Stones of Beatitude

Stones of Beatitude You are standing in front of a formation of eight boulders. These boulders are arranged in a special way. This becomes clear when you compare their location with the map of the Kempen. You will then see that the boulders – albeit on a scale of 1:1000 – are situated exactly the same in the wind direction and in distance between them as eight villages in our region. These are the eight Kempen villages that have been known as 'The Eight Beatitudes' for almost two hundred years. These are Duizel, Eersel, Hulsel, Knegsel, Netersel, Reusel, Steensel and Wintelre (in the dialect Wentersel). You can see their location on the map. Where does the name The Eight Beatitudes come from? First, the superficial approach. At the time that Belgium broke away from the Netherlands, around 1830, many soldiers 'from above the rivers' were stationed in this part of the Kempen. They came from areas where there was significantly more prosperity. They discovered that the place name of eight villages in this poor region ended in –sel. That gave them the idea to give these villages a mocking name: The Eight Beatitudes. Villages whose inhabitants (in their ignorance of the prosperity elsewhere) thought they were living a 'blissful' life, while they were as poor as a ship's rat. But for a complete explanation, we have to look further. The Eight Beatitudes is not only a mocking reference to poverty in the Kempen. It is also a reference to the Bible. In it, the evangelist Matthew tells us that one day Jesus of Nazareth ends up on top of a hill with his disciples. From there he gives a sermon, the so-called Sermon on the Mount. Jesus lists the eight ways to be saved. They are shown in abbreviated form on the signs near the boulders.

Eddy&Rita