Veghel () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and 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' ...

in Southern

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 ...

. On 1 January 2017 Veghel, together with Schijndel and Sint-Oedenrode, merged into a new municipality called

Meierijstad Meierijstad () is a municipality in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The municipality is the result of a merger between the municipalities Schijndel, Sint-Oedenrode and Veghel in 2017. After the merger it became North Brabant's largest municip ...

. This created the largest municipality 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 ...

of North Brabant in terms of land area.

History

The first known settlements date to Roman times and were established near the River Aa. The oldest written record of Veghel dates from 1225. It is a document of the Abbey of Berne, written in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

on a piece of

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

, and describes several properties owned by the abbey. Among those is an estate located in the settlement of "Vehchele". In 1310, John II of Brabant granted the inhabitants the right to use common grounds. For some decades in the 16th and 17th century, the municipality was ruled by the Lords Van Erp; they resided at their castle of Frisselsteijn in Veghel. In 1648 Veghel became part of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. As a former part of the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant, a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085–1183, and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries. The Duchy comprised part of the Bu ...

, Veghel is situated in the Meierij of

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

. Like all the other areas of Brabant and Limburg which were transferred to the Netherlands by the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

), Veghel was a Catholic town. It suffered economic and religious oppression from the Protestant Dutch and was part of the military buffer zone of the Dutch Republic. In 1719 Veghel became a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

, when it was granted market rights by the

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate (Netherlands), Senate () and the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of R ...

. This gave it the privilege of holding weekly markets and four annual fairs. However, it was not until the French wars of 1795 that Veghel formally received freedom of religion again and received a guarantee of full common rights from the Dutch government. In 1810 Veghel became part of the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

. From the middle of the 19th century, the agrarian market town began to industrialize as a consequence of the opening of the South Willem's Canal. The wealth generated by new industries helped support the construction of large-scale buildings, such as the neogothic church by Pierre Cuypers and the neoclassical

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, dates from that period. Monastic orders developed Veghel as a regional centre of health care and education, which it remains to this day. In 1940 Veghel was occupied by German troops. With the beginning of Operation Market Garden in 1944, Veghel was one of the dropping-sites for Allied paratroops owing to its strategic location. The period since the 1950s has seen much growth, with the development of new industries. Also several international companies (e.g. Mars, Incorporated, FrieslandCampina, DMV International, Agrifirm, Kuehne + Nagel, DHL Supply Chain, Alliance Healthcare,

ThyssenKrupp ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It resulted from the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg and E ...

and Vanderlande Industries) have established centers in Veghel. Its shopping centre and marketplace earned the town the name of "Pearl of the Meierij". Veghel is an educational centre for the surrounding district: it has several secondary schools, a senior secondary vocational school, and the Pedagogic Academy, founded in 1872 and one of the oldest higher vocational schools in the area. Since 1994, Veghel and the neighbouring town of Erp have formed a single municipality.

Demographics

Towns

Population figures as of 1 January 2015, ranked by size:

Population centres

Population figures as of 1 January 2015, ranked by size:

Language

The language spoken by the native population is North Meierijs (an East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to colloquial Dutch).Jos & Cor Swanenberg: Taal in stad en land: Oost-Brabants,

Nationalities

Compared to other towns in the region, the ethnic makeup of Veghel is relatively diverse. More than 22% of the town's population, or 17% of the municipality's population, is of foreign origin. In total, Veghel is home to people of more than a hundred different nationalities. About 90% of the municipality's total foreign population lives inside the town proper of Veghel.

Local festivals

Every November sees the celebration of the entry of St Nicholas (''

Sinterklaas Sinterklaas () or Sint-Nicolaas () is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include ''De Sint'' ("The Saint"), ''De Goede Sint'' ("The Good Saint") and ''De Goedheiligman'' (derive ...

''). Every two years in June or July, the Slokdarmfestival takes place. On 1 September the harbour festival takes place. In February or March the traditional

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

is held.

Attractions

*The neogothic church of St Lambert and its graveyard containing war graves *The neorenaissance former town hall *The neogothic former

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

(recently rebuilt) *The Protestant church *The

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception from the Holy Mother of God with its gardens and church

Notable residents

* Anky van Grunsven,

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

champion. * Dillianne van den Boogaard, former Netherlands international field hockey player. * Earnie Stewart, former United States international soccer player. * Theo Lucius, former professional footballer for

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

and

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

. * Theo Maassen, comedian and actor. * Glenn van Berlo, racing driver.

Twin towns - sister cities

Veghel is twinned with: *

Goch Goch (; archaic spelling: Gog) is a town in the Kleve (district), Kleve district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, close to the border with the Netherlands, south of Kleve and southeast of Nijmegen. History Goch is at least 750 years old: th ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* Pont-Audemer in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Gallery

File:Gemeentehuis Veghel, Stadhuisplein 1.JPG, Town Hall of Veghel File:Villa Klondike - Veghel, 2014.jpg, Villa Klondike, former headquarters of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment ( 101st Airborne Division) File:Heilig Hartplein, Binnenhaven Veghel.jpg, Statue of the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

at the marina square File:West-zijde toren - Veghel - 20239979 - RCE.jpg, Saint Lambert Church File:Overzicht voorgevel en linker zijgevel - Veghel - 20347829 - RCE.jpg, Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Mother of God nunnery File:Graansilo CHV, J.G. Wiebenga - Het Nieuwe Bouwen.jpg, Modernist

silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...

by J.G. Wiebenga, part of the New Objectivity movement File:Binnenhaven Veghel, Zuidkade, Zuid-Willemsvaart.jpg, Inland port of Veghel File:Langshaven Veghel, De Heus Voeders & Inland Terminal Veghel - Zuid-Willemsvaart+N279.jpg, Inland port of Veghel File:Duits-lijntje-in-veghel-07.jpg, Boxtel-Wesel Railway File:T.T Aa-Brug Veghel (5).JPG, Railroad crossing the Aa river File:Binnenhaven Veghel - 2.jpg, Marina of Veghel File:Binnenhaven Veghel - 3.jpg, Marina of Veghel File:Intocht van Sinterklaas in Veghel 2014 - 2.JPG, Marina of Veghel during the entry parade of

, 16 November 2014

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Meierijstad Former municipalities of North Brabant Populated places in North Brabant Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2017 Port cities and towns in the Netherlands