Geel

Geel is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Further on around the center are the parish-towns of Ten Aard Winkelomheide , Stelen, Oosterlo and Zammel Punt and Larum . On December 31, 2016, Geel had a total population of 39,535. The total area is 109.85 km2 which gives a population density of 320 inhabitants per km². Geel’s patron saint, the Irish Saint Dymphna, inspired the town’s pioneering de-institutionalized method of care for the mentally ill.

Archaeological finds in the area point to iron-age settlements, but the name of Geel hails from a Germanic root meaning “yellow” and dates from the early Middle Ages. A hamlet already existed in the mid-13th century, at which time a certain Petrus Cameracencis, canon of Cambrai, wrote the Vita Sanctae Dimpnae set in Geel according to oral tradition. The cult of the saint attracted numerous pilgrims to the area, leading to a substantial population growth: 2,136 inhabitants in 1374.