The Nete (; french: Nèthe, ) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

in northern

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, right tributary of the Rupel. It flows through the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is formed in Lier, at the confluence of the rivers Grote Nete and Kleine Nete. It flows through

Duffel Duffel () is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the town of Duffel proper. On 1 January 2020, Duffel had a total population of 17,664. The total area is 22.71 km² which gives a population de ...

and joins the river Dijle in Rumst to form the river Rupel. It drains nearly 60% of Antwerp province.

Grote Nete

The Grote Nete ''(Big Nete)'' river is about 85 km longIngrid Baten & Willy Huybrechts
De historische bedding van de bevaarbare Nete
2002, page 7 and has its source near Hechtel in the Belgian province of Limburg. It flows in western direction along the towns Geel,

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. T ...

and Heist-op-den-Berg before joining the Kleine Nete in Lier. Its main tributaries are the near Geel, the near Westerlo, and the near Herenthout.

Kleine Nete

The Kleine Nete ''(Small Nete)'' river is about 50 km long and has its source near Retie in the Belgian province of Antwerp. North of the Grote Nete flows in south-western direction along the towns

Herentals Herentals () is a city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and . In 2021, Herentals had a total population of 28.194. The total area is . Saint Waltrude is the patron sain ...

and Nijlen before joining the Grote Nete in Lier. Tributaries, all coming from the North, include the near

Kasterlee Kasterlee () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Kasterlee proper, Lichtaart and Tielen. In 2021, Kasterlee had a total population of 19,052. The total area is 71.56 km2. ...

, the } near

Grobbendonk Grobbendonk () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp ( nl, Antwerpen). The municipality comprises the towns of Bouwel and Grobbendonk proper. In 2021, Grobbendonk had a total population of 11,249. The total area is 28.36& ...

, and the near Nijlen.

History

During the French occupation of the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...

(1792–1815) there was a ''

département 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- ...

'' named after the river Nete, see Deux-Nèthes.

Natural landscapes

On the valley of the Grote Nete lies the Scheps

natural landscape A natural landscape is the original landscape that exists before it is acted upon by human culture. The natural landscape and the cultural landscape are separate parts of the landscape. However, in the 21st century, landscapes that are totally ...

, between Olmen and Scheps.

References

Rivers of Belgium Rivers of Antwerp Province {{Belgium-river-stub