page_title: Geffen, Netherlands
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Geffen, Netherlands / Religion
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Joodse begraafplaats Geffen This is an image of rijksmonument number 385761
context_page_description: Geffen had been an independent municipality in the Dutch province of North Brabant until 1993, when it became a part of the newly formed municipality Maasdonk. This lasted until 2015, when Maasdonk was dissolved and Geffen became part of Oss.
  Archeological findings show that the area had been inhabited since the Stone Age. The date of settlement is not known. The first time Geffen was mentioned in official documents was on the October 1, 1246. There have been many different names for Geffen, including Ghiffen and Gheneffen. Gheneffen most probably had been created as a fusion between "gen" + "effa", which means "on the water's edge". In the year 1298, Duke Jan II of Brabant granted the town of Geffen rights for peat harvesting.
  In the following centuries, Geffen became a fiefdom. The Vassal of Geffen resided in the castle of Geffen close to the border of Nuland. During a French raid in the 18th century this castle was destroyed and at this time only the ditch and its fortifications can be found.
context_section_description: Around 1450 the bell tower of the Maria Magdalena Church was built.  The church survived numerous fires and floods, even the burning of Geffen by Charles II, Duke of Guelders in 1487.  At the end of the Second World War, the German military tried to blow up the church like they did with the churches of Nuland, Heesch and Vinkel.  At the ceiling level, the marks of this are still visible.
  One of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in North Brabant can be found in Geffen.  As early as 1693 the archives speak of this cemetery and until 1908, 20 years after the founding of a new regional cemetery, it was in use.  Over 300 people are buried here, including many forefathers of the van den Bergh, Hartog and van Zwanenberg families.
caption: The Jewish cemetery in Geffen
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