Deurne, Netherlands


Deurne is a rural municipality and eponymous village in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. Including the villages of Liessel, Vlierden, Neerkant, and Helenaveen, Deurne had a population of in and cover an area of.

History

First recorded as Durninum in a deed of gift from the Frankish Lord Herelaef to bishop Willibrord in 721, Deurne remained a collection of subsistence farming hamlets west of the Peel peat moor until the 2nd half of the 19th century, when a newly built railroad and a canal enabled the commercial exploitation of the moor. Although the peat industry did not yield much of a profit in the era of coal powered industries, the cultivation of the newly cleared land, in the 1930s also by forced labour, gave a boost to agriculture, farming, and settlement alike. Today only tiny pieces of this former peat moor remain, some reflooded as mini wetlands, scattered along the fault line that once brought about its very existence.
Coincidentally the very same Anglo Dutch Griendtsveen Peat Moss Litter Company Ltd. that extracted a significant part of the peat in the Peel moved to Thorne South Yorkshire, U.K., where several of its Dutch employees settled as immigrant workers.

Transportation

In 2009 the new "Cultural Centre" opened its doors. It is the Martien van Doorne Cultuur Centrum and serves as a theatre, concert hall, and movie theatre.
The local dialect is Peellands.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Deurne is twinned with:

  • Leszno in Poland

    • Notable people

  • Lucas Gassel a Renaissance painter known for his landscapes
  • Aaltje Noordewier–Reddingius a Dutch classical soprano and voice teacher
  • Jules de Corte blind singer-songwriter from the Netherlands
  • Laurens van den Acker an automobile designer
  • Erik van Lieshout a Dutch contemporary artist

    Gallery