Beek en Donk
Encyclopedia
Beek en Donk is a village in the province
Noord Brabant, Netherlands
. There are 10028 inhabitants.
The area of nowadays Beek en Donk has been inhabited for a long time. Tools of stone age
nomadic people have been found. The first permanent inhabitants come around 700 AD.
In the Middle Ages, the basis was made for the current towns. First Beek grew around the Oude Toren, and Heereind. In the 13th century, the role of Heereind was taken over by the expanding Donk. Heereind is noted in a document in 1314, where it was given the same importance as Aarle, Rixtel and Beek.
On Saint Barbara
day (December 4) in 1300, duke Jan II of Brabant
gave the inhabitants of 'Rikestele, Arle ende Beke' (Rixtel, Aarle and Beek) the right to use common lands around the towns. In the 14th century, Beek en donk got its first church. In 1809, it was demolished, but the tower remains, as the Oude Toren (old tower)
During the reign of Johanna van Brabant, Beek was together with Aarle and Stiphout, was sold to Dirk de Roovere, for 1.700 gulden. In later ages, the area changed owners a few times, until in 1798 the feudal system was abolished, inspired by the French revolution.
During the 80-year war, the town suffered from passing enemy armies. After the war, Beek en Donk remained poor. Only in the late 18th century, when there was more land cultivated, the situation slowly got better. In the 19th century, the town started to develop more. In 1836 the Zuid-Willemsvaart
was dug by hand, and in 1880-1881, the steam tram
between Den Bosch and Helmond
was built, having a stop in Beek en Donk. The tram was broken up later; the canal still remains. There are plans to broaden the canal, so ships up to 1500 tons can use it.
In 1997, Beek en Donk, Lieshout
, Aarle-Rixtel
and Mariahout
formed the municipality Laarbeek
, of which the town hall is built in Beek en Donk.
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
Noord Brabant, 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...
. There are 10028 inhabitants.
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
nomadic people have been found. The first permanent inhabitants come around 700 AD.
In the Middle Ages, the basis was made for the current towns. First Beek grew around the Oude Toren, and Heereind. In the 13th century, the role of Heereind was taken over by the expanding Donk. Heereind is noted in a document in 1314, where it was given the same importance as Aarle, Rixtel and Beek.
Saint Barbara
Saint Barbara, , Feast Day December 4, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian saint and martyr....
day (December 4) in 1300, duke Jan II of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
gave the inhabitants of 'Rikestele, Arle ende Beke' (Rixtel, Aarle and Beek) the right to use common lands around the towns. In the 14th century, Beek en donk got its first church. In 1809, it was demolished, but the tower remains, as the Oude Toren (old tower)
During the 80-year war, the town suffered from passing enemy armies. After the war, Beek en Donk remained poor. Only in the late 18th century, when there was more land cultivated, the situation slowly got better. In the 19th century, the town started to develop more. In 1836 the Zuid-Willemsvaart
Zuid-Willemsvaart
The Zuid-Willemsvaart is a canal in the southern Netherlands, providing a shortcut in river Meuse between the cities of Maastricht and 's-Hertogenbosch...
was dug by hand, and in 1880-1881, the steam tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
between Den Bosch and Helmond
Helmond
Helmond is a municipality and a city in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands.- Quarters and Neighbourhoods :*Quarter 11 Inner City**Neighbourhood 0 Centrum**Neighbourhood 2 Leonardus**Neighbourhood 3 Heipoort...
was built, having a stop in Beek en Donk. The tram was broken up later; the canal still remains. There are plans to broaden the canal, so ships up to 1500 tons can use it.
In 1997, Beek en Donk, Lieshout
Lieshout
Lieshout is a small village in the southern Netherlands, lying about 15 kilometres northeast of Eindhoven. There are 4,300 inhabitants, and the village is famous for its beer brewery called 'Bavaria'....
, Aarle-Rixtel
Aarle-Rixtel
Aarle-Rixtel is a town in the Dutch municipality of Laarbeek in North Brabant. It lies about 4 km north of Helmond. Since 1997 the castle Croy is part of Aarle-Rixtel.Until 1997, Aarle-Rixtel was a separate municipality.-External links:*...
and Mariahout
Mariahout
Mariahout is a small village in the southern Netherlands, lying about 20 kilometres north of Eindhoven. It was founded in 1933, and now has a population of about 1,700. Mariahout is home to a military storage complex as well as a test track for DAF Trucks. Mariahout is the smallest village of the...
formed the municipality Laarbeek
Laarbeek
Laarbeek is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. It was formed in 1997 by the former municipalities Beek en Donk, Aarle-Rixtel and Lieshout . Laarbeek is part of the city region 'Samenwerkingsverband Regio Eindhoven', centered around the city of Eindhoven...
, of which the town hall is built in Beek en Donk.