Maaseik
Maaseik (; ) is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg. Both in size (close to 77 km2) and in population (approx. 25,000 inhabitants, of whom some 3,000 non-Belgian), it is the 8th largest municipality in Limburg. The town is the seat of the administrative arrondissement of Maaseik (kieskanton). Internationally, Maaseik is known as the assumed birthplace of the famous Flemish painters Jan and Hubert van Eyck. Geography The town of Maaseik is located on the left bank of the Meuse (), bordering the Netherlands. For this reason the river is called Grensmaas (for "border Meuse") here. Two smaller rivers, the Bosbeek (or Oeterbeek) and the Zanderbeek (or Diepbeek), flow into the Meuse near Maaseik. Because of its location in the Meuse valley, Maaseik has mostly fertile soils. The northwestern part of the municipality is situated on the plain of Bocholt and has less fertile soils. The Meuse valley at Maaseik is about 4 kilometres wide. Maaseik has mostly been protected from floods by its slightly elevated position on a fluvial terrace. The riverbed has moved eastwards considerably over the centuries and has left several anabranches, meanders and oxbow lakes. An old anabranch of the Meuse (Oude Maasarm) can be seen in Heppeneert, a hamlet south of Maaseik. Deposition of sediments (mainly gravel, loam and clay) occurred on the inner edges of the meanders. For many decades gravel has been extracted from the area, resulting in a multitude of disused gravel pits, which have been mostly redesignated as nature reserves or watersports areas. The Maaseik municipality includes the town of Maaseik and the sub-municipalities of Neeroeteren and Opoeteren. Smaller villages and hamlets include Aldeneik, Heppeneert, Wurfeld, 't Ven, Gremelslo, Berg, Schootsheide, Voorshoven, Waterloos, De Riet and Dorne. History Etymology and origins As its name would suggest, Aldeneik (possibly to be translated as 'old oak') is older than Maaseik ('Meuse oak'). Although most toponyms with the affix -eik refer to a landscape with oaks, it is also possible that it is derived from the German word Ecke, which means 'corner'. 'Old corner' or 'bend' may in that case be linked to the fact that historically, the Meuse formed a bend around Aldeneik. An oaktree, however, is present in the town's coat of arms, which includes three crosses (perhaps representing the three oldest parishes) and a fish (representing the river Meuse). According to tradition, Aldeneik Abbey was established by Adelard, a local Frankish lord, around 700 AD, as a Benedictine nunnery. His two daughters, Herlindis and Relindis, both became abbesses of the monastery and eventually became saints. The abbey at Aldeneik soon became the center of a small village community. The abbey probably suffered destruction by the Vikings in the 9th century. Around 950, emperor Otto I gave the restored monastery to the bishop of Liège, who turned it into a religious chapter for (male) canons. The reason for this reform may have been that there were already several religious institutions for noble women in the area: Susteren Abbey,