Meterik

Meterik
Village
Coordinates: 51°27′18.9″N 6°1′29.7″E / 51.455250°N 6.024917°E / 51.455250; 6.024917
Country	Netherlands
Province	Limburg
Municipality	Horst aan de Maas
Population (2012)	1,545

Meterik (Limburgish: De Mieëterik) is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Horst aan de Maas, bordering rich farmland to the north and a moor called De Peel to the west. Meterik is located along a brook, the Kabroekse beek, which provides fertile grazing lands.

On 1 January 2012, Meterik had 1545 inhabitants. Meterik is the ancestral home of astronomer Peter Jenniskens. The village is known as a haven for temporary workers for seasonal work in the agricultural sector. Currently many of the workers are from Poland.

The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Meterik originated from scattered farms surrounding an open field, as have the communities of Schadijk (Limburgish: De Schaak) to the north, and Middelijk (Limburgish: Middelik) and Veld-Oostenrijk (Limburgish: Osterik) in the east. Peat from the moor was used to fertilize the land, raising its elevation by several meters over time. Meterik became a nucleated village at the end of the 19th century, when local farmers obtained permission to establish a church under the condition that they themselves provided income for the priest. Subsequently, a church was established, a house for the priest, and a windmill was brought to the village to generate income for the priest.

The Church of Meterik, the Saint John the Evangelist, was built in 1899 designed by the architect Caspar Roermond Franssen. The first priest arrived in 1904. In 1922 his son Joseph Franssen enlarged the design of the Church, as the early chapel had become too small.

The Polish, who have settled in large numbers in North Limburg and North Brabant, have their own parish since 2006. It is a so-called categorical parish, which is not bound to a region, but to a group of people. The Polish parish has a Polish priest.

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Wikipedia