Mariahout is a village located in the Meierij of 's-Hertogenbosch. Mariahout is the smallest village within the municipality of Laarbeek. Until 1 January 1997, the village was part of the municipality of Lieshout. It is situated between Sint-Oedenrode and Helmond. Mariahout has a number of beautiful places to visit and wonderful walking, cycling and mountain bike routes!

Platz in Mariahout

Oranjeplein is a square centrally located in the village. It is a meeting place for young and old with, among other things, a bowling alley, a playground and an exercise garden. The Oranjeplein is home to various shops, businesses and catering establishments such as supermarket Jumbo, the Oranjebar, Grillroom Pizzeria San George, Twee-en-20 and Physiotherapy Kemps and Maas. 

In January 2019, the sewer in Mariastraat was replaced. That was immediately