Mook en Middelaar (; ) is a

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' ...

in the upper southeastern part of 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 ...

, at the northern tip of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

and is a part of Stadsregio Arnhem Nijmegen. The municipality is located about 100 km from provincial capital

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 has an area of of which is water.

Population centres

History

The municipality is situated in wooded rolling

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

landscape, created during the last ice age, about 160,000 years ago. In Plasmolen the remains of a Roman villa from the 2nd century AD were found and on the banks 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 ...

are the remains of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

bridge. These remains are from the 4th century. The Mookerheide ("Mook Heath"), situated on the border of Mook, saw the

Battle of Mookerheyde A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1574 which was fought as part of the

Eighty Years War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exce ...

. Spanish forces under

Sancho d'Avila Don Sancho Dávila y Daza (21 September 1523 – 1583) was a Spanish general. Born at Ávila, he first served as the commander of the Duke of Alba's bodyguard. It was in this function that Dávila arrested the Count of Egmont. When the Ei ...

defeated the rebel forces of

Louis of Nassau Louis of Nassau (Dutch: Lodewijk van Nassau, 10 January 1538 – 14 April 1574) was a Dutch nobleman, the third son of William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen and Juliana of Stolberg, and the younger brother of Prince William the Silent, William ...

, who was killed. The ''Mookerschans'' and ''Heumense schans'' were defenses on the ''Mookerheide'' probably from the 17th century. (At that time the Mookerheide area extended all the way to the citywalls of

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 ...

) The historical ''Mookerheideschans'' (defense work) has been restored and offers a beautiful view over the Meuse valley. Middelaar belonged to Overkwartier (Upper Quarter) of

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...

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 ...

. During the

War of the Spanish Succession 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 E ...

Middelaar was occupied by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n troops, and it remained German for about a century (until 1814). In the

Second World War 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 ...

a fierce battle raged around this area. In May 1940 the invaders were stopped by large bunkers on the Brabant-side of the Meuse, the railway bridge between Mook and Katwijk was blown up. In September 1944 Mook, Plasmolen and Middelaar were in the front area and the war caused much devastation. While under fire of German guns that were shooting from the woods near Groesbeek, allied soldiers had to secure the Heumen bridge over the Maas-Waal canal that was an important hub for operation Market Garden. Fierce fighting caused the front to move so the little village, of which most houses were shot in this period, was liberated to fall back in German hands, to be liberated again. Soldiers killed in this vicinity during World War II found their final resting place in Mook War Cemetery Most inhabitants of Mook and Middelaar sought refuge elsewhere until the liberation. To support the cement industry, sand was dug out in the fields next to the river Maas (known as 'Cuyksesteeg') which consequently lead to the forming of the Mookerplassen recreational lakes, between Middelaar and the Mookerheide. After a couple of floodings in the 80s and 90s a removable lock was built to save the area from flooding again.

Public transport

Mook and the municipality is served by three bus lines and has its own train station, Mook-Molenhoek railway station.

Notable residents

Karel Martens Karel Martens (born 1939) is a Dutch freelance graphic designer and educator known for his experimental work in typography, book and poster design. Considered one of the most influential Dutch designers working today, Martens is a co-founder of We ...

(born 1939) a Dutch freelance graphic designer, specialises in

typography Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

Serge Daan Serge Daan (11 June 1940 – 9 February 2018) was a Dutch scientist, known for his significant contributions to the field of Chronobiology. Early life and education Serge Daan ( Mook, 1940) was born in a wind mill, grew up in the Dutch countrys ...

(1940–2018) a Dutch scientist, contributed to the field of

chronobiology Chronobiology is a field of biology that examines timing processes, including periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms, such as their adaptation to solar- and lunar-related rhythms. These cycles are known as biological rhythms. Chron ...

Arjen Teeuwissen Arjen Gerald Teeuwissen (29 March 1971 – 29 May 2024) was a Dutch equestrian, who won the silver medal in the Team Dressage event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He did so alongside Anky van Grunsven, Ellen Bontje, and Coby va ...

(born 1971), equestrian, team silver medallist at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Marko Koers Marko Ewout Koers (born November 3, 1972, in Molenhoek, Limburg) is a retired middle distance runner from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992. He competed in the 800 and 15 ...

(born 1972) a retired middle distance runner, competed at three consecutive Summer Olympics from 1992

Gallery

Image:Mook, voormalig stadhuis foto3 2010-06-21 11.59.JPG, Mook, former town hall Image:Mook, de Sint-Antoniuskerk RM30073 IMG 8394 2021-02-22 13.54.jpg, Mook, church Image:Mookerplas, panorama2 foto2 2010-06-21 12.22.JPG, Mookerplas Image:Middelaar Rijksmonument 30071 Lambertuskerk.JPG, Middelaar, church File:Molenhoek-stationsstraat-08200009.jpg, Molenhoek-stationsstraat Image:Mookerheide, view towards Cuijk, Mook, the Netherlands.jpg, Mookerheide near Mook File:Molenhoek (Mook en Middelaar, Limburg, NL) church.JPG, Molenhoek church, Mook en Middelaar File:Mookerheide.jpg, Mookerheide

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands)