Neer is a village in Limburg,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is located in the municipality of

Leudal Leudal (Limburgish: ''Leudaal'') is a municipality in the Dutch province of Limburg. It was formed on January 1, 2007 in a merger of the municipalities of Heythuysen, Haelen, Hunsel, and Roggel en Neer. Population centres The municipality ...

, on the river Maas about 8 km north of

Roermond Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Ro ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1204 as Nere, and refers to the brook Neerbeek. Neer developed in the Early Middle Ages on higher sand grounds along the Neerbeek close to its confluence with the Maas. Neer was first part of the

County of Horne Horne (also ''Horn'', ''Hoorn'' or ''Hoorne'') is a small historic county of the Holy Roman Empire in the present day Netherlands and Belgium. It takes its name from the village Horn, west of Roermond. The residence of the counts of Horne was m ...

and later the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince ...

. In 1677, it became a ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800 ...

''. The Catholic St Martinus is a three aisled basilica-like church with a tower at a side. It was probably completed around 1400. The church was replaced between 1908 and 1909 in a Gothic Revival style, but the tower remained and was enlarged. The top of the tower was blown up in 1944, and rebuilt in 1954 in a more modest style. The

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the productio ...

Friedesse Molen was built in 1617 and served as a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

. In the early 1950s, an electro motor was installed. Both the Province and the population of Neer lobbied for a much needed restoration, and in 2002, the watermill was restored and is sometimes in service. Neer was home to 678 people in 1840. It was a separate municipality until 1991, when it was merged with Roggel. In 2007, it became part of the municipality of

Gallery

Image:KerkNeer.jpg, Church of Neer File:Neer (2485904416).jpg, Ferry across the Maas File:Neer - Hanssum 40b Voormalig bierbrouwerij Theelen.jpg, Former beer brewery File:Exterieur VOORGEVEL - Neer - 20293456 - RCE.jpg, Former town hall

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) Former municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Leudal