Sint-Michielsgestel (municipality)

Sint-Michielsgestel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈsɪnt miˌxilsˈxɛstəl] ^ⓘ) is a municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands. It is named for the village of Sint-Michielsgestel located within its boundaries.

Sint-Michielsgestel
Municipality
Town hall of Sint-Michielsgestel
Flag Coat of arms
Location in North Brabant
Coordinates: 51°38′N 5°21′E
Country	Netherlands
Province	North Brabant
Government [1]
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Han Looijen (VVD)
Area [2]
• Total	59.34 km2 (22.91 sq mi)
• Land	58.38 km2 (22.54 sq mi)
• Water	0.96 km2 (0.37 sq mi)
Elevation [3]	6 m (20 ft)
Population  (January 2021)[4]
• Total	29,498
• Density	505/km2 (1,310/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode	5258, 5270–5275, 5290–5294
Area code	073
Website	sint-michielsgestel.nl

Dutch Topographic map of Sint-Michielsgestel, June 2015

Population centres

• Berlicum
• Den Dungen
• Gemonde [nl]
• Sint-Michielsgestel

Smaller townships, also part of Sint-Michielsgestel, are: Besselaar, Doornhoek, Haanwijk, Hal, Halder, De Bus, De Hogert, De Loofaart, Heikantse Hoeve, Hersend, Hezelaar, Hoek, Kerkeind, Laar, Maaskantje, Middelrode [nl], Nijvelaar, Plein, Poeldonk [nl], Ruimel, Tielse Hoeve, Wielsche Hoeven, Wamberg [nl] and Woud.

Contemporary Sint-Michielsgestel

The municipality consists of a number of villages and rural areas just south and south east of 's-Hertogenbosch. Most inhabitants are commuters preferring to live in these quite villages, while working elsewhere. There is little industrial activity in the villages, but the agricultural sector is certainly important.

Sint-Michielsgestel and Gemonde are in the drainage basin of the river Dommel. Den Dungen, Berlicum and Middelrode are in that of the Aa (Meuse) and the Zuid-Willemsvaart. It makes that there are very few roads connecting these two groups of settlements.

History

The current municipality Sint-Michielsgestel was created in 1996. That year the municipalities of Sint-Michielsgestel, Den Dungen (est. 1810) and Berlicum (est. 1238) were merged. The entire village of Gemonde, which had previously been part of Boxtel, Sint-Michielsgestel, Sint-Oedenrode and Schijndel, was added to the new municipality.

Local government

The municipal council of Sint-Michielsgestel consists of 21 seats, which are divided as follows after the municipal elections of March 16 2012:^[5]

• Local Political Alliance (Plaatselijke Politieke Alliantie) - 7 seats
• CDA - 4 seats
• Dorpsgoed - 3 seats
• GroenLinks/PvdA - 2 seats
• De Gestelse Coalitie - 2 seats
• VVD - 2 seats
• D66 - 1 seat

At the moment, the municipal board (college van burgemeester en wethouders) is formed by the Local Political Alliance, CDA and GroenLinks/PvdA.

Notable people

Gerrit Braks, 1984

• Gerrit Braks (1933–2017) a Dutch politician and agronomist
• Cas Wouters (born 1943) a Dutch sociologist who embraces figurational sociology
• Anneke van Giersbergen (born 1973) a Dutch singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist; ^[6] formerly of The Gathering

Sport

• Jan van Grinsven (born 1960 in Den Dungen) a former football goalkeeper with 484 club caps
• Ronald Jansen (born 1963) a former field hockey goalkeeper, gold medallist in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics
• Kees Akerboom Jr. (born 1983) a retired Dutch basketball player
• Tom van Weert (born 1990) a footballer with 230 club caps, currently playing at Volos, Greece

Gallery

• 
  Sint-Michielsgestel, the Tower
• 
  Sint-Michielsgestel, windmill: the Genenberg
• 
  The Dommel near Sint Michielsgestel
• 
  Dommel near Gemonde
• 
  Berlicum, church
• 
  Berlicum, modern art on the street
• 
  Den Dungen, church