Tienray () is a village in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

province of Limburg. It is a part of the municipality of

Horst aan de Maas Horst aan de Maas (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. In 2010 the municipalities Sevenum and part of Meerlo-Wanssum joined the municipality. ...

, and is located about north of

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...

. Tienray is a site of pilgrimage dedicated to

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

since the 15th century. In 1877, Tienray was officially permitted to use the title ''Klein Lourdes'' (Little Lourdes) by papal order.

History

The village was first mentioned between 1324 and 1364 as Tedenrade, meaning "forest cultivation of Tedo or Tiedo (person)". Tienray developed in the Middle Ages on newly cultivated land. It used to belong to the . In 1442, a

Lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...

was built in Tienray which became a site of pilgrimage. In 1580, the village became part of Spanish Guelders. In 1713, after 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 ...

, it became part of

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, ...

. In 1794, Tienray was conquered by France, and became part of the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

in 1815. In 1830, the area chose the side of Belgium during the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was a conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The ...

, but was definitely awarded to the Netherlands in 1839. The Catholic Our Lady Comforter of the Oppressed Church is a cruciform church built between 1949 and 1950 as a replacement of the 1944 church which was destroyed by the Germans. Between 1982 and 1983, a replica of the destroyed Lourdes cave from 1888 was added to the church. The statue of Mary was hidden by the priest in October 1944 and has survived the war. Tienray was home to 54 people in 1840. In 1883, a joint railway station with Meerlo opened on the

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 ...

railway line. The station closed in 1940. The village was severely damaged during World War II. A resistance monument has placed to honour , a maternity nurse who lived in Tienray at the time. Van de Voort found hiding places for 143 Jewish children most of whom survived the war.

Mary pilgrimage

According to legend, a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

fell ill and discovered the Mary chapel. He recovered and maintained the chapel. The legend is later addition and is not recorded in older sources. The earliest recording of a pilgrimage to Tienray dates from 1440. During the 18th century, 14 processions per year were organised to Tienray. Between 1877 and 1878, the chapel was replaced by a church, and in 1887, a Lourdes cave was added. After the destruction of the church, an emergency church was established in the local hotel.

Gallery

File:Verzetmonument Tienray.JPG, Resistance monument File:StationMeerloTienray.JPG, Former railway station Meerlo-Tienray File:Mariabeeld - TienrayI - 20209133 - RCE.jpg, Mary statue (1926)

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) Horst aan de Maas