The legend of the Beerse Overlaat
A battle against the water
Long ago, when the Meuse was still capricious and unpredictable, the people of the Land van Cuijk lived with a constant threat: the water. The Beerse Overlaat was no ordinary riverbed, but a controlled flood zone. When the water rose too high, the area was deliberately flooded to prevent greater disasters downstream. The inhabitants knew this could happen, but it did not mean they ever got used to it.
When the rain showers poured down for days on end and the Meuse grew increasingly raging, the people listened to the cannons in Grave. Three shots – that meant disaster. The water was coming. The Beerse Overlaat would once again impose its will on the land.
The flight over the water
On a cold night, when the cannons sounded, the residents had to leave their homes in a hurry. A family living deep in the flooded area was determined not to lose everything. The father, a resourceful man, had often sworn that he would not let himself be caught off guard by the Meuse. He had built a raft, sturdy and ready to carry them when the time came.
The cannons had sounded, but the water rose faster than expected. When it reached the threshold, the children began to cry. “It is time,” said the father, as he quickly but lovingly lifted them onto the raft one by one. The mother stepped on last, but soon noticed that the contraption was beginning to tilt.
She saw how her husband struggled to keep his balance and reassure the children. Without a moment's hesitation, she jumped off the raft to give her husband the spot. Water splashed up and the children screamed. “Mommy, no!” The father hesitated, but he knew his wife. Her creativity and determination had saved them many times before.
He started pushing the raft forward; after a few meters, he looked back. His breath caught in his throat.
There, under the pale moonlight, he saw her. His wife was walking on water. The children were still sobbing, but their eyes widened in wonder. “Look,” whispered the eldest. “Mommy can walk on water...”
What turned out to be the case? She had grabbed the stilts leaning against the facade of their house. Just moments before, they had been used as entertainment at festivities and rural fairs, but now they meant the difference between drowning and staying standing. With precise, controlled steps, she moved through the tide, while her silhouette dissolved into the mist.
The rescue and the legend
After what seemed like an eternity, they reached a dry patch of land. The mother stepped off her stilts and sank down, exhausted, while the father lifted the children off the raft. They had made it. From that day on, people in the villages around the Beerse Overlaat spoke of the woman who walked on water, of the man who built a raft, and of the mother who found her way on stilts.
Some said it was just a tall tale. Others believed that the water was not only a threat, but also a source of creativity, determination, and – in the full moonlight – something magical.
The Beerse Overlaat was used as a controlled flood area between 1273 and 1942. The last major floods occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1942, the overlaat was permanently closed due to the construction of better flood defenses and the desire to better protect the land against flooding.
