Zegge is a village located in the municipality of

Rucphen Rucphen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands between Roosendaal and Etten-Leur, south of the railway, but without a train-station. Population centres Topography ''Dutch Topographic map ...

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

in 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 ...

. On 1 January 2020, the village had 2,045 inhabitants. Viewed from the four other villages in the municipality of Rucphen, Zegge is located on the other side of the A58 motorway. This combined with its small size, makes it so that much of the daily life of its inhabitants centers around the nearby city of

Roosendaal Roosendaal () is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Towns/villages of the municipality * Roosendaal (population: 66,760) * Wouw (4,920) * Heerle (1,900) * Nispen (1,440) * Wouwse ...

Etymology

The name ''Zegge'' comes from low-lying and often submerged pasture, where a lot of sedge (zegge in

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 ...

) occurs and also reed grass that is popularly referred to as zegge. The village "Zegge" is not the same as (the adjacent) " Seppe". This is an airport that was officially named Breda International Airport in 2014, but is still popularly called Seppe.

History

In 1125 the area around Zegge was referred to as ''Thurlicht-ter-Venne''. The ''Deurlechts Vaartje'', west of Zegge, is a reminder of this old name. It was part of the ''Dorlecht'' area. It was a border area between the lordships of

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

and

Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the Brabantian dialect, local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southwestern Netherlands. It is located in the Province ...

, which was split off from it. When settling the border disputes between the two areas in 1291 they were referred to as ''De Moeren boven Kalsdonk (The swamps above Kalsdonk)'', these belonged to Bergen op Zoom. In 1354 people spoke of ''Nieuwe Dorlecht (New Dorlecht)'', whereby the ''Thurlicht-ter-Venne'' was known as ''Oude Dorlecht (Old Dorlecht)''. The border was finally settled in 1458. The current Zegge, then called ''Land van Bergen boven den Nieuwenberg'' (Land of Mountains above the Nieuwenberg), still belonged to Bergen op Zoom. To the long name was added: alias Zegge, and during the 18th century the name ''Den Lande van Zegge'' (The Lands of Zegge) became more and more common. Zegge formed an independent estate with its own ' schepenbank'. This was chaired by the

landdrost ''Landdrost'' ({{IPA, nl, ˈlɑndrɔst, lang, Nl-landdrost.ogg) was the title of various officials with local jurisdiction in the Netherlands and a number of former territories in the Dutch Empire. The term is a Dutch compound, with ''land'' mean ...

of the east quarter of Bergen op Zoom. The 'schepenbank' had the high

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

. Dyeing of this and surrounding areas began in 1290. 300

bunder A bunder or bonnier is an obsolete unit of area previously used in the Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, ...

of land was issued to Gerard de Spiekere by Raso I van Gaveren, Lord of Breda. The first occupation was reported in the 14th century. In 1687 about 300 people lived there, a number that remained almost constant for centuries, only to increase noticeably in the 2nd half of the 19th century. For a long time, Zegge was therefore not an independent parish, but only had a chapel. It is said that this ''Mariakapel'' (

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

chapel) was founded by a seaman after the St. Elisabeth's flood of 1421. This would have been built as a thanks for his safe return home. The chapel was first mentioned in writing in 1459. A new chapel is said to have been built later, dedicated to the

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

, described in 1615. The chapel attracted many pilgrims. From 1648 the chapel was no longer allowed to be used by

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, but it was re-opened in 1810. In 1833 the chapel was elevated to a parish church, but in 1848 a church was built opposite the chapel and has functioned as such ever since. The new, current parish church was completed in 1912. The chapel was replaced by the current one in 1922. Pilgrimages still take place, and a procession is held on 31 May to close the month of May.

Stagnation

As a small core, the permitted growth of the village has been minimal for many years; only a few additional homes may be built each year. Only its own residents are eligible for building land in the village. There is therefore

population aging Population ageing is an overall change in the ages of a population. This can typically be summarised in a single parameter as an increase in the median age. Causes are a long-term decline in fertility rates and a decline in mortality rates. Most ...

in the village.

Places of interest

* The Heilige Maria Boodschapkerk is a neo-Gothic church from 1912, designed by Jacques van Groenendael. * Presbytery, on the Onze Lieve Vrouwestraat * Chapel Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van de Zeg, is located on 108 Onze Lieve Vrouwestraat, opposite the church. The current chapel dates from 1922, was designed by Jacques van Groenendael and replaces a much older chapel. It is traditionally a place of pilgrimage in connection with a miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary.

Gallery

File:Zegge P1070063.JPG, Kindergarten File:De Nieuwenbergh P1070055.JPG, Community house File:Zegge P1070066.JPG, Supermarket in Zegge File:Zegge P1070045.JPG, Pub in Zegge

References

{{Reflist Populated places in North Brabant Rucphen