The Campine (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

) or De Kempen ( Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encompasses a large northern and eastern portion of Antwerp Province and adjacent parts of Limburg in Belgium, as well as portions of the Dutch province of North Brabant (area southwest of

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,Limburg around Weert. Today the Campine is becoming a popular touristic destination. Old farms have been transformed into bed-and-breakfast hotels, the restaurant and café business is very active, and an extensive cycle touring network has come into existence over the past few years. Part of the Campine is protected as the '' Hoge Kempen Nationaal Park'' (High Campine National Park). It is located in the east of the Belgian province Limburg, between the city of Genk and the Meuse valley and was opened in March 2006. Covering almost , it forms part of the

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

network. The area is mostly heathland and pine forest. In May 2011 it was placed on UNESCO's Tentative List for consideration as a World Heritage Site.

Etymology

The Medieval Latin name ''Campania'', firstly attested in the mid-11th century by a monk of Saint-Trond named Stepelinus, stems from the root ''kamp-'' ('field') attached to the

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

''-injo'', denoting the uncultivated or the virgin fields. The inhabitants of the Campine region are known as ''Kempenaars''.

Culture

The region, described as ''a desolate flat land'' often appears in the books of the prominent Flemish writer Hendrik Conscience (1812–1883), who spent much of his childhood there. Another author who has written many novels playing in the Campine was Georges Eekhoud (1854–1927). In 1837

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

made a journey through Belgium and visited the Campine and the towns of Lier and Turnhout, and wrote about his journey. During the interbellum

Felix Timmermans Leopold Maximiliaan Felix Timmermans (5 July 1886 – 24 January 1947) is a much translated author from Flanders. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times. Life Timmermans was born in the Belgian city of Lier, as the thi ...

, Ernest Claes, Stijn Streuvels, Jozef Simons and the poet Jozef De Voght wrote about the Belgian Campine. The painters

Jakob Smits Jakob Smits or Jacob Smits ( Rotterdam, 9 July 1855 – Achterbos (Mol), 15 February 1928) was a Dutch-Flemish painter. Background and early life He was born a son of a decorator. Jakob studied in Rotterdam at the academy and helped his fath ...

(1855–1928) and Frans Van Giel (1892–1975) painted many Campine landscapes. The region is rich in folk tales, such as the stories about the Buckriders (Dutch: ''Bokkenrijders'') and those concerning the gnome king Kyrië (Dutch: ''Kabouterkoning Kyrië''). The ''Museum Kempenland'' in Eindhoven has a considerable and historically important art collection of painters, draughtsmen, sculptors, blacksmiths and other craftsmen from this region. Much of the architectural, agrarian and historical and cultural heritage of the Campine can be visited in the open-air museum of Bokrijk. The old way of living and the Campine dialects have been the topic of scientific research. In the Roman era the name of the region was Toxandria or Taxandria.

History

The Campine is an area in the Belgian provinces Antwerp, Limburg and the extreme north of the province

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Haina ...

, and in the south of the Dutch province North Brabant. It stretches from the east of the city of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

and towards the west of Eindhoven. Farther east the Campine is in the Groote Peel, a region which is geographically related to the Campine. The south border is formed by the river Demer, and the east border by the valley of the river Meuse. The ''Campine plateau'' is part of the Campine region. The ''Campine Basin'', which extends from Belgium into the Netherlands, is formed by the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

and

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

sedimentary rocks on the northern flank of the Brabant Massif. Since it was a region with a poor sandy soil, there are only a few old or large cities in the region. Most of those cities are located at the outer rim of the region, such as

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its ...

, Diest,

Aarschot Aarschot () is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Aarschot proper and the towns of Gelrode, Langdorp and Rillaar. On January 1, 2019, Aarschot had a total popul ...

, Lier (the self-styled ''gate of the Campine'', a title also claimed by the Northern-Brabant Oirschot),

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

, Tilburg,

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,Maaseik, and Maastricht. Turnhout is an exception. West of Turnhout clay was used for the production of barge, which is one of the reasons why the ''Noord-Kempens Canal'' was dug to Antwerp. Also the more central Herentals was an historical industrial center, thanks to its textile industry of which the ''Lakenhal'' on the main market place is a remaining monument. The printing industry in Turnhout is historically important, with companies such as Brepols and more recently Cartamundi. The region was sparsely populated, and therefore chosen by monks who were looking for silence, such as those of the abbeys of Achel, Brecht, Zundert, Postel, Westmalle and

Tongerlo Tongerlo is a village and ''deelgemeente'' (sub-municipality) of the municipality of Westerlo in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. The village is located about south-east of the city of Herentals. Tongerlo is best known for Tongerlo Abbey founde ...

