Geel is a city located in the
BelgianBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
provinceBelgium is divided into three regions, two of them are subdivided into five provinces each.The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution...
of
AntwerpAntwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
which acquired the status of a city in the 1980s.
It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns : Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Further on around the center are the parish-towns of Ten Aard (N), Sas 7 (NE), Bel (E), Winkelomheide (SE), Stelen, Oosterlo and Zammel (S), Punt (SW) and Larum (W). On January 1, 2006 Geel had a total population of 35,189. The total area is 109.85 km² (42 sq mi) which gives a
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 320 inhabitants per km². Geel’s
patron saintA patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
, the
IrishIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Saint Dymphna, inspired the town’s unique method of care for the mentally ill. The city is also featured in
Ciarán CarsonCiaran Gerard Carson is a Belfast, Northern Ireland-born poet and novelist.-Early years:Ciaran Carson was born in Belfast into an Irish-speaking family...
's novel
Shamrock Tea (Granta 2001).
Origins and Middle Ages
Archeological finds in the area point to
iron-ageThe Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
settlements, but the name of Geel, from a
GermanicThe Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
root meaning “yellow”, dates from the early Middle Ages. A hamlet already existed in the mid-13th century, at which time a certain Petrus Cameracencis,
canonA canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of
CambraiCambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
, wrote the
Vita Sanctae Dimpnae (i.e., life of Saint Dymphna) set in Geel according to
oral traditionOral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
. The cult of the saint attracted numerous pilgrims to the area, leading to a substantial population growth: 2,136 inhabitants in 1374.
In the 12th century, the extended territory around Geel was given to the
Grimbergen AbbeyGrimbergen Abbey was a Premonstratensian monastery in Grimbergen, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, established in 1128 in the place of an earlier foundation of Augustinian Canons....
. It then became property of one noble family after another throughout medieval times. The noble lords or dames were masters of their community, but pledged feudal allegiance to the Dukes of Brabant. Some form of municipal government was granted to Geel as early as the first half of the 13th century. Throughout the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century, the history of Geel follows that of the
Duchy of BrabantThe 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...
. During all this time, the economy of the city depended on the breeding of sheep for the cloth industry, complemented by the cultivation of flax for the manufacture and trade of linen. A cloth hall was built at the beginning of the 15th century, which was later transformed into the city hall. The Eighty Years' War greatly damaged the Geel economy as well as its buildings and churches. The textile industry recovered to last until the early 19th century, but the economy was now mostly supported by agriculture, specifically rye, oat, barley, and buckwheat. Geel was also known at that time for its Latin School, which attracted students from far away to prepare them for entry at the
Catholic University of LeuvenThe Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
.
From the French Revolution until today
In 1795, the Duchy of Brabant was dissolved and Geel made part of the French department of
Deux-NèthesDeux-Nèthes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Belgium and the Netherlands. It is named after two branches of the river Nete. The southern part of its territory corresponds more or less with the present Belgian province Antwerp....
, the precursor of the present
province of AntwerpAntwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
. The nobles and clerics of the Ancien Régime gave way to a mayor, who was now answerable to the town’s people. Geel actively participated in the
Belgian RevolutionThe Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the Southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium....
of 1830, resulting in the award of an honorary flag from
King Leopold IILeopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
. The 19th century also saw the building of several new churches at the demand of the various parishes. A major occurrence in the history of Geel is the
battle of GeelThe battle of Geel was a major fight between British and German troops during the Second World War. It occurred between 8-23 september 1944 in and around the Flemish city of Geel and was one of the heaviest and bloodiest fights during the liberation of Belgium....
(also referred to as the "Gheel bridghead") in september 1944, one of the heaviest and bloodiest fights during the liberation of Belgium. Eventually the territory of Geel, and the smaller villages around it, were finally liberated on september 23rd, but it had claimed numerous military and civilian casualties.
A model of psychiatric care
Geel is well known for the early adoption of deinstitutionalization in
psychiatricPsychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
care. This practice is based on the positive effects that placement in a host family gives the patient, most importantly access to family life that would otherwise have been denied. The legendary 7th-century Saint Dymphna, who had moved to the Geel area from Ireland, is usually credited for this type of care. The earliest Geel infirmary and the model where patients go into town, interact with the community during the day, and return to the hospital at night to sleep, date from the 13th century.
Originally, this practice was religiously motivated and organized by a
chapterChapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
of
canonsA canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
, attached to the church of Saint Dymphna. By the 18th century, however, the placement of patients was mostly done directly, without the intervention of the canons. The number of patients grew in proportion to the growing city’s reputation abroad and the economic benefits flowing to the city provided further motivation to the inhabitants. Attracted by the gentle care of patients,
Vincent Van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
’s father considered sending his famous son to Geel in 1879. The high point came in 1938, with a total of 3,736 placed patients, compared with only 700 a hundred years earlier.
This novel type of psychiatric care was evaluated by various other institutions around the world (see for instance Eastern State Hospital in
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
), but often seen as too revolutionary to implement. It is only in the early 20th century that the idea of deinstitutionalization was adopted more widely elsewhere. Today, a modern psychiatric centre stands on the place of the old infirmary, and close to 500 patients are still placed with inhabitants.
Sights
- The market square, facing the Sint-Amands church and bordered by attractive café terraces, is the focal point of the city. The oldest part of the city hall dates from the 17th century. Not far away, the Sint-Dimpna church marks the place where the saint was buried.
- Geel is located along the river Nete, in the Campine
The Campine is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-western Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands...
region, which offers to its visitors a varied landscape of forests and dunes, and a nature reserve, de Zegge, owned by the Antwerp ZooAntwerp Zoo is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located right next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843.- History :...
.
- Among the city's attractions one counts a field of orchids, a centenary linden tree
Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...
, three wind mills, a military cemetery, and a handful a museums including a clock museum, a lamp museum, and an old bakery. The Saint-Alexis college is emblazoned with Art NouveauArt Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
sgraffitiSgraffito is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors to a moistened surface, or in ceramics, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive layers of contrasting slip, and then in either case scratching so as to produce an...
by Gabriel Van DievoetGabriel Van Dievoet is a Belgian decorator and Liberty style sgraffitist of great talent. He was the brother of the architect Henri Van Dievoet...
.
Education
Geel is a regional educational centre with several
basic schoolsA school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, highschools and the
Katholieke Hogeschool KempenThe Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen is a university college where students can obtain a professional bachelor's degree in several domains...
as an institute for higher education.
Economic activity
Geel is a regional agricultural, industrial, and commercial center offering medical and educational services to the neighboring communities. The city is the location of a
Janssen PharmaceuticaJanssen Pharmaceutica is pharmaceutical company, established in Belgium in 1953 by Paul Janssen. Its headquarters are located in Beerse, in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp, Belgium. It was created not as a subsidiary of a chemical factory but solely with the aim of conducting...
chemical factory and a production site for the biotech company
GenzymeGenzyme Corporation is a fully owned subsidiary of Sanofi-Aventis. Before its acquisition, Genzyme was an American biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2010, Genzyme was the world’s third-largest biotechnology company, employing more than 11,000 people around the world...
. It also hosts the
Institute for Reference Materials and MeasurementsThe Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements , located in Geel, Belgium, is one of the seven institutes of the Joint Research Centre , a Directorate-General of the European Commission ....
, which is one of the seven scientific institutes of the
European CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
’s Joint Research Centre.
InnotekInnotek is a technology centre located in Geel, in the Campine region of Belgium. It is a public private partnership between the Antwerp province and several organisations located in the Campine region of the province.-History:...
a technology centre and
CIPALCIPAL is an inter-municipal ICT service with headoffices in Geel. Its name refers to the province of Antwerp and Limburg. The organisation is a governmental ICT-agency and inter-municipal association of municipalities, cities, towns, Social Welfare Centers, Provinces and other public authorities...
are located in Geel. The town is also the home of the influential
Brandweerinformatiecentrum voor gevaarlijke stoffen/Information Centre for Dangerous Goods (BIG)The Brandweerinformatiecentrum voor gevaarlijke stoffen/Information Centre for Dangerous Goods , established in the Flemish city of Geel, collects and validates information on dangerous goods.-History:...
.
Sports and cultural events
- Geel is home to the former football club K.F.C. Verbroedering Geel
K.F.C. Verbroedering Geel was a Belgian association football club, from the city of Geel in Antwerp .-History:The club was born in 1912 and registered in 1924 to the Belgian Football Association receiving the matricule n° 395. It played for the first time in the second division in 1985–86...
. Due to fraud, Verbroedering Geel merged with the local football club of the neighbouring village of MeerhoutMeerhout is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Meerhout proper. As of January 1, 2008 Meerhout had a total population of 9,578. The total area is 36.29 km² which gives a population density of 264 inhabitants per km²...
. The newly created football club was named Verbroedering Geel-MeerhoutFootball Club Verbroedering Geel-Meerhout is a Belgian association football club based in Geel, province of Antwerp.-History:Founded in 1926 as Meerhout Sport, the club received the matricule number 893. In 1966, Meerhout Sport merged with the other club from the city named Hand in Hand, with...
.
- One of the largest reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
festivals in Europe, the Reggae GeelReggae Geel is a reggae music festival that takes place in Geel, Belgium, typically on the first Friday of August, with reggae deejays and sound systems, followed by the main festival on the following Saturday....
festival, takes place usually early in August just outside the city centre.
Notable inhabitants
- Patrik Vankrunkelsven
Patrick Jules Maria Vankrunkelsven , physician, dr. sc. med., Professor in medicine and Flemish politician. He obtained an MD and PhD from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven .-Political career:...
, physicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and politicianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
(b. 1957)
- Ludo Dierckxsens
Ludo Dierckxens is a former Belgian racing cyclist. He is best known for winning the 11th stage of the 1999 Tour de France, while competing for .-1999 Tour de France:...
, racing cyclist (b. 1964)
- Marc Goossens
Marc Goossens nicknamed The Goose is a Belgian racecar driver who drove in Formula 3000 from 1994 to 1996 and part-time from 1999 to 2001. In between he drove in endurance races and is a veteran of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. From 2002 to 2005 he then raced in FIA GT...
, racecar driver (b. 1969)
- Jan Heylen
Jan Heylen is a Belgian racing driver who most notably competed in the Champ Car World Series.-Early career and F3000:...
, racecar driver (b. 1980)
- Sepp De Roover
Sepp De Roover is a Belgian footballer who currently plays for SC Lokeren. De Roover is a defender who was born in Geel and made his debut in professional football, being part of the FC Eindhoven squad in the 2005–06 season before joining Sparta Rotterdam...
, defense football player (b.1984)
- Kirsten Flipkens
Kirsten Flipkens is a professional female Belgian tennis player since 2003. Her career high rank for singles is No. 59 . She won 10 ITF Singles titles, and 1 ITF Doubles title....
, female tennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player (b. 1986)
- Alois Verwaest, physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, playwrightA playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
doctorA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
(jan 28th, 1900 - June 6, 1981)
Twin towns — Sister cities
Geel is
twinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with::
TydavnetTydavnet is a small village and townland in northern County Monaghan, Ireland, and also the name of the parish in which the village sits. Both the Church of Ireland and Catholic church have Tydavnet named as a parish and in both cases, the geographical area is almost identical.-Origins:The origin...
,
County MonaghanCounty Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...
:
XantenXanten is a historic town in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany, located in the district of Wesel.Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park or archaeological open air museum , its medieval picturesque city centre with Xanten Cathedral and many museums, its large man-made lake for...
External links
- Geel, Belgium: A Model of "Community Recovery" Samford University Psychology Dept. Birmingham, AL. http://faculty.samford.edu/~jlgoldst
- Geel official website – in Dutch
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
- Geel Online - popular website among the youth of Geel, in Dutch
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...