Sint-Michielsgestel

Sint-Michielsgestel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈsɪnt miˌxilsˈxɛstəl] ⓘ) is a village in the municipality of Sint-Michielsgestel, Netherlands.

Sint-Michielsgestel
Center with the Oude Toren in Sint-Michielsgestel
Center with the Oude Toren in Sint-Michielsgestel
Flag of Sint-Michielsgestel
Flag
Coat of arms of Sint-Michielsgestel
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 51.638439°N 5.349792°E / 51.638439; 5.349792
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceNorth Brabant
MunicipalitySint-Michielsgestel (municipality)
Population
 (1 January 2020)
12,370
Major roadsProvinciale weg 617

Geography

The 120 km long river Dommel flows north from a well near Peer in Belgium. Just north of 's-Hertogenbosch it is joined by the Aa and joins the Meuse as Dieze. It currently divides Sint-Michielsgestel in two parts. In the past the Dommel was important as a transport axis and had crucial influence on the village's history.

Contemporary Sint-Michielsgestel

Sint-Michielsgestel is located near the central transport axis in the Netherlands, between 's-Hertogenbosch and Eindhoven. Nowadays this axis is dominated by the A2 motorway, but towards 's-Hertogenbosch the village has an even more direct access via the N617. No wonder that the village grew when the suburbanization process started, and it still does.

A major employer in Sint-Michielsgestel is Kentalis (nl), a resource center for sensory and communicative disabled people formerly known as Institute for the deaf and hearing impaired called Instituut voor Doven (nl) aka Viataal. There is little industry in the village. Gymnasium Beekvliet is a popular school that attracts lots of students from outside the village.

History

Antiquity
1866 map of Sint-Michielsgestel

Archeological finds near the hamlet of Halder prove that the hamlet Halder was probably the most important settlement on the Dommel during the Roman era. Thousands of Roman coins were found in 1962 not far from Nieuw Herlaer castle. These and other local archeological finds are now on display in the Museum Romeins Halder at Haanwijk.[1]

Medieval times

The current center of Sint-Michielsgestel is not the same as the medieval center. Right into the 15th century, there were references to 'Gestel near Herlaar'. The economic center of the parish was in the current hamlet Halder, with its water mills.[2] In Halder was also the ruined motte-and-bailey castle of Oud Herlaer, which probably dates from the 11th or 12th century.[3] The associated Lords of Herlaer start to get mentioned from 1079.[4] During medieval times a surprising number of castles and other moated sites was built in vicinity of Sint-Michielsgestel.

The importance of the village Sint-Michielsgestel probably stems from the possibility to safely cross the Dommel. The remains of a wooden 10th century church were found at the foot of the church tower Oude toren in the village. The church of Sint-Michielsgestel is dedicated to the archangel St. Michael, and this was already the case in medieval times. Remains of another 10th century church were found in the hamlet Ruimel, between Halder and Herlaer.[5]

In the village name, 'Gestel' is a concatenation of Geest, meaning sandy ground at a higher level, and (Loo), meaning forest. In other words an elevated sandy ground in the forest. The prefix 'Sint-Michiels' comes in handy, because in Brabant there are multiple places named Gastel/Gestel.[6] The first certain reference to the village (Sint-Michiels)gestel dates from 1281.[7]

Its name was first mentioned when the estates or heerlijkheden (nl) Herlaer and Gestel were joined in approx. 1314 AD.

Kingdom of the Netherlands

The French period would prove disastrous for the many castles and manors. For the Catholics in the area it brought freedom of religion, and in 1799 they established a seminary in what was left of Nieuw-Herlaer Castle. When the Netherlands regained their independence, a preparatory small seminary was founded in the village in 1815. It is the precursor of Gymnasium Beekvliet.

World War II

During World War II this facility was used as prison-camp, along with the grootseminarie (nl) in Haaren. On 4 May 1942 the Germans imprisoned 460 Dutch men in Beekvliet. All prisoners were politically involved or otherwise important to the Dutch people. Luuk van Driel, father of the famous Tim and Dirk, also known as 'grote spelers', got to escape along with a group of people, by calling the police. They became local heroes after this. Amongst the prisoners were writers Simon Vestdijk and Anton van Duinkerken. Political prisoners were Wim Schermerhorn (Prime Minister 1945-1946), Willem Banning, Pieter Geyl and Jan de Quay, all post-war politicians.

Attractions
The Dommel near Sint Michielsgestel

The Petrus Dondersplein is the central square of the village, close to the Dommel. It has two major monuments. The Oude toren (old tower) is a nice 15th century church tower made with alternating rows of brick and tuff stone. The Protestant church was built in 1808, when the Protestant minority had to return the big church to the Catholics. After the main church connected to the Oude toren had to be demolished, a new St. Michael's was built on Nieuwstraat. This is a well preserved example of 1930s church architecture.[8] The imposing former institute for the deaf is on the western side of the Dommel at Theerestraat. It dates from 1908, and as institute for the deaf it is a rare building.[9]

Sint-Michielsgestel and surroundings are best known for the many (former) castles and manors.

  • Little remains of the great castle at Oud Herlaer, but it will be a museum in the future.[10]
  • Nieuw-Herlaer Castle was a true castle. It is now a manor with a 15th century stair tower, and an 18th century wing.[9]
  • Haanwijk is a well preserved 16th century manor, which includes some other buildings, and the small Museum Romeins Halder.[11]
  • The Grote Ruwenberg near Ruimel was a moated manor, later a school, and now a conference venue. The tower is part of the original manor.[9]
  • The Kleine Ruwenberg is a 19th century mansion which replaced a 15th century manor.

The above attractions do not attract many visitors to Sint-Michielsgestel, even while many spend the night in the village in order to visit the tourist magnate 's-Hertogenbosch. The challenge is that the village Sint-Michielsgestel and the surrounding hamlets do not have a major attraction. Instead it has to rely on nature, and the cultural history reflected in castles and farms. This makes that the municipality wants to focus on all kinds of healthy outdoor activities.[12] Meanwhile these outdoor activities, like cycling, running, horse-riding are already popular with the locals.

Transport

Sint-Michielsgestel is located near the central transport axis in the Netherlands, between 's-Hertogenbosch and Eindhoven. Nowadays this axis is dominated by the A2 motorway, but towards 's-Hertogenbosch, the village has an even more direct access via the N617.The village has grown by suburbanization.

Services

A major employer in Sint-Michielsgestel is Kentalis (nl), a resource centre for sensory and communicative disabled people formerly known as Institute for the deaf and hearing impaired called Instituut voor Doven (nl) aka Viataal. There is little industry in the village. Gymnasium Beekvliet is a popular school that attracts many students from outside the village.

Sport

Sint-Michielsgestel is a major venue for Cyclo-cross. Stichting Wielerbelang Sint-Michielsgestel (SWG) organizes major cyclo-cross events in the village since 1974. The absolute highlight was the 2000 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships won by local Richard Groenendaal.[13] The Dutch National Cyclo-cross Championships have been held in the village five times.

Notable people
Gerrit Braks, 1984

Sport

Notes
  1. "Over Halder". Museum Romeins Halder. Museum Romeins Halder. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  2. Van Aart 2006, p. 11.
  3. Mooren & Kalisvaart 2016, p. 15.
  4. Van Doornmalen 2017, p. 40.
  5. Indemans 1963.
  6. Wols 2008.
  7. Van Aart 2006, p. 12.
  8. Kolman, Olde Meierink & Stenvert 1997, p. 294.
  9. Kolman, Olde Meierink & Stenvert 1997, p. 295.
  10. "Brabants Buitenmuseum op Out Herlaer". Het Brabants Landschap. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  11. Kolman, Olde Meierink & Stenvert 1997, p. 296.
  12. "Gestel lift mee op toerisme Den Bosch en richt zich op gezond genieten". Algemeen Dagblad. 27 May 2021.
  13. "Hoe de wereldtitel van Richard Groenendaal een dieptepunt werd". Algemeen Dagblad. 30 January 2019.
  14. IMDb Database retrieved 30 March 2020

References
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