Meijel (; ) is a former

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' ...

and a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in south-eastern

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 ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1303 as "Iohannes et Henricus fratres dicti van der Vloet de Meyele". The etymology is uncertain. It might mean "middle of the forest". Meijel developed on a sandy ridge in the raised bog of the

Peel Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community in Peel Parish * Pee ...

. It became a free ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch language, Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and Judiciary, judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking ...

'' (no fief). In 1716, it became part of the Austrian

Upper Guelders {{unreferenced, date=November 2011 Upper Guelders or Spanish Guelders was one of the four quarters in the Imperial Guelders, Duchy of Guelders. In the Dutch Revolt, it was the only quarter that did not secede from the Habsburg monarchy to become pa ...

. The Catholic St Nicolaas Church is a three-aisled church with a wide tower which was constructed from 1953 to 1955 to replace the church which was destroyed in 1944. Meijel was home to 996 inhabitants in 1840. It was severely damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Meijel was an independent municipality until 2010 when it was merged into Peel en Maas.

References

External links

Official website
* Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2010 Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) Former municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Peel en Maas {{LimburgNL-geo-stub