Peer, Belgium

City and municipality in Flemish Community, Belgium
Peer
Flag of Peer
Coat of arms of Peer
Location of Peer in Limburg
Location of Peer in Limburg
Interactive map of Peer
Peer is located in Belgium
Peer
Peer
Location in Belgium
Coordinates: 51°08′N 05°28′E / 51.133°N 5.467°E / 51.133; 5.467
CountryBelgium
CommunityFlemish Community
RegionFlemish Region
ProvinceLimburg
ArrondissementMaaseik
Government
 • MayorSteven Matheï (CD&V)
 • Governing partyCD&V
Area
 • Total
87.24 km2 (33.68 sq mi)
Population
 (2021-01-01)[1]
 • Total
16,421
 • Density188.2/km2 (487.5/sq mi)
Postal codes
3990
NIS code
72030
Area codes011
Websitewww.peer.be

Peer (Dutch pronunciation: [peːr] ) is a municipality and city[2] located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Peer had a total population of 15,810. The total area is 86.95 km2 which gives a population density of 182 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Peer, Grote-Brogel, Kleine-Brogel, Wauberg, Erpekom and Wijchmaal.

Peer is the site of Blues Peer [nl], an annual blues music festival held in July.

History

Peer is the birth place of the composer Armand Preud'homme. From 1990 to 2018 the Armand Preud'homme Museum remembered to his life and work.[3]

The village Grote-Brogel, part of Peer, claims to be the birthplace of Pieter Bruegel.[4] The Bruegel Foundation was also founded in Peer to research the history of Peer and Pieter Bruegel.

Kleine-Brogel, a village that is a part of Peer, includes Kleine Brogel Air Base. Rumours that American nuclear weapons under the NATO nuclear sharing program were stationed at Kleine Brogel were eventually confirmed by Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem in 2008.[5]

A series of historical maps with notable references to Grote Brogel as Bruegel

On a number of old maps, Grote Brogel is prominently depicted as Bruegel, Brugel or Breughel, while other, sometimes more important, places are not mentioned at all.

These maps are based on the work of "Jacob van Deventer".[6]

In 1540 Sebastian Münster published a series of maps, including "BRABANTIA V > RHENIET X < NOVA TABVLA."[7] On this map, Grote Brogel is marked as Brügel. The towns of Peer and Bree are also mentioned.

The map "Belgii inferioris descriptio emendata cum circumiacentium regionum confinijs"[8] was later issued in book format under the supervision of Abraham Ortelius. It was first published in the French-language edition of Ludovico Guicciardini's extensive work on the Low Countries, Description de tout le Pais Bas[9], printed by Christoffel Plantin[10] in Antwerp in 1582. This map mentions Bruegel while the towns of Peer and Bree are omitted. In 1585, Mercator published a larger edition of this map.[11]

E. van Meteren, a nephew of Ortelius, produced a map of the Low Countries in which Bruegel appears as Brügel.[12]

In 1597, Frans Hogenberg published a new version of DESCRIPTIO GERMANIAE INFERIORIS.[13]

Johannes Mercator shows Breughel and Brey only in present-day Northern Limburg on a map of the County of Moers.[14]

Climate

Climate data for Peer
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 5.5
(41.9)
6.6
(43.9)
10.4
(50.7)
14.0
(57.2)
18.8
(65.8)
21.1
(70.0)
23.4
(74.1)
23.5
(74.3)
19.6
(67.3)
14.9
(58.8)
9.2
(48.6)
6.4
(43.5)
14.5
(58.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −0.5
(31.1)
−1.0
(30.2)
1.0
(33.8)
2.7
(36.9)
7.2
(45.0)
11.1
(52.0)
10.1
(50.2)
12.1
(53.8)
8.9
(48.0)
5.7
(42.3)
2.6
(36.7)
0.8
(33.4)
5.1
(41.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 72.3
(2.85)
57.1
(2.25)
73.3
(2.89)
50.5
(1.99)
63.8
(2.51)
84.9
(3.34)
68.7
(2.70)
62.7
(2.47)
66.8
(2.63)
66.0
(2.60)
76.2
(3.00)
79.7
(3.14)
822
(32.37)
Average precipitation days 13 10 13 10 11 12 10 9 10 11 13 13 135
Source: World Meteorological Organisation (UN) [15]

Peer has in the summer quite a nice temperature, around 20 degrees Celsius. In the winter it normally snows.

References

  1. ^ "Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2021". Statbel. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Wet tot toekenning van de titel van stad aan de gemeenten Beringen, Bilzen, Blankenberge, Borgloon, Ciney, Couvin, Damme, Geel, Genepiën, Gistel, Halen, Hamont-Achel, Hannuit, Harelbeke, Herk-de-Stad, Lo-Reninge, Mesen, Oudenburg, Peer, Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Vilvoorde en Walcourt". www.ejustice.just.fgov.be (in Dutch). Belgian Official Gazette. 19 July 1985. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  3. ^ Geert Van Baelen, ‘Ooit kwamen hier achthonderd groepen per jaar, nu nog twee’, 7 April 2018, De Standaard (in Dutch)
  4. ^ "Bruegelkring - Bruegel Foundation". Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  5. ^ "De Crem: "Kernwapens op basis Kleine Brogel"". Het Laatste Nieuws. 23 January 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  6. ^ Jacob van Deventer ([Kampen], c. 1505 – [Cologne], [1575]) was a Dutch cartographer.
  7. ^ Sebastian Münster, Brabantia V Rheni Et X Nova Tabula, Basel, 1542.
  8. ^ Belgii inferioris descriptio emendata cum circumiacentium regionum confinijs, dimensions 23.8 × 33.3 cm, scale approx. 1:2,100,000. https://uvaerfgoed.nl/viewer/image/11245_3_1284/ )
  9. ^ Guicciardini L., Description de tout le Pais Bas, Plantin, Antwerp, map No. 1, 1582.
  10. ^ Christoffel Plantijn (born Christophe Plantin) (Saint-Avertin near [Tours], c. [1520] – [Antwerp], [1 July] [1589]), printer and publisher.
  11. ^ File:1606 Belgii Mercator.jpg , scale 1:1,500,000.
  12. ^ Frans Hogenberg or Matthias Quad, 1582, DESCRIPTIO GERMANIAE INFERIORIS, copper engraving, 23.8 × 33.2 cm, scale approx. 1:2,500,000.
  13. ^ Descriptio Germaniae Inferioris, Frans Hogenberg, Cologne, 1597, dimensions 238 × 300 mm.
  14. ^ County of Cleves and Murs, 24 × 17 cm. https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/65IV5YRW44M57YH5SXQKYC27RRNMBLKE
  15. ^ "World Weather Information Service – Peer". United Nations. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  • Media related to Peer (Belgium) at Wikimedia Commons
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peer,_Belgium&oldid=1324370931"