Veghel

Veghel
Town and municipality
260px 129px 129px 85px 85px 129px From top down, left to right: market square of Veghel, former cantonal court and town hall, Klondike villa, Sacred Heart statue, Wiebenga silo, Airborne Monument, Saint Lambert Church, former Synagogue of Veghel
Flag of Veghel Flag Coat of arms of Veghel Coat of arms
Location in North Brabant Location in North Brabant
Coordinates:
Country	Netherlands
Province	North Brabant
Incorporated	1310
Market rights	1719
Government
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Ina Adema (VVD)
Area
• Municipality	78.92 km2 (30.47 sq mi)
• Land	78.16 km2 (30.18 sq mi)
• Water	0.76 km2 (0.29 sq mi)
Elevation	10 m (30 ft)
Population (Municipality, May 2014 Urban area, January 2010; Metro region, January 2014)
• Municipality	37,655
• Density	482/km2 (1,250/sq mi)
• Urban	53,680
• Urban density	2,272/km2 (5,880/sq mi)
• Metro region	161,900
Demonym(s)	Veghelaar
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode	5460–5469
Area code	0413
Website	www.veghel.nl

File:Veghel-plaats-OpenTopo.jpg

Topographic map of Veghel (town), as of March 2014

File:Veghel Aa Lambertuskerk.jpg

Aa river in front of the Saint Lambert Church in Veghel

Veghel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈvɛxəl]) is a municipality and a town in the south of the Netherlands.

Since 1994, Veghel and the neighbouring town of Erp have formed a single municipality.

History

The first settlements date back 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 on a piece of parchment, 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, residing 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, Veghel is situated in the Meierij of 's-Hertogenbosch. As a Catholic town, Veghel (like all the other areas of Brabant and Limburg which were transferred to the Netherlands by the Peace of Westphalia) 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, when it was granted market rights by the States General of the Netherlands, receiving 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. From the middle of the 19th century the agrarian market town began developing into an industrial town as a consequence of the opening of the Zuid-Willemsvaart Canal. The construction of large-scale buildings like the neogothic church by Pierre Cuypers and the neoclassical town hall dates from that period. Monastic orders made Veghel 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-places for Allied paratroops owing to its strategic location.

The period since the 1950s has seen much growth, with the development of new industries and the establishment in Veghel of several international companies (e.g. Mars, Incorporated, FrieslandCampina, DMV International, Agrifirm, Kuehne + Nagel, DHL Supply Chain, Alliance Healthcare, ThyssenKrupp and Vanderlande Industries). Its shopping centre and marketplace earned the town the name of "Pearl of the Meierij". Veghel is an educational centre for the surrounding district with several secondary schools, a senior secondary vocational school, and one of the oldest higher vocational schools in the area: the Pedagogic Academy, which was founded in 1872.

Demographics

Towns

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

Town	Population	Density
Veghel (nl)	31,032	730/km2
Erp	6,743	189/km2

Population centres

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

Urban core	Population	Density
Veghel	26,491	1063/km2
Erp	4,761	239/km2
Zijtaart	1,727	173/km2
Mariaheide	1,449	355/km2
Eerde	1,365	387/km2
Keldonk	1,204	112/km2
Boerdonk	778	157/km2

Language

The spoken language by the native population is North Meierijs (an East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to colloquial Dutch).

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 100 different ethnic or national backgrounds.

Largest groups of Western foreigners
Nationality	Population (2015)
Polish	775
German	174
Portuguese	154
British	65
Belgian	62
Greek	60
American	54
French	53
Bosnian	37
Hungarian	36
Indonesian	36
Canadian	33
Italian	28
Spanish	26

Largest groups of non-Western residents
Nationality	Population (2015)
Turkish	1,494
Moroccan	632
Surinamese	372
Antillean	91
Vietnamese	39
Egyptian	38
Chinese	37
Afghan	35
Thai	32
Brazilian	25
Iraqi	25

Local festivals

Every November sees the celebration of the entry of St Nicholas (Sinterklaas). Every two year in June or July The Slokdarmfestival takes place. On 1 September the harbour festival takes place. In February or March the traditional carnival is held.

Attractions

• The neogothic church of St Lambert and its graveyard containing war graves
• The neorenaissance former town hall
• The neogothic former synagogue (recently rebuilt)
• The Protestant Waterstaat church
• The monastery of the order of the Franciscans with its gardens and church

Notable residents

• Anky van Grunsven, Dressage 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 and Feyenoord.
• Theo Maassen, Comedian and actor.

Twin towns - sister cities

Veghel is twinned with:

• Goch in Germany
• Pont-Audemer in France

Gallery

• Gemeentehuis Veghel, Stadhuisplein 1.JPG

  Town Hall of Veghel

• Veghel Town Hall.jpg

  Former town hall and cantonal court of Veghel

• Villa Klondike - Veghel, 2014.jpg

  Villa Klondike, former headquarters of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (101st Airborne Division)

• Heilig Hartplein, Binnenhaven Veghel.jpg

  Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the marina square

• West-zijde toren - Veghel - 20239979 - RCE.jpg

  Saint Lambert Church

• Overzicht voorgevel en linker zijgevel - Veghel - 20347829 - RCE.jpg

  Franciscan Sisters nunnery

• Graansilo CHV, J.G. Wiebenga - Het Nieuwe Bouwen.jpg

  Modernist silo by J.G. Wiebenga, part of the New Objectivity movement

• Binnenhaven Veghel, Zuidkade, Zuid-Willemsvaart.jpg

  Inland port of Veghel

• Luchtfoto Veghel Nieuwe Haven Dubbelen - 02.jpg

  Inland port of Veghel

• Langshaven Veghel, De Heus Voeders & Inland Terminal Veghel - Zuid-Willemsvaart+N279.jpg

  Inland port of Veghel

• FrieslandCampina DMV - DMV International, Veghel.jpg

  Inland port of Veghel

• Duits-lijntje-in-veghel-07.jpg

  Boxtel-Wesel railway

• T.T Aa-Brug Veghel (5).JPG

  Railroad crossing the Aa river

• Binnenhaven Veghel - 2.jpg

  Marina of Veghel

• Binnenhaven Veghel - 3.jpg

  Marina of Veghel

• Intocht van Sinterklaas in Veghel 2014 - 2.JPG

  Marina of Veghel during the entry parade of Sinterklaas, 16 November 2014

• Intocht van Sinterklaas in Veghel 2014 - 1.jpg

  Sinterklaas and his companions on arrival in Veghel

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website