Eersel (Brabant: Irsel) is the capital of the eponymous municipality of Eersel, province of North Brabant and is located in the Kempen region. Eersel is one of the Eight Beatitudes and is particularly known for its atmospheric Market. Together with part of the Hint, it was declared a protected village view on 19 October 1967, to ensure that the authentic character is preserved.
Ereslo is the oldest form. The ch – ending at Eresloch is due to the fact that the charter was copied at Echternach. For Ereslo or Eresloch no name explanation is given with regard to Eres-, while the “lo exit” means a height of three sides surrounded by lower sandy soils (the meadows). Later this name was corrupted via Eres'l to Eersel, many places and villages ending in 'el' are derived from 'lo'. Another meaning of a 'lo' or a 'loo' is 'clearing in a forest' or 'bush on high sandy ground' derived from the Germanic language. These forests were later reclaimed into arable land and the low lands closest to home used as pasture land. Examples of this are; behind the old town hall (on the Markt), the library and the Hint, where it is clearly lower than on the Markt. But the surrounding hamlets of Stokkelen, Schadewijk and De Hees also had high and low land close to their core.
About 3,500 years ago (Bronze Age) the area of present-day Eersel was first inhabited and mined by the "burial mound builders". This was continued through the subsequent Urnfield Age into the Iron Age. For example, an urn with cremation remains was found at Schadewijk. The region was inhabited by the Eburones before the arrival of Caesar, but this tribe was completely wiped from the map. Roman finds have also been made. Numerous shards of Roman pottery have been found between the church of Eersel and the hamlet of Schadewijk. The people in these parts around the beginning of the era were called Toxandrians. The Salian Franks who settled in the area in 358 were driven into the Roman area by the Saxons. After Roman times, the region is almost depopulated. No further traces are known from the time of the Great Migrations.
The Franks settled in the region around 700. They lived where high
and low grounds were close together. One of these high grounds was
Ereslo. From this time on, there has been government authority in
the region. The Franks built their farms around a triangular square
called 'the site'. A settlement with a place and fields was a field
village, in addition, so-called domains arose which were owned or
managed by the high Frankish nobility.
The oldest known
written mention of Eersel is found in the Liber aureus of the Abbey
of Echternach. Herein is recorded a charter from 712 in which
certain Aengilbertus, son of the late Gaobertus, with the consent of
his brother Verengaotus, donates his first domain and property in
Eresloch, consisting of three tenures, the sala, the small farm with
three slaves, their women and children. Eersel was still called
Erslo in the year 712. Willibrordus entertained Erslo at the Abbey
of Echternach in Luxembourg, domain Diessen.
Until about the
year 1000 Eersel belonged to the county of Toxandria. After this it
came under the influence of the Count of Gelre. The count of Leuven
expanded his territory to the north and in 1203 the region finally
joined Brabant. Trade began to develop and Eersel became a
crossroads for the routes of Leuven and 's-Hertogenbosch and of
Antwerp and Turnhout. The triangular site of the field village Hint
(still visible) was expanded in a southerly direction. The new oval
square became the Markt, built for trade as a parking lot for carts.
Around this, the characteristic buildings for food and lodging such
as inns, as well as stables for horses with the necessary blacksmith
arose.
In 1325 Eersel obtained the rights of “Freedom” from
Duke John III of Brabant. On this basis, the residents were now
allowed to appoint their own administrators. Eersel became the main
bank for the aldermen's banks of Hapert, Hoogeloon, Vessem, Knegsel,
Steensel, Bergeijk, Westerhoven, Dommelen and Borkel and Schaft.
Around the 14th century, Eersel became prosperous and the
monumental tower of Eersel was built, together with that of Steensel
and Duizel. In 1464 a chapel was built in Eersel between the Markt
and the Hint.
