Geldrop is a town in the municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo, in the
Dutch province of North Brabant. Geldrop is located on the
Eindhovens Kanaal and is intersected by the Kleine Dommel and the
Eindhoven - Weert railway line. As of 2020, the place has 28,845
inhabitants. Geldrop is located in the southeast of the Netherlands,
about six kilometers southeast of Eindhoven. Historically, Geldrop
originated from 3 centers: The actual Geldrop, Braakhuizen, which
lies to the east of the Kleine Dommel and Hoog Geldrop to the west
of the railway line, the most important settlement of the former
municipality of Zesgehuchten.
The municipality of Geldrop
united in 1921 with Zesgehuchten, of which it lost a part again in
1972 to the municipality of Eindhoven, with the Tivoli district and
the hamlets Riel and Gijzenrooi on it. On January 1, 2004, she
merged with Mierlo to form Geldrop-Mierlo.
Geldrop is located in De Kempen, between Eindhoven
and Mierlo. It is also on the Eindhoven - Weert railway line and on
the A67 from Eindhoven to Venlo.
Nearby centers are Nuenen,
Tongelre, Aalst, Stratum, Heeze, Mierlo, Eeneind and Tivoli.
The name Geldrop probably means: 'Gelderland village'.
Geldrop used to be an enclave of the duchy of Gelre in the Brabant
countryside. In addition, a metathesis of the r has occurred.
However, the place Geldrop is mentioned as Geeldorp on a map of
Blaeu (Quarta pars Brabantiae cujus caput Sylvaducis) from 1645.
Linguistically, however, this atlas is not an indicator. A plaque on
Geldrop Castle mentions the name Geldorp.
Until the end of
the 20th century, it was believed for a long time that the name had
its origin in 'Gelle village', where 'gelle' would be a swampy,
swampy area. Etymologically, however, there is no evidence for this.
Entire areas around the Kleine Dommel have traditionally been
regularly flooded. The names Braakhuizen, houses in the Brak, and
Goorstraat, street to the Goor, are a reminder of this. A higher
place remained dry. In Geldrop it still bears the name Heuvel.
The exact age of Geldrop is unknown. Over time,
various archaeological finds have been made in Geldrop that bear
witness to prehistoric inhabitants. Where reindeer hunters of the
so-called Ahrensburg culture placed their tents more than 10,000
years ago, two battle stones with engravings have been found on
Geldropse soil. One depicts a reindeer antler, the other a dancing
girl, known as 'Venus van Mierlo'. Findings have been made in the
south of the six hamlets that indicate small settlements from the
New Stone Age (about 3000 BC). Finds from the Roman period and the
early Middle Ages have been found near Genoenhuis and Hoog Geldrop.
In the autumn of 1989, archaeological excavations were carried out
near 't Zand. These had a remarkable result. Four settlements dating
from the late Roman period and the Middle Ages were found, a period
spanning the years between 350 and 1225 AD.
The village of
Geldrop has been known through written sources since 1296. It was
part of the eponymous manor. This officially fell under Gelre, but
was enclosed by Brabant area. Hoog Geldrop did form one parish with
Geldrop, but administratively this belonged to the manor of Heeze,
Leende and Zesgehuchten. The lords of Geldrop owned a castle and had
the right to appoint the pastor.
In the course of the 14th
century, attempts were made to involve the area in Brabant. It is
not clear whether this was officially successful. However, the manor
was sold in 1462 to Philips van Horne, who was also lord of Heeze,
Leende and Zesgehuchten. Since then the area has belonged
administratively to the Meierij van 's-Hertogenbosch. The village
alderman's bank already existed before 1371. The aldermen used to
seal with the common seal, not with their own weapons. The oldest
preserved seal imprint dates from 1561 and shows a shield with 3
hearts. Given the spelling on the stamp (Gheldrop instead of
Geldrop) it was cut after 1400. The second seal, from 1616, also
shows very clearly hearts. This seal remained in use until the
Batavian Republic. The Hornes, who usually stayed in Gaasbeek, had
themselves represented by a bailiff.
After the beheading of
Willem van Horne, lord of Heeze, etc., for treason in 1580 at Le
Quesnoy, the two lords were assigned by Governor of Parma to
different branches of the Hornes. Geldrop remained in Horne's
possession until 1768. After that, the manor was sold to private
individuals and abolished by the French in 1810. The Reformation has
never been strong in Geldrop. An iconoclasm never took place. During
the retorsion period (1629-1648) Geldrop was a refuge for some
Catholic bishops who had been expelled from 's-Hertogenbosch.
