St. Dime Route

80 - 81 - 9 - 16 - 10 - 49 - 40 - 30 - 82 - 81 - 70 - 68 - 65 - 62 - 61 - 64 - 63 - 69 - 78 - 80

The whole world looks with admiration at the family nursing service in Geel. Over 300 families in the Geel region offer mentally ill people a warm home for short or long periods of time. This remarkable tradition goes back to the story of Saint Dimpna. Legend has it that the Irish king's daughter Dimpna was beheaded by her insane father in Geel in the year 600. Her tomb soon grew into a place of pilgrimage for the mentally ill. For nine days they spent in the Sickroom. The sick interrupted that novena only to attend Mass or trek prayerfully around St. Dimna's Church. When all the cells in the Infirmary were occupied, the pilgrims were given shelter with Geel families. In the nineteenth century, care in foster families took on a professional character. Today, the Geel model is increasingly regarded as an example in psychiatry. This Sint-Dimpnaroute introduces you to the Barmhartige Stede Geel. At various places in and outside the center you will find traces of Dimpna and her legacy.