Lepelstraat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lepelstraat is a small Dutch community six kilometers north of the city of Bergen op Zoom, and part of the municipality with that name. It has 2,342 inhabitants and 30 percent of the municipality consists of farmland. Its earliest records of history date back to 1298 where in a manuscript of landrights it was mentioned as "Den Leepel Straet."

Lepelstraat has always been an important part in its region's religious history. From 1612 to 1875 there was a little church in the attic of a farmhouse that was kept from the knowledge of authorities because Roman Catholicism was forbidden at that time.

In 1875 Lepelstraat got its first real church, one with a tower having a height of 68 meters. This tower got blown up during World War II by retreating German troops. The tower has never been rebuilt.

During the Netherlands' "Great Flood" in 1953 all of the land around Lepelstraat became flooded, costing thousands of lives. The water did not reach Lepelstraat itself, making it a safe haven for the unlucky people who lost their homes, friends, and families.

Even though Lepelstraat is not big, nor is it well known, it has a rich history.