Storm over Eersel

Samenvatting

Storm over Eersel in 1708

During the night of the 7th to the 8th of August 1708, a heavy storm raged over the village of Eersel. As a result of this storm, the tower of the St. Willibrord Church blew down and destroyed the rooftop of the church. To fix this, an amount of fl. 2250 was estimated and assigned to a building contractor. Ultimately, the church was completely restored in 1718. Up till now, it is not entirely clear who finally paid for the damage. In principle, the abbey of Echternach seems to have been liable, because it imposed taxes through the church. Consequently, the abbey provided income and had the right to choose the priest. In return, the abbey was responsible for the maintenance of the church. However, archival research shows that the event concerning the storm damage to the church led to a conflict between the regents of Eersel and the abbey.

This article discusses several ways in which the conflict could ultimately be settled. To do so, the conflict and related claims of the parties will be explained. Furthermore, the relevant agencies will be described, including their decision-making process. In advance, three possible hypotheses are formulated: payment of the damage by the village of Eersel (1), payment of the damage by the abbey of Echternach (2) and a settlement between both parties whereby each reimbursed a part of the damage (3). The article ultimately proves that a settlement is the most likely scenario.