After the Middle Ages, the region became poorer and the villages did not grow between 1500 and 1800. This is the period of the Teuten. The Teuten from Eersel were merchants who mainly traded in copper and women's hair (and also pig hair). A relic of this time are the "Teutenhuizen" on the Markt. During the time of King Willem I an improvement occurred. The provincial road to Eindhoven and the Postelseweg were paved and a steam tramway was constructed (1897).
Since 1900, the forests have been
cleared and the cigar industry emerged. During the crisis, the cigar
industry ensured that unemployment was not very high, although life
was also poor in Eersel at the time.
The most famous factory
is that of Henri Wintermans, who started in Eersel in 1934. Eersel
is still known as the largest cigar exporter in the Netherlands and
still occupies an important place in the world market of cigar
producers.
After the Second World War, there was a rapid
population growth in Eersel from 3,700 to 12,500 inhabitants.
The oldest church in Eersel may have been a simple wooden house,
founded by the Abbey of Echternach. The Willibrord Church is first
mentioned in 1480. The tower dates from the second half of the 14th
century. The showpiece of the church is the monumental organ. It was
completely restored in 1972 under national monument protection. It
is a combination of work by two famous organ builders: Bernard
Petrus van Hirtum from Hilvarenbeek (1838) and the Smits brothers
from Reek (1852).
The chapel of Our Lady of the Campine
The chapel, built in Gothic style in 1464, is the oldest building on
the Markt. It is beautiful in proportion and color. Such old chapels
are rarely found, and this one is unique in the Kempen. After the
Peace of Münster (1648) it was closed to worship and served as a
town hall, prison and repository for the fire engine. The
bourgeoisie of Eersel donated the stained glass windows in 1948 -
the chapel was then used as a town hall for 300 years.
Pump
and kiosk
Indispensable for the atmosphere of the Market is the
beautiful bluestone village pump from 1864, with the coat of arms of
Eersel. The music kiosk has also contributed to the atmosphere for
more than a century. The current one was accurately recreated in
2004 after the original drawing.
Butter lime
In earlier
years, farmers' women sold their butter on market days under the
"Boterlinde". To keep their wares cool, they found a place under the
foliage of this tree. In a special way this has been led and grown
into a domed roof.
The Contente man
The 'Contente mens'
(Brabantian: 'satisfied man') is a statue made by Richard Bertels
(c. 1957) that is located in front of the VVV. The content man is a
dying race, and with this image has been immortalized in bronze, as
a symbol of what is disappearing in our time, but does have value.
Pronte woman (1969)
Artist: Guus Hellegers
Protestant
church
Church built in 1812 and rebuilt in 1861. It is a simple,
brick hall church. The ceiling has a barrel vault, which gives very
good acoustics. The plan shows an elongated octagon, closed on three
sides on the north and south sides with a turret on the roof. In the
west wall a memorial stone with an inscription commemorating the
foundation.
Former town hall
The former town hall (Markt
28), converted into six apartments, is also known for the carillon
that plays every half hour.
Regional museum De Acht
Zaliteiten
Regional museum 'De Acht Zaligheid' is located in a
Kempen long gable farm. The aim is to give interested visitors and
residents an impression of the (agricultural) life from about 1850
to about 1950, focused on the Kempen and in particular the part of
it called "The Eight Beatitudes".
The
area around Eersel is partly urbanized by business parks and busy
roads. Furthermore, there is a lot of agricultural area in the area
from which, however, much of the original small-scale structure has
disappeared due to land consolidation. Some older hamlets are still
there.
The Run and its tributary, the Diepreitsche Waterloop,
flow south of Eersel. Southwest of Eersel, mainly on the territory
of the village of Hapert near the hamlet De Pan, the De Kempen
nature reserve, is a municipal forest planted with mainly coniferous
wood, so that a walk has been set out.
De Heestert, also
municipal property, is a coniferous forest area bordering the
Cartierheide.
During Carnival the village is called
'Buurtgat'.
Eersel's nickname is 'The pearl of the Kempen.'
Eersel is one of the Eight Beatitudes and is also considered the
capital of this select group.