Den Teugelder

Hands in his pockets, leaning back a little. That is how Den Teugelder stands on its brick plinth in the music garden in Beek en Donk. The statue was donated to the municipality on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of the carnival association. The statue was first placed near the town hall in Beek en Donk, but in 2007 Den Teugelder was given its current location in the music garden. The statue represents a Teugelder. A Teugelder was someone who pulled ships along the Zuid-Willemsvaart. When ships could only use wind power, there were men who, with the help of a few horses, pulled the ships through the canal. These men were called ship chasers, but people who saw them at work (carrying the horses along on the reins) were quick to call them a reinsman and here a Teugelder. One of the oldest and most notable teugelders in Beek en Donk was Luuc van Bussel. Other ship-hunters could even come to him for an overnight stay. Luuc was a stout man, dressed in a skippers jumper and almost inseparable from his cigar, according to the carnival association. A striking figure, which makes his profession Teugelder and the prince's name Luuk inextricably linked to the Teugelders of Ganzendonck.