Stevensweert is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Maasgouw. It lies on the right bank of the river

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 ...

, which forms the border with Kessenich in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. There was also a ferry to this village.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1221 as in Werde, and means "land near water dedicated to

Saint Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

". With Ohé en Laak, Stevensweert is situated on an island in the Meuse. The Spanish built a fortress in 1633 during 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 ...

, this is still apparent in the street plan of the town. Stevensweert once was part of the

Duchy 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 ...

. In 1702, it was conquered by the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

. The Catholic St Stephanus is a cruciform church built in 1781 as a replacement of the 13th century church. It was damaged in 1944 and 1945, and restored and enlarged by . The church contains a Roman

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

from around 1200. The Dutch Reformed church is a little aisleless church built in 1822. In 1951, the war damage was repaired. The

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 grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

Hompesche Molen was built in 1722 as part of the castle complex, and is the only remaining part. The top of the sail measures making it the tallest wind mill in the province of Limburg. In October 1944, it was hit several times by British artillery from the liberated Belgian side. The wind mill was restored between 1948 and 1949. In the 1950s, the mill went out of service. Between 1975 and 1977, it was restored and returned to occasional service. The barn next to the mill contains a

brasserie In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves dishes and other meals. The word ''brasserie'' is French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing busine ...

. Stevensweert was home to 600 people in 1840. It was an independent municipality until 1991 when it was merged into

Maasbracht Maasbracht (; ) is a town in the southeastern Netherlands. It was a separate municipality until 1 January 2007, when it became a part of the new municipality of Maasgouw. History The village was first mentioned in 1265 as "de Bragth", and mea ...

. In 2007, it became part of the municipality of Maasgouw.

Gallery

File:Juli 2012 Stevensweert 098.JPG, Street view File:Jan van Steffeswertplein 14, Stevensweert.JPG, House in Stevensweert File:Jan von Steffeswert Plein.jpg, Square File:Juli 2012 Stevensweert 014.JPG, House in Stevensweert

References

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