The monument unveiled by Crown Prince Willem Alexander on July 1, 1999 commemorates the spectacular crossing of the Meuse by William of Orange in the night of October 5 to 6, 1568 with the help of the Obbicht lord Karel van Bronckhorst. It was one of the important achievements of the early year of the Eighty Years' War against the Spanish occupation of the Netherlands by Philip II. The monument represents the Gate of Freedom, as an encouragement to resistance against oppression. Hence the text by Herman Veugelers: "Yesterday, continue today until everything is healed". Two stylized stone wings recall the words of the Spanish general Alva, who compared the Prince's army to a flight of wild geese. To the right of the arch is the initials of Crown Prince Willem Alexander. The chronograms on the consoles of the sofa refer to the events in 1568 and 1999.

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Miranda 🥾 TriA© / Johnny

May 3, 2025

History
The fords were shown to him by Karel van Bronckhorst-Batenburg, the lord of the castle of Obbicht. Karel was the brother of Diederik and Gijsbert, two noblemen who were beheaded in Brussels on 1 June 1568 by order of the Duke of Alva. Four days later, the Dukes of Egmont and Hoorn died on the scaffold. Diederik and Gijsbert signed the Oath of the Nobles early on. The beheadings can be seen as an act of revenge after the battle of Heiligerlee, which was lost by the Spanish.
William undertook the crossing at the beginning of the Eighty Years' War, known as the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Empire at the time of Philip II, lord of the Spanish Netherlands. His army consisted of 14,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry who had set out from Germany. Source/Info: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_van_de_Overtocht

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Emiel

April 22, 2024

Interesting piece of history. But it is also interesting to see how different parts of Limburg view it differently.

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Details

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Elevation 40 m

Weather

Friday 19 December

7°C

2°C

40 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 13.0 km/h

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Take Me There

Location: Dilsen-Stokkem, Maaseik, South Limburg, Flanders, Belgium

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