Statue de Jésus à Bakel

Bakel is a place in the municipality of Gemert-Bakel in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant. The place is located in the Peelrand. [2] In the ancien regime, Bakel was a glory in the duchy of Brabant, belonging to the Quarter of Peelland under the Meierij of 's-Hertogenbosch.

Quick Facts

Bakel in 1866

St.Willibrord church Bakel
When the municipalities were set up after the French period, the municipality of Bakel and Milheeze was established, which remained in existence until the merger with Gemert in 1997. On January 1, 2019, the population of Bakel was 5935. In 2014, Bakel celebrated its 1300 anniversary, making Bakel the oldest village in North Brabant.

Location
The closest major cities are Helmond and Eindhoven. Nearby cores are Aarle-Rixtel, Brouwhuis, Dierdonk, Rijpelberg, Milheeze, Deurne and De Mortel.

Etymology
Bakel is a loo name, referring to an open deciduous forest or loo within which the settlement lay. The prefix bake would be derived from back, curvature or height (compare English: back). [3] Other explanations have also been suggested, since bake could also relate to pig (compare piglet and bacon). [Source?]

The place name Bakel appears for the first time in a deed from 714. The proof for this is in a copy of a deed, recorded in the so-called "Liber Aurus Epternacensis" (the golden book of the Abbey of Echternach) from the end of the 12th century. The deed was drawn up in Bakel ("Bagoloso" at the time).

History
Bakel was located on the old main road from Empel to Roermond on a road, which was also called the Oudestraat (prehistoric route Empel-Roermond). The oldest written mention dates from the year 714, when a charter is drawn up for Frankish patron Pepijn van Herstal in his home in Bakel ("Bagoloso" at the time). This early medieval royal residence is not yet archaeologically located. A charter from 721 speaks about the possessions of the Frankish nobleman Herelaef, whose mother had possessions in Bakel (Baclaos). In that year, Herelaef donated a church to Bakel to Willibrordus. Thanks to Willibrordus, this church came into the possession of the Abbey of Echternach, which would remain in Bakel until 1795. The authenticity of the original documents, the original of which was generally lost in the 11th century, is questionable. They are based on the Liber aureus written by interested monks.

Before 721 a wooden church was built in Bakel which was replaced around 1100 by a stone Romanesque church. This, in turn, has been replaced by the current Gothic church. The parish church of Bakel was the mother church for the inhabitants of Deurne, Gemert and Milheeze.

Several successive popes have confirmed the rights of the Abbey of Echternach. Around 1100 the possessions of this abbey were managed by a late bank that was located in nearby Deurne.

In the following period, feudal lords began to display an increasing power. Around 1200, Bakel fell under the County of Rode, under the influence of the Count of Gelre. William I van Horne had custody of the goods of the Abbey of Echternach in Peelland and in 1222 handed it over to Duke Henry I of Brabant. The right to pay taxes was, however, shared between Duke and Abbey. The abbey, however, again gave the tithe right to local notables.

In 1648 Bakel came directly under the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and the practice of the Catholic religion was prohibited. From 1672-1674 the area was occupied by French troops. From that time, barn churches could be built and the Bakel barn church remained in use until 1818, after which the Catholics recovered their original church.

Geography
Neighborhoods
There are many different neighborhoods in Bakel, among others: Oranjewijk with names of the different Oranjes of the Netherlands, the Bloemenwijk with names of different flowers (eg Boterbloemstraat, Korenbloemstraat), the Rozenwijk with names of different roses (eg Duinroosstraat, Klaproosstraat), the neighborhood Soersel (derived from the street name Roessel) and the new-build neighborhood Neerakker, where twelve thousand pounds were found in May 2010, probably from an aircraft of the British Air Force that crashed during the Second World War. [4] [5]

Streets
1rightarrow blue.svg See List of streets in Gemert-Bakel for the main article on this topic.

Sculpture D'n Bakelse Pier
Sights
Bakel is dominated by the church. The Kerkepad leads from the south, which leads right through the new-build district. In front of the church is a square with, among other things, a village pump from 1996 and a bronze statue of D'n Bakelse Pier, a beer-drinking farmer, also from 1996. There are a few older buildings on this central square, partly used as a catering establishment.

Saint Willibrord church is a Gothic church that was built in the early 16th century. [6] [7] The church was then radically renovated and rebuilt several times, including as a result of a fire in 1708. Both the nave and the tower were rebuilt in 1721. A polygonal stair tower has been added on the south side. Marks can be seen on the south side of the tower. In 1893 the front of the tower was crammed with machine stone. The church was rebuilt in 1911 and a transept and a priest's choir were added, demolishing the old choir. The interior is characterized by a rare barrel vault that is decorated with French lilies and colorful ribbons. There are seven stained glass windows in the choir that depict the seven Sacraments. There is also a 15th-century tabernacle cabinet. There is an 18th-century pulpit and two confessionals from the same time. Furthermore, an 18th-century painting of St. Dominic and 19th-century images of Peter, Paul, John the Evangelist and Willibrord.
Behind the church is a graveyard with a classified wall from 1833, on which a rare wall vegetation grows. Here is also a Willibrord statue that originally stood in a niche in the tower facade.
To the north of the church a Willibrord well was built in 2004 with a chapel above it.
Sint Willibrordusmolen is a post mill from 1752.
Some long-walled farms, including one in hamlet Geneneind no 18 from 1846, and one in hamlet Zand just north of the core, where an old beech hedge can also be found.