Lithoijen

Lithoijen is a village, old commune, commune Dutchwoman of Lith in the province of the Brabant-Septentrional on left bank of a loop dead of the Meuse. Lithoijen, it is Litta, later Litta Minor, Lith in the direction of Oijen, which becomes Lithoijen. January 1st, 2007, Lithoijen counts 889 inhabitants.

History

The archeologists found the traces of a farm of the time of Charlemagne. Not far from this farm a Romance church, disappeared was shortly after 1843. The current center of village is a few hundred meters upstream.

The first written mention of Lithoijen goes back to 922, when one gives again this country with Giselbert, duke of Lotharingie. Giselbert Marie with Geberga, girl of the German emperor. Become widowed, Geberga gives into 968 the Seigniory of Meerssen (close to Maastricht) with the Litta possession to the monastery of holy Remi to Rheims. Saint Remi becomes owner of the parish and the church, which is rather exceptional, since the Netherlands counts only eleven churches devoted to Remi saint.

During centuries, several lords tried to seize the possession of Lithoijen. Especially during the War Eighty Year old, the monastery with Rheims finds the locality too distant for its defense and in 1613 one sells the ground to a merchant of Maastricht and one gives the religious rights to the abbey of the Prémontrés of Bern, located in the current commune of Bernheze). In the decades which follow, the abbey buys piece by the largest piece party of the grounds. Prémontrés served the parish without interruption up to 1995.

Meanwhile the small Romance church is seized by the Protestants and the catholics make use of a barn-church. At the time of Napoleon, the Romance church is given again with the catholics. Too much small, one replaces it by a new church in 1843 and a few years later the small Romance church is cut down. In 1901 one builds the current neogothic church Saint Remi.

After Napoleon, about 1813-1817, Lithoijen becomes a commune of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1939, the old commune of Lithoijen is annexed by the commune of Lith.

In 1884 one builds the convent Saint Norbert sisters about JMJ, which were due to it up to 1949 a boarding school for girls, an elementary school and an old people's home for old men. Then, the building was convent for the penitent sisters; from 1960 to 1972, the Philips company built fluorescent tubes there, and since 1972 it is a house annex store.

The church Saint Remi, the old town hall and the old convent of the sisters are historic buildings and the central place, where they are, is a protected village site.

Lithoijen and the Meuse

Even after the construction of the dams at the 13th century, Lithoijen was inconvenienced by the risings of the Meuse like so much of other villages on left bank of the river. During centuries, one channeled the river while crossing progressivent meanders. To regularize the floods in times of rising, one had arranged with Beers the Beersche overlaat , Déversoir of Beers, which made pass water all to length by the cross-piece of the Beersche Maas , intermittent green river. The Déversoir of Beers is closed only in 1942.

Also for better adapting the Meuse impetuous and irregular to the great river traffic and dominating best, one built of 1932-1936 a great whole of locks and stoppings on the territory of the old commune of Lithoijen. This unit is known under the name of locks of Lith . In 1989 one adds a powerplant. After the enlarging of the complex in 2002, one changed the name into Princes Máxima-sluizen , ( locks Princesse Máxima ), in honor of the Máxima princess, woman of the prince-heir to the Netherlands.

In the dead arm of the Meuse, where the quay of unloading of Lithoijen was, one arranged a marina.

Gallery of images

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