Baarlo is a town in the southeastern Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. It is located in the municipality of Peel en Maas

Peel en Maas

Maas en Peel is a new municipality since 1 January 2010 in the southeastern Netherlands. It is situated in the province of Limburg. The municipality is formed by the former municipalities Helden, Kessel, Maasbree and Meijel....

, Limburg

Limburg (Netherlands)

Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...

, about 6 km southwest of Venlo

Venlo

Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...

.

In 2001, Baarlo had 5199 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 1.25 km², and contained 1912 residences.

Name and symbols

The oldest mention of the name Baarlo is from 1219.

The oldest certificate of the bank of Baarlo dates from 25 January 1377. In 1629 for the first time it used its own seal

Seal (device)

A seal can be a figure impressed in wax, clay, or some other medium, or embossed on paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document ; but the term can also mean the device for making such impressions, being essentially a mould with the mirror image of the design carved in sunken- relief or...

. The seal shows the Saint Peter

Saint Peter

Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

, holding a key in his left hand and in his right hand three ropes carrying a shield, on which a stag is shown jumping to the left. At that time, the local lord, schout

Schout

In Dutch-speaking areas, a schout was a local official appointed to carry out administrative, law enforcement and prosecutorial tasks. The office was abolished with the introduction of administrative reforms during the Napoleonic period.- Functions:...

 or pastor

Pastor

The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....

 sealed the certificates.

History

Archeological excavations have shown that at the beginning of our calendar people already had settled in Baarlo. Later the Romans

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 came; they built to Roman road between Tongeren and Nijmegen and Oyen (between Baarlo and Kessel).

In the 19th century the old church of Baarlo became too small, so the city decided to build a new one. Pierre Cuypers

Pierre Cuypers

Petrus Josephus Hubertus Cuypers was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station and the Rijksmuseum , both in Amsterdam. More representative for his oeuvre, however, are numerous churches, of which he designed more than 100...

 was the architect and the church was finished in 1878.

In 1932, the priest chancel and the cross of the church were extended by Joseph Frassen. In November 1944 the church was blown up by the Germans

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. A restoration was not possible. Therefore it was decided to build a new church. This work has been completed in 1955.

Castles

There are four castles in Baarlo. Castles Borcht (has also has been called d'Erp), Berckt, and Raay were built in the 13th century. Castle Scheres was built about 1860 and is currently inhabited by the Japanese artist Shinkichi Tajiri

Shinkichi Tajiri

Shinkichi Tajiri was a Dutch-American sculptor of Japanese ancestry . He was also active in painting, photography and cinematography....

.