GEEL

also spelled Gheel commune, Antwerp province, northern Belgium, in the Kempenland (Campine) Plateau, east of Antwerp. Renowned for its unique system of family care for the mentally ill, it is linked with the Irish martyr St. Dymphna. According to tradition, in the 7th century, she was beheaded there by her demented father after she refused to marry him, and persons suffering from mental illness are said to have been cured at her tomb. A church was built in her honour, and the afflicted pilgrims were accommodated in a sickroom built next to the church. When the room became too crowded (c. 14th century), the patients were lodged in the homes of the inhabitants. In 1850 this religious-municipal system became a medically supervised government institution. Served by railroads, canals, and highways, and having some small industries, Geel is now part of the Zuiderkempen, an area zoned for industrial development. The city contains a 16th-century church and a 17th-century town hall. Pop. (1982) mun., 31,438; (1991) mun., 32,487.