On the banks of the Meuse

The Negenoord-Kerkeweerd nature reserve is now located between the village of Stokkem and the Maas. Once upon a time, things were different. Until about 1740, the Meuse flowed along the banks of Stokkem in the direction of Oud Dilsen. After that, the Meuse chose a shortcut via a side channel and started to flow between Boyen and Grevenbicht. As a result, this hamlet was suddenly on the left bank. A few decades later, in 1816, the Meuse again shifted its flow and part of Grevenbicht again came to lie on the other side of the Meuse. The so-called island between the 'Oude Maas' and the 'Nieuwe Maas' was eventually given the name Negenoord. A oord or oortje was a copper coin worth a quarter of a penny. During the French rule, the island – a former monastic property – was sold as black goods for the mere sum of nine earphones. It was further used as an agricultural area.

Limburgs Landschap vzw