In the 14th century, a village church was built in Geldrop, on
the site of the current Sint-Brigida church. In 1648 this came into
the hands of the Reformed, who were too few to maintain the church.
The Catholic religion was maintained by the Teutonic Order in Gemert
and by the Franciscans from Weert, areas where Catholic religious
services were allowed. In 1671, the Catholics built a barn church on
the grounds of the castle. Despite restitution of the old church to
the Catholics in 1798, the barn church remained in use until 1823.
In 1849 a Vollebregt organ was placed in the old church. At the end
of the 19th century, they wanted to demolish the church, while
retaining the tower. However, it was so badly damaged after a storm
in 1887 that it was also demolished. In 1891, the new and current
Saint Brigida Church was consecrated, designed by architect Carl
Weber. The organ was saved and, in a modified form, was placed in
the new church. This organ is called the Vollebregt-Smits organ.
In 1855 six Sisters of Charity van Schijndel came to Geldrop to
take up nursery education and care for the elderly. They founded a
new monastery in 1874, where they also focused on the care of the
sick. In 1931 the Sint Anna Hospital was founded on their behalf,
which still exists today.
The roots of the
Protestant Municipality of Geldrop go back to 1649, when the then
Saint Brigida Church was taken over by the Protestants. The interior
was adapted and the Statenbijbel that was used at the time still
exists. Because only 10 to 20 Protestants lived in Geldrop, the
church could not be properly maintained. There was, however, a
private minister. In 1795 the Catholics got their church back and
the Geldrop Reformed joined Nuenen and Mierlo. In 1824 the Van
Goghkerkje in Nuenen was built for this municipality. Geldrop did
not have a Protestant church until Hubertus Paulus Hoevenaar became
lord of Geldrop. In 1874 he had his own church built on the grounds
of the castle on Hofstraat, which was known as the baron's church.
The number of Protestants also gradually increased due to the
industrialization of Geldrop and later due to the arrival of
commuters who worked at Philips and DAF in Eindhoven. In the 1930s,
the Tivoli district was also built, which until 1972 belonged to the
(civil) municipality of Geldrop, but was subsequently added to
Eindhoven. In 1950 a wooden church (the Tivoli church) was built in
Tivoli, which was transferred to the Eindhoven Protestant
congregation in 1974. In 1983 this building was bought by an
evangelical church and was henceforth called De Fontein.
In
1880 Anna Maria Catharina Marciena Holmberg de Beckfeld, the castle
lady of Geldrop, tried to establish a Free Reformed Congregation in
Geldrop. He had his own minister from 1884-1898. When the latter
left, the VGG rejoined the Geldrop Reforms, but not long afterwards
the Reformed split off again and from now on they churched in
Helmond, later in Eindhoven. In 1945 the Reformed Church of
Eindhoven also started to provide church services in Geldrop and in
1967 the Reformed Church Geldrop-Heeze became independent. The
Geldropse Hervormden became independent in 1947 and the municipality
also included Heeze and Tivoli.
In 1970, Reformed and
Reformed people joined forces in a federative context, called
Evangelische Kerkengemeenschap Geldrop. This was one of the first
national grassroots rapprochements, ultimately resulting in the 2004
church merger that would lead to the formation of the Protestant
Church in the Netherlands.
For traffic reasons, the church on
Hofstraat was demolished in 1964 and a new church was built, the
Goede Herderkerk. Due to the continued growth of Geldrop and the
number of Protestants, a second church was built in 1973, called 't
Kruispunt, located on Slachthuisstraat near the center. However,
growth turned out to be overestimated and church attendance
declined. That is why the Goede Herderkerk was sold in 1992. It was
scrapped in 1995.
The castle was first mentioned in 1403, but it probably existed much longer by then. After it came to the Hornes in 1462, it came under Brabant control. During the Gelderse Wars it was fired on by the Geldersen. The castle originally had a high keep, which was still intact at least until 1825, but was later demolished.
Bishop Michael Ophovius of the Diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch, who
had been expelled from' s-Hertogenbosch by Frederik Hendrik in 1629,
found shelter in the castle of Geldrop from 1631 to 1636, before
leaving for Antwerp.
After the abolition of the manor, the
castle remained in the possession of the relevant family. In 1881
the lady of the castle married Hendrik baron van Van Tuyll van
Serooskerken. This couple moved to the castle in 1912. Their son Jan
married Lady Carolina Quarles van Ufford. The couple continued to
inhabit the castle. They eventually sold it to the municipality in
1974 on the condition that it would continue for the benefit of the
community. The castle was restored in 1977.