"My hometown!" a Broekhuizenvorst Travel Page by JustinJansen

The name

This was first the smallest city council from Limburg. It existed from two village?s Broekhuizen and Broekhuizenvorst and few smaller settlements like De Stokt, Heide and Ooyen. It?s and typical settlement on the banks of the river Meuse and has about 1928 residents. Nowdays it?s part of the council of Horst and de Maas and the whole area is now huge and no connection is there now with the other village?s, what I regret at most! In the past the river frequently changed its course and it is in Broekhuizen/vorst that traces of an old Maas meander are easily recognizable in the beautiful landscape. The type of soil in the former channel is river loam which is not porous and thus the cause of the marshland (= Du. Broek). The word vorst (= wood) tells us that it was a wooded area as well. Hence the names of the villages: houses surrounded by marshland (and woods). The main area is agricultural and the main produkt are Roses!
It?s a very easy going town with few small cafe?s (2) and few store?s, but sadly not any supermarket anymore (the nearest is at Broekhuizen). Criminal rates and sad things are very limited and not many things of interest happenend the last years, only that the river Meuse was several times flooded (1993 and 1995) and this had a big impact at the small community.

The Church of Broekhuizenvorst
In the centre of Broekhuizenvorst you can find it surrounded by a walled churchyard where - for more than five centuries - the parish has buried its dead.
In the second world war the church in Broekhuizenvorst, was largely destroyed in November 1944 bij the Germans. The church in his current form dates back from around 1460. In the 47 metres high tower you can find the 15th century bells (named Maria, Anna and Salvator Muni bell).
The oldest object inside the building is the early-13th century hard-stone baptismal font. In the walls of the tower and the rest of the building stone crosses are to be found. They are the visible signs of the pagan past: the so-called 'witch-crosses' were supposed to protect the church from all possible evils and disasters.
The wall surrounding the churchyard has small defensive openings (15cm x 15cm): church and churchyard offered safety and protection for the villagers when hostile soldiers or gangs of robbers 'visited' the place.
The church at Broekhuizenvorst is protected under the Dutch Preservation of Monuments and Historic Buildings Act.

In all it is a very small country side village, where life is lay back!

You'll be welcome to visit it! But brake well on time ore you're thru it!