Our Lady Bridge Veldhoven

When the wooden emergency bridge from 1941 is partially destroyed and no longer accessible for motorized traffic due to the overturned tank of the liberation army, the Allies restore the river connection in the winter of 1944-1945 by installing steel profile beams longitudinally on both sides of the 'walkway', which are interconnected with crossbeams as supports for the wooden walkway, making it a bridge without pillar(s).

With some festive noise, the new bridge is put into use on Saturday, April 2, 1949. During the speeches of the mayors, the 'new' name of the bridge and the adjacent road is announced.

The assigned names refer to the historical, early 17th-century names Onse L. Vrouwe Brugge and Onse L. Vrouwe Dijck. Pastor Van de Ven from Meerveldhoven has strongly advocated the reuse of these ancient names. To also make these names visible to the public, Pastor Van de Ven writes to the municipal authorities on January 14, 1950, stating that he has ordered 3 street name signs: 2 for Meerveldhoven and 1 for Waalre. Several days earlier, as mentioned in the letter, he had gone to see the sign with the name 'O.L. Vrouwebrug' that was recently attached to the railing of the bridge, armed with a flashlight. The pastor writes with joy that he has seen this with his own eyes, and 'May your deed please O.L. Vrouw and be an honor'.

Leonard van Bakel