The Blerick Maasoever

The name Blerick is derived from Blariacum, a Roman settlement. It was a Roman army camp in the province of Germania Inferior. The name derives from the Roman settlement of one Blarus, who may have been one of the first owners or rulers of the settlement. The name Blarus means gray or grey. The actual Roman settlement has not been found in present-day Blerick and is probably located in the southwest. Roman settlement Blariacum Present-day Blerick was a Roman settlement in the province of Lower Germany. Blariacum is mentioned on the Peutinger map between Catualium (Heel) and Ceuclum (Cuijk). It was located on the Heirbaan Maastricht-Nijmegen. Fort Sint-Michiel and Fort Leopold After Venlo received city rights and was allowed to build city walls, a fort was built in 1450 on the west bank of the Maas, behind the De Staay ferry house in Blerick. The Spaniards replaced this wooden and stone fortress on September 29, 1641 (Michael's Day) with a stone fortress called Fort Saint Michael (named after Archangel Michael who, according to the chapter of Revelation in the Bible, waged war against Satan). The fort was completed in 1643. Because, according to negative reports, the Fort is too far from the Maas bank, it was decided in 1831 to build an earthen fort between Fort Sint Michel and the Maas. This became Fort Leopold. Frederik Hendrik barracks Blerick could not expand to the north for a long time, because the fort's field of fire had to remain clear. When the Venlo - Eindhoven railway line was built at the end of the 19th century, the fort disappeared and construction in Blerick started. The Frederik Hendrikkazerne was built between 1910 and 1913 on the site of Fort Sint Michiel. The contours of the old fort can still be recognized in the street structure at points Horsterweg/Garnizoensweg, Horsterweg/Daelweg and Horsterweg/Kazernestraat. In addition, a street (Fort Sint Michielstraat) has been named after the fort.