessels Marie Kessels (born Nederweert, 11 December 1954) is a Dutch poet and prose writer. She received the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs {{short description, Dutch literary award The Ferdinand Bordewijk Prize or F. Bordewijk-prijs is a literary award, pr ...

(born 1954 in Nederweert) a Dutch poet and prose writer

Gallery

File:Bi-j Siem Nederweert.jpg, Restaurant Bi-J Siem, built in 1659 File:Voormalige pastorie Nederweert voorgevel.jpg, Front of the former rectory in Nederweert File:Sluis15 ZuidWillemsvaart.jpg, Sluis 15 in de Zuid-Willemsvaart File:De Banen Nederweert.jpg, "De Banen", a lake in the nature area "''Sarsven en De Banen''", near Nederweert

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands)