| Bakel | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Native Name Lang: | nl |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands North Brabant#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | North Brabant |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Gemert-Bakel |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 21 |
| Area Total Km2: | 20.87 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 5,960 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 5761 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 0492 |
| Coordinates: | 51.5025°N 5.7408°W |
Bakel is a village east of Helmond and Eindhoven in southern part of the Netherlands. The total population is approximately 5,000. Until 1997, it formed the municipality of Bakel and Milheeze together with Milheeze. In 1997 Bakel merged with the Gemert municipality.
Bakel does not have old buildings, with the exception of the 16th century St Willibrordus Church which is the oldest in the area. This church was modernized during the 1970s, but regained some of the original style of decoration during the 1990s.
The area surrounding Bakel is heavily forested; the agricultural economy is dominated by the bio industry. It has the highest pig density in the Netherlands.
The village was first mentioned in 715 as Bagoloso, which means "open forest on a ridge".[3]
The St Willibrordus Church, built in the 16th century, was severely damaged by fire in 1708, and largely rebuilt in 1721.[4]
Bakel was home to 277 people in 1840.[5]