Every design for Cuijk

At the Romeinse Maas Brug the river still makes the bend that gave Cuijk its name. The Celtic word Keukja meant curve, the Romans turned it into Ceuclum, and the later Dutch name followed from that. The town lies on the west bank of the Meuse, a short way south of Nijmegen, on ground that was well settled long before the legions came.

Museum Ceuclum holds remains of the bridge built over the Meuse in the late fourth century, part of the Roman road that ran from Nijmegen south to Tongeren. Ceuclum and that road both appear on the Peutinger map. Near St Martin's church, archaeologists found the foundations of a Roman castellum, along with traces of Gallo-Roman temples and a bath house. Older still are the round burial mounds from the Bronze Age found near Haanhof, and the settlement uncovered on the Kampse Veld in nearby Haps. Later the Lords of Cuijk ruled from here, until their castle was destroyed and their seat moved to Grave.

If you grew up on this bank of the Meuse, you know the Heilig Hartbeeld, the Lourdesgrot and the walk along the water by heart. Keep that bend in the river with you, wherever you end up.