. In the 19th and 20th centuries, industry established itself in the region, such as the

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

in Balen- Overpelt- Lommel. In 1872 the ''Sablières et Carrières Réunies'' (SCR), now Sibelco, was founded to extract the silica sand layers in Mol for industrial applications ( glass). In 1891, the Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. was founded in Eindhoven (North Brabant). In the 20th century, the first nuclear installation in Belgium, the SCK•CEN, was built in Mol in 1962. The European Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) was founded in Geel in 1957. Pharmaceutical industry was founded in Beerse in the 1960s, with Janssen Pharmaceutica and more recently with Genzyme in Geel. Soudal ( silicon) in Turnhout and Ravago (

plastics Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their Plasticity (physics), plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be Injection moulding, moulded, Extrusion, e ...

) in Arendonk became leading companies in their markets. Wide open spaces with scarce population also led to the establishment of several military bases, such as the army installations at Leopoldsburg and Brasschaat, and the air bases of

Kleine Brogel Peer () is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Peer had a total population of 15,810. The total area is 86.95 km² which gives a population density of 182 inhabitants pe ...

, Oostmalle, Weelde and Zutendaal. Due to the exploitation of the Campine coal basin, especially after World War II, new industrial activity was established, such as in Geel, Beringen and Genk. The Belgian village of Dessel is called ''Heart of the Campine'', while Westerlo and Kasterlee are called ''Pearl of the Campine''. The most picturesque villages in the Dutch, Northern-Brabant Campine are Oirschot, Eersel and Hilvarenbeek. The other villages have lost much of their historical elements in their course towards industrialisation. In the Dutch Campine eight villages are located which are known under the name ''acht zaligheden'' (E: ''eight blessed ones''). The denomination ''zaligheden'' has been borrowed from the ''sel'', which is at the end of the name of seven of these eight villages ''selligheden''). Mechelse Hei 050806

In the Campine there are still a number of bunches, marshes, heathlands and pastures. Large areas of the region were also covered with pine which was used for roof props in the coalmines of Wallonia and Limburg. The first pine in the Campine was sown in the ''Gierlebos'' in Vosselaar by Adriaan Ghys for Amalia van Solms in 1667. Where the Campine, up to around 1960 includes mainly heathland, oak grove and marsh, these were modified by heavy fertilisation and building activities and were gradually changed into a rather small-scale landscape. Here and there still up to several dozen acres of large heathland - and forests, such as the Kalmthoutse Heide (E: Kalmthout heathland) at Kalmthout, Belgium, the ''De Maten'' in Genk, ''De Zegge'' ( Geel), ''Zwart Water'' ( Lichtaart), the ''Zwart Water'' moors (Turnhout), the ''Liereman'' ( Oud-Turnhout) and the

Prinsenpark The Princes Park in Retie ( nl, Prinsenpark) is located in the Campine region of the Antwerp province in Flanders, Belgium. It is a popular park for walking, jogging, cycling and sightseeing. History The poor soil of the Campine region was called ...

( Retie). The natural reserves ''De Teut'' in Zonhoven and ''Ter Haagdoornheide'' in Houthalen-Helchteren and the ''Nationaal Park Hoge Kempen''. At the border with Belgium in the Dutch part of Campine near Bladel there is natural landscape area with heathland such as

Cartierheide Cartierheide is a natural landscape area in the south of the Netherlands in province North Brabant located close to the Belgian border in the natural region called The Campine (local name in Dutch: De Kempen). On the other side of the border is Be ...

and ''De Pals'' and ''Kroonvense Heide''. To the North, the area between Boxtel and Oisterwijk is called ''Kampina''. In a number of villages one can still see the typical Campine ''langgevelboerderijen'' (''long-facade farms'').

Trivia

*The Kempenaar singer

Louis Neefs Louis Neefs (born Ludwig Adèle Maria Jozef Neefs, 8 August 1937, Gierle – 25 December 1980, Lier) was a Belgian singer and presenter, known for his participation in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1967 and 1969. Early career Neefs was traini ...

released the relatively well known song "M'n dorp in de Kempen" ("My village in the Campine") in 1966. *SS. La Campine (2,595 GRT), was built by Palmers' SB. & Iron Co., Ltd., Newcastle for F. Speth & Co.,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

and sailing for the American Petroleum Company. It was a steamship with auxiliary sails, an early oil tanker that was launched in 1892, and was sunk by U-boat ''UC 50'' in North Sea waters (''Doggersbank'', 56.00 North - 04.57 East) on March 13, 1917, on its way from Rotterdam to New York City.

References

Bibliography

External links

Poultry Breeds: Campine Chickens
{{Coord missing, Belgium Natural regions of Belgium Areas of Belgium Coal mining regions in Belgium Regions of the Netherlands Regions of Limburg (Netherlands) Regions of North Brabant Regions of Flanders Landforms of Flanders Landforms of Antwerp Province Landforms of Flemish Brabant Landforms of Limburg (Belgium) Landforms of Limburg (Netherlands) Landforms of North Brabant