Loosbroek is a village and parish in the southern

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 ...

. It is located in the municipality

Bernheze Bernheze () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. It was formed as a rename of Heesch, Netherlands, Heesch in 1995. The municipalities of Heeswijk-Dinther and Nistelrode ...

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 ...

. Before 1994 the territory of Loosbroek was divided between three municipalities, Nistelrode, Heesch and Heeswijk-Dinther.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1196 as "paludis que vocatur Loesbruch", and means "empty swampy land". In 1648, after the Protestant

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, Loosbroek became part of the

States of Brabant The States of Brabant were the representation of the three estates (nobility, clergy and commons) to the court of the Duke of Brabant. The three estates were also called the States. Supported by the economic strength of the cities Antwerp, Bruss ...

within the Meierij van 's-Hertogenbosch. In 1795 the French invaded the Dutch Republic and "freedom of faith" was restored in Loosbroek. In 1814 Loosbroek became part of the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

. On 23 September 1923, two American officers and participants in the Gordon Bennett Cup crashed near Loosbroek when lightning struck their gas balloon. They had departed form

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. The gas balloon race was a disaster because three balloons were struck by lightning. Five people died and one person was severely injured. Loosbroek was home to 256 people in 1840. Until 1898 Loosbroek was part of the parish of Dinther. In that year the village was allowed to start their own parish.

Attractions

* The ''Saint-Antoniuskerk'' opened in 1913. The neo-romantic design is by Jos Margry; The priest at that time was Albertus Werners. In 2005 the church was restored. Outside the church is a painted stone statue of the Saint Donatus of Muenstereifel. * The ''Bleeken'' is a nature resort to the North-West of Loosbroek. The area is known for its badgers. * To the west of Loosbroek is a fresh water reservoir of 30 acres. The area is free accessible.

Towns nearby

Nistelrode, Dinther, Heeswijk, Vorstenbosch, Kaathoven

References

{{Authority control Populated places in North Brabant Former municipalities of North Brabant Bernheze