Heers is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the south of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Veldhoven Veldhoven () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and town on the Gender (stream), Gender in the southern Netherlands, just southwest of Eindhoven, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. Topography Map of ...

in the province of

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Most of the buildings are concentrated around a

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

with trees. At this town square is a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

from 1990 located. There is also a monument, erected in 1966 for the local agricultural consolidation project. Heers has a long history. The hamlet is mentioned in books from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Also, archaeological artefacts from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

have been unearthed near the hamlet.

Etymology

The hamlet was named ''Herle'' in 1297, which means ''forest on higher ground''. In the fourteenth century it was also known under the names ''Heerze'' and ''Heerle'', which may refer to a sandy

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

. This would be the ridge between the

Run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

and

Gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

streams.

History

Prehistory

The surroundings of Heers were already inhabited by humans in prehistoric times. In the woods near the road ''Locht'', in the direction of the village

Steensel Steensel is a village on the Gender stream in the municipality of Eersel, North Brabant, the Netherlands. Steensel is part of the Acht Zaligheden (Eight Beatitudes), along with Eersel, Knegsel, Duizel, Wintelre, Netersel, Hulsel en Reusel. The ...

, are some preserved

tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

located. The teacher and amateur archaeologist Petrus Panken was the first to report the existence of these tumuli, in 1845. He searched thirteen

mound A mound is a wikt:heaped, heaped pile of soil, earth, gravel, sand, rock (geology), rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded ...

s and discovered

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...

s filled with charcoal and cremated remains. The

head teacher A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management Management (or managing ...

in Veldhoven, Cornelis Rijken, also found a great number of urns in this region in 1910. The first systematic research was conducted by Albert van Giffen in 1948. The ten tumuli that he reconstructed are known as the ''Group Heibloem''. The tumuli are originating from a period of time between the Middle

until the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

(1500 - 50 BC).

Roman Empire

Archaeological remains from the

were found near Heers. On May 15, 1871, the amateur archaeologist Petrus Panken recovered several fragments of small

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

sculptures, including a nearly undamaged sculpture of

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...

, the Roman goddess of the hunt. The sculpture, dated 175 AD, is 21.6 centimetres tall and portrays Diana with a

quiver A quiver is a container for holding arrows or Crossbow bolt, bolts. It can be carried on an archer's body, the bow, or the ground, depending on the type of shooting and the archer's personal preference. Quivers were traditionally made of leath ...

on her back and a dog at her side. It was donated in 1872 to the Noordbrabants Museum in

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

, where it is still preserved. In 1909, the head teacher Cornelis Rijken recommended to conduct an official archaeological investigation into the Roman remains near Heers. This investigation was led by Jan Hendrik Holwerda, an archaeologist of the

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden The (English language, English: National Museum of Antiquities) is the national archaeology, archaeological museum of the Netherlands, located in Leiden. It grew out of the collection of Leiden University and still closely co-operates with ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, the national archaeological museum of the Netherlands. The investigation unearthed traces of a canal, as part of a Roman

watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

. This military post was probably constructed around the year 100 and further fortified around the year 200.

Middle Ages

Near the road ''Oeienbosdijk'', northwest of Heers, was a row

grave field A grave field is a prehistoric cemetery, typically from Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe. Grave fields are distinguished from necropoleis by the former's lack of remaining above-ground structures, buildings, or grave markers. Types Grave fields c ...

located during the age of the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

. This grave field was probably in use from the sixth century until the end of the seventh century. It was discovered in 1970 during the construction of the motorway A67. Twenty five graves and three

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

sites were investigated. From the Middle Ages until the beginning of the twentieth century, Heers consisted only of a few farms along the stream Run. Surrounding these farms were large moors, such as the ''Steenselse Heide'' and the ''Broekhovense Heide''. One of these farms was the ''Oyvaersnest'', which stands for stork nest in

Old Dutch In linguistics, Old Dutch ( Modern Dutch: ') or Old Low Franconian (Modern Dutch: ') is the set of dialects that evolved from Frankish spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from around the 6th Page 55: "''Uit de zesde eeu ...

. Its premises were cultivated in 1465. This farm was located between Heers and the hamlet ''Heiberg''. It was mentioned in archives under the name ''Ooievaarsnest'' until the eighteenth century.

Modern Era

Eight houses in Heers were destroyed by a fire on March 31, 1761. Only one house was not rebuilt. The Minister of Veldhoven bought a farm in Heers in 1829, for the purpose of renting it for little money to a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

family. With this action he hoped to increase the number of members in the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

of Veldhoven. The farm he bought came into the possession of the Society of Prosperity in 1836. This society also seeks to increase the number of members in the Dutch Reformed Church. The farm was designated support number 24. Heers consisted of nineteen houses near the end of the nineteenth century. The invention of

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

contributed to the cultivation of all surrounding moor areas at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Geography

Topography

Heers is located one kilometre south of the residential area Veldhoven Dorp and three kilometers west of the village

Waalre Waalre () is an affluent Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and town in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands, immediately south of the city of Eindhoven. Population centres * Aalst, North Brabant, Aalst * Waalre ...

. Heers is the only hamlet located south of the motorway A67 within the municipality of Veldhoven. The hamlet lies at the ''Heerseweg'', which is the main road between Veldhoven Dorp and the ''Volmolen'' watermill near Waalre.

Nature and landscape

Directly west of Heers lies the complex of the hotel and congress centre Koningshof. Here is also the forest area known as the Sprankelse Bossen located, which stretches all the way up to the village of

. Ten reconstructed

can be found in this forest. Part of the forest is known under the name ''Heersche Heide, which refers to the moor area that was present here before the land was cultivated. East of Heers lay the swimming area and campsite'' 't Witven''. South of Heers are some agricultural areas situated along the stream the

. Further south, near the road ''Volmolenweg'', lies the nature area the Vlasroot. This area consists of two lakes and a fish-pond.

Monuments

The

located at the street ''Westerveldseweg'', dedicated to

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, was built in 1990 by the citizen militia or

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces w ...

''St. Caecilia'' of the residential area Veldhoven Dorp. A Marian

grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

was present on this spot from 1935 until approximately 1960. The monument for the local agricultural consolidation project was erected on the square of Heers in 1966. It refers to the agricultural consolidation that took place here between 1960 and 1965. What triggered the consolidation was the construction of the motorway A67, which crossed many plots north of Heers. The stream the Run was engineered and all the plots along the stream were also consolidated in the process.Coenen, Jean (2006) Veldhoven: Van Toterfout tot heden. p. 420

References

{{coord, 51, 23, 41, N, 5, 23, 57, E, display=title, region:NL_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in North Brabant Veldhoven