During excavations in Tegelen Roman pottery and tile ovens were found. The
Sint-Martinus church is mentioned in
diocesan and
monasterial archives dating back to the year 800. Because of its strategic location, various
castles and reinforced
farms were soon established. The most important of these were the and the . During the
Middle Ages, there were several battles in and around Tegelen, because of its proximity to the
walled city of
Venlo. Over time, a
barracks was established in Venlo, and a
fortification in neighbouring
Blerick. As a result, from the 16th century until the 18th century Tegelen was regularly visited by plundering armies.
Part of Jülich For centuries Tegelen was part of the
Duchy of Jülich, while neighbouring Venlo belonged to the
Duchy of Guelders. So literally, according to the people of Tegelen Venlo was "abroad" and vice versa. This explains the differences between the local dialects of the neighbouring towns and the rivalry between these parts of the city that persists to this day. The black, uncrowned lion on a golden ground, in the coat of arms and the flag of Tegelen can be found in the coat of arms of the
Duchy of Jülich. For Jülich it was very important to have access to the
Meuse river. Tegelen, with its harbour at
Steyl, was the most northern one, the other one being
Urmond near
Sittard. In
Napoleonic times, the former duchy of Jülich became part of the
Roer department. Tegelen, Sittard and Urmond were ceded to the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, resulting in the Netherlands finally obtaining complete control of the river from
Maastricht northward.
Industrial activities Early in the 19th century Tegelen developed into a regional centre of industry. At first, tile and pottery factories were established, and later that century, metallurgy and tobacco factories. After 1900
agriculture was added to the mix. Pottery and related industries were very successful in Tegelen from 1750 until
World War II. Economic and social life before that war was dominated by a small number of factory-owning families that would scratch each other's backs. One infamous episode illustrating the way they treated their work force and how they controlled their lives occurred during
World War I. The producers of clay products claimed that the embargo on Germany brought them to the brink of bankruptcy, and the only way they could survive was to drastically reduce wages. The work force went on strike but soon the strike fund was depleted. The local clergy helped negotiate a settlement allowing labourers to return to work for a salary that barely exceeded subsistence levels. It later transpired that there had never been any risk of any of the producers going bankrupt, and that this drastic reduction in labour cost had allowed them to make exorbitant profits. This is still evident from the gigantic villas in which these families lived and of which a number are still standing. After the war, the number of factories in Tegelen steadily decreased. All
smelters, including Globe, known throughout the Netherlands for providing drainage covers, disappeared. There are still three operating factories producing clay products, all except Keramische Industrie Limburg, are now in foreign ownership. One
chimney, previously owned by a stone cutter named Canoy Herfkens, is still standing as a reminder of Tegelen's industrial heyday. In 2001 Tegelen was merged into the municipality of Venlo. ==Culture==