Meeuwen, Netherlands Explained

Meeuwen
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:Altena
Elevation Footnotes:[1]
Elevation M:0.9
Area Total Km2:4.73
Population Footnotes:[2]
Population Total:715
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:4268
Area Code Type:Dialing code
Area Code:0416
Coordinates:51.7275°N 5.0103°W

Meeuwen is a village in southern Netherlands. It is located in Altena, North Brabant, about 8 km northwest of Waalwijk.

History

The village was first mentioned in 850 as Medua, and means "hay land".[3] Meeuwen is a stretched village on the banks of the Bergse Maas. It was almost complete destroyed in the St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421, and later rebuilt.[4]

The Dutch Reformed church was largely destroyed in 1944, and rebuilt in 1953. Huis te Meeuwen used to be a castle built before 1355. It was demolished in the 1840s and only the canal and foundations are still present. It was replaced an estate with tower which burnt down in 1936. The current building is farmhouse in Renaissance Revival style with a tower.[4]

The grist mill De Witte Molen was built in 1740. It was damaged during World War II, and was restored, however it started to fall into disuse and was mainly used for storage. In 1987, it was moved because it was surrounded by industry and in 1993, the wind mill was restored to working order. It is occasionally used to grinding.[5]

Meeuwen was home to 334 people in 1840. In November 1944, the village was evacuated and Meeuwen becomes the front-line between the German army and the Allies. One emergency house which was built after the war still exists, and has been moved next to the wind mill. Meeuwen was a separate municipality until 1923, when it became part of Aalburg. Until 1908, the official name of the municipality was Meeuwen, Hill en Babyloniënbroek. In 2019, it became part of Altena."[6]

References

  1. Web site: Postcodetool for 4268GC . nl . Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland . Het Waterschapshuis . 15 April 2022 .
  2. Web site: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2021 . Central Bureau of Statistics . 15 April 2022.
  3. Web site: Meeuwen - (geografische naam) . Etymologiebank . 15 April 2022 . nl.
  4. Book: Meeuwen . Chris Kolman & Ronald Stenvert. 1997 . Waanders . Zwolle . 90 400 9945 6 . 15 April 2022 . nl.
  5. Web site: De Witte Molen . Molen database . 15 April 2022 .
  6. Web site: Meeuwen . Plaatsengids . 15 April 2022 . nl.