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For the village in the Dutch municipality of Castricum, see Boekel, North Holland.
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Boekel
Municipality
Boekel town hall
Boekel town hall
Flag of Boekel
Flag
 Coat of arms of Boekel
Coat of arms
Highlighted position of Boekel in a municipal map of North Brabant
Location in North Brabant
Country Netherlands
Province North Brabant
Government
 • Body Municipal council
Area
 • Total 34.52 km2 (13.33 sq mi)
 • Land 34.51 km2 (13.32 sq mi)
 • Water 0.01 km2 (0.004 sq mi)
Elevation
16 m (52 ft)
Population
 (May 2014)
 • Total 10,107
 • Density 293/km2 (760/sq mi)
 • Uden-Veghel
175,119
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
5427–5428
Area code 0492
Gem-Boekel-OpenTopo
Dutch Topographic map of Boekel, June 2015

Boekel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbukəl]) is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.

Etymology

Previously it was assumed the name Boekel referred to the forest ("loo" in Dutch) of the lords Boc, similar to places like Boxmeer and Boxtel. The lords Boc were the first lords of Boxmeer, but have no connection to the other two places.

Currently, it is presumed that the name derives from Beukeloo, which is a type of beech forest.

Population centres

  • Boekel
  • Huize Padua
  • Venhorst

History

Land van Herpen

Boekel was founded at some point in the Middle Ages as a settlement with a number of farms.

In the 13th century Boekel was part of de heerlijkheid Uden. In 1233 a separation took place between the Land van Cuijk and the Land van Herpen [nl] and Uden. At that time Uden, together with Herpen, formed a unit of government called a heerlijkheid. Until the foundation of the city of Ravenstein, Herpen was the main city of this region. Rutger van Herpen sold or leased in 1313 or 1314 the community rights (gemene gronden) to the residents of Boekel and Volkel. When the noble lord wanted to improve his cash position, he charged the use of any of its soil, beginning with the wasteland in his heerlijkheid. This common land was mainly marshy land and barren higher grounds, such as heaths.

Land of Ravenstein

In 1324 the heerlijkheid of Uden administratively belonged to the Land of Ravenstein, under the rule of the House of Valkenburg until 1396.

From the aldermen Herpen and Uden the Heikantsgericht was created in 1339. These stretched across the entire former heerlijkheid of Uden, consisting of Uden, Boekel and Zeeland. Of these aldermen, which in total had seven members, two were from Boekel.

Reinoud of Valkenburg (married to Elisabeth van Kleef) died childless so the Duke of Brabant Adolf van Kleef gained Herpen, Ravenstein and Uden, so in 1397 Kleef's territory was enlarged. Afterwards the area came under the rule of Neuburg-Palts in 1629. Under the Neubergers' rule, the area had religious freedom.

Because the neighboring provinces of Brabant and Gelderland from 1648 officially fell under the States-General, this Land van Ravenstein [nl] more and more was seen as "foreign". The religious freedom provided opportunities for Catholics in the States of Brabant. The Catholics of Erp built their own barn church on the border with Boekel. Due to the religious freedom several Catholic religious orders also settled in the Land of Ravenstein. In 1741 members of the Brothers Penitent, from the Handelse Kluis themselves wanted to settle in Boekel. Led by Daniël de Brouwer [nl] the brothers laid the foundation for the Psychiatric Hospital Huize Padua.

From the 17th century various conflicts arose among the villages of Boekel, Uden and Gemert around the demarcation lines between the Ravenstein, Cuijk and Gemert areas. In 1663 the boundary dispute with the Vrije Heerlijkheid Gemert was settled. In 1729, a similar problem with Uden was settled.

Notable people

  • Hans Gruyters (1925 in Boekel – 1980) a Dutch criminal, bankrobber, burglar and escaped convict
  • Leontien van Moorsel (born 1970 in Boekel) a Dutch retired racing cyclist, four time gold medallist at the 2000 & 2004 Olympic Games
  • Mirella van Melis (born 1979 in Venhorst) a retired female track and road racing cyclist
  • Hannes van Asseldonk (born 1992 in Boekel) is a Dutch racing driver

Gallery

  • Boekel kapel achter kerk

    Boekel kapel achter kerk

  • T.T Boerderij Berkhoek 14 Boekel 526428 (1)

    T.T Boerderij Berkhoek, Boekel

  • Venhorst, monument op kerkplein zijden 1 en 2

    Venhorst, monument op kerkplein zijden

  • Venhorst (Boekel) Sint-Josefkerk

    Sint-Josef kerk, Venhorst, Boekel

  • Boekel Standerdmolen 02

    Boekel Standerdmolen

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