Tour of Hooge Mierde

History[edit]
Hooge Mierde initially formed one parish with Lage Mierde. The Abbey of Floreffe already had the right to patronize it before 1201. In 1212, the Abbey of Averbode acquired the tithing rights of Mierde from the hands of Dirk II of Altena (1182-1242). The undeveloped areas between the Reusel and the Culitrode court (nowadays the hamlet of Kuilenrode, located between Hooge and Lage Mierde) also came under the Abbey. In return, an annual amount had to be paid to the St. Odrada Church in Alem.
Now a conflict arose between Floreffe and Averbode regarding patronage rights. Eventually it was arranged that pastoral appointments would take place alternately, but again there was disagreement. In 1473 it came to arbitration and it was decided to split the parish after the officiating pastor, Henricus van Eijck, allegedly died, which happened in 1520. Since then, Lage Mierde's right of patronage came to Floreffe, and that of Hooge Mierde to Averbode. On May 5, 1682, Floreffe's right of patronage over Postel Abbey was transferred and this remained so until 1835. Averbode's right of patronage over Hooge Mierde remained in place until 1820.
From 1648 onwards, Mierd Catholics had to take refuge in a border church, which was located near Grenspaal 204, near the Paalven on the territory of Arendonk. A barn church was erected on February 20, 1673, and was renovated in 1758.
Saint Odrada was venerated in Hooge Mierde. Bishop Nicolaas Zoesius donated a significant relic of this saint to the parish church on August 9, 1617. After 1648 the relic was considered endangered, and therefore it was solemnly brought to Balen on September 27, 1654.
In 1298, the lands of the Abbey of Floreffe came under the protection of Duke John II of Brabant. His successor, John III of Brabant, sold his possessions to the inhabitants of Mierde on September 19, 1331.
Until the end of the 18th century, Hooge Mierde belonged to the Oisterwijk Quarter and, together with Lage Mierde and Hulsel, it formed a freedom whose domain was in Hooge Mierde (Kuilenrode), while the administrative center was located in Lage Mierde .
In 1840 the village had 121 inhabitants.
Around September 29, 1944, more than 300 evacuees from Reusel were received at Hooge Mierde, while in October a number of residents had to move to Lage Mierde again, as Hilvarenbeek was being shelled. Later, refugees from the Boxmeer and Groesbeek area were again given shelter, while in May and June 1945 a number of repatriated people from Germany ended up in Hooge Mierde before they could travel to Holland.
Sights[edit]
The Church of Saint John at the Latin Gate (St. John's Evangelist Church) still has a 15th-century tower of three stages, with buttresses and a stair turret in the southeast corner. The church was used by the Reformed from 1648 to 1800 and fell into disrepair, given the small number of Protestants. The Catholics therefore continued to use their barn church, renovated in 1758, and almost completely renovated the dilapidated Gothic church in 1820. Finally, in 1922, the old church was demolished and a new one built, but the tower remained. The church contains a crucifix from about 1500, a Mary on the Crescent Moon from 1650, an 18th-century crucifix and a gravestone on which the symbols of the evangelists are depicted. In 1805, the worship of St. Cornelius was founded, which had its heyday especially in the 19th century. A Cornelius statue is present in the church. A valuable wooden Cornelius statue is also in the possession of the parish, but it is kept in a safer place.
The Sint-Cornelius Chapel was built in 1998 and is located where the Poppelse Dijk meets the Kuilenrode. It is a brick building with a gable roof, a three-sided apse and a Cornelius statue with the attributes horn and cross.
Bronze statue of a farmer with a milk can, on Myrthaplein.