The Geelders

The Geelders is a nature reserve and a contiguous complex of various clay forests with woodland, meadows, and some small heathland areas between Boxtel, Liempde, and Schijndel. The area is part of the National Landscape Het Groene Woud.

The Geelders derives its name from a small sub-area of the Bodem van Elde and also a sub-area of The Geelders: the estate Gheerlaer. The oldest mention of this name dates back to 1386. The suffix ‘laer’ indicates reclamation in a forested area. Geer would be derived from the personal name Geerling. Gheerlaer thus means the reclamation of Geerling from den Bossche, perhaps it was the then most well-known forest camp in The Geelders. Het Speet is one of the other forest camps that have been established in The Geelders. The first known owner of Het Speet is Johannes Spaybaet, who acquired it around 1376. The contiguous Geelders forest complex consists of the sub-areas Braak, Speet, Overkamp, Buitenkamp, Gasthuiskamp, Savendonk, Leemskuieln, Wedehage, De Maai, Hoefje, Kasterense Braeck, Hooge Beek, and Eekhoorn. The Braak, a part of the Geelders complex, was formally designated as a forest reserve in 1995.

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