Kessenich () is a village in the Belgian province Limburg. It is a

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

of the municipality of Kinrooi, lying in the eastern end of the municipality.

Geography

Kessenich is the end of the ''Grensmaas'', the part of the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

who forms a natural border with the Dutch province Limburg. This river separates Kessenich from Stevensweert. In the north lie the Dutch villages of Thorn, Ittervoort and Neeritter. In the south lies Maaseik. The region of Kessenich is dissected by several rivers: the Abeek, the Itterbeek and Witbeek on their way to the Meuse. East of Kessenich is an area with several ponds, the ''Maasplassen''. They were created by large-scale exploitation of

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

from 1949. The gravel layer with a thickness of up to 10 m, was deposited by the Meuse, which repeatedly moved to the east. In May 2008 ended the gravel mining and began the partial attenuation of the lakes. Now, some Maasplassen are equipped for recreation or nature.

Name

Its name is derived from the

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

''Cassiniacum''. Kessenich is also named as ''Kesnic'' (1102), ''Kasnech'' (1132), ''Casselin'' or ''Cassenic'' (1155), ''Kessenich'' (1219) and ''Cessenic'' (1224). Later, it's also identified on maps as Kessingen (1573) and Kesnick (1754).the map from 1754 by Rumsey dVaugondy
/ref> In

Limburgish Limburgish ( or ; ; also Limburgian, Limburgic or Limburgan) refers to a group of South Low Franconian Variety (linguistics), varieties spoken in Belgium and the Netherlands, characterized by their distance to, and limited participation ...

it's still called 'Kesing'.

History

Kessenich is the oldest of the five villages of Kinrooi. It was founded as a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

settlement close to the Meuse. The Meuse has since shifted to the east, leaving a bogged arm to north of the village. This marsh, the ''Vijverbroek'', was used in 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 ...

to create a

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a Fortification, fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on Earthworks (engineering), earthworks, although some are constructed of ston ...

. According to a legend there was a village called ‘’Vijvere’’ between Kessenich and Thorn that was drowned. Now it is a unique area overgrown with alder and other tree and plant species. Remains of a prehistoric settlement have been found on the ''Boterakker'', south of the village. Other prehistoric remains have been found on the ''Hezerheide'', west of the village. Roman

catacombs Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

(''Molenwegske'') and a 12 meter wide Roman road connecting

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

and

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

have also been found. After the fallof the Western Roman Empire, a

shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

covering Kessenich, Thorn, Aldeneik and some other villages came into existence. Ansfried of Utrecht might have been the last count of this area, because in that period the shire suddenly fall apart. Finally, the area was divided into three parts: Thorn, Aldeneik, and Kessenich. Thorn and Aldeneik became important abbeys, Kessenich was lying between both. So there was a major influence of those abbeys. Kessenich became an imperial free city, since the 14th century united with the county Bronshorn ( Hunsel). The county of Kessenich was governed out of a

Motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

, built as protection against the pillaging

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

s, who even

Tongeren Tongeren (; ; ; ) is a city and former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the only Roman administrative capital wit ...

and

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

have reached via the Meuse, and the many floods of the Meuse. From the tower on the 10 meters high artificial hill are ruins remaining. The new castle has been built in the 17th century, by the family Van Waes. The hamlet where the castle is, lies nearby Neeritter, so it's called ''Borgitter''. In the 18th century was Kessenich like whole Limburg the battlefield of the various wars. When the Dutch-British troops withdrew from the region under the leadership of the Duke of Malborough during the

Spanish Succession War The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

, Kessenich was plundered in 1714, besieged the castle and the countess captured. In the whole region it is still the annual tradition to burn a straw doll, which the Duke of Marlborough should propose. In 1795, the French annexed also Kessenich and divided it into the department Meuse-Inférieure. The estates of the counts Van Waes were sold by the Frenchmen to the family Michiels. One of their descendants was Willem Michiels of Kessenich, who was mayor of

from 1937 till 1967. After

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's defeat with the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

, all countries of the

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

were united into the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

and the department became the Province of Limburg. The anthem of this province is written in Neeritter. In 1839, the province is divided with de Meuse as limit into a Belgian and a Dutch part.

References

{{reflist Former states in the Low Countries Former municipalities of Limburg (Belgium) Kinrooi Populated places in Limburg (Belgium)