The town of Geel is situated in the center of an agricultural region in Kempenland in the eastern part of the province of Antwerp. It is well known for its pioneering method of treating psychiatric patients and the mentally ill. They receive treatment at a large psychiatric hospital but live in the
community with families, taking part in everyday life. There are about 1,400 patients living in Geel.
This tradition is derived from the legend of St Dymphna or Dimpna, the patron saint of the possessed and insane. Dymphna was an Irish princess from the sixth C. who fled from her father who wanted to marry her after the death of his wife. With her confessor Gerebernus Dymphna sought refuge in Geel, but she was discovered by her father who, in a frenzy, is supposed to have decapitated her. The town soon became a place of pilgrimage for the mentally ill. The pilgrims who came to visit the tomb were accommodated by the townspeople, a custom which has remained, although in a different form, until the present day. An annual fair, the oldest in Belgium, resulted from the pilgrimages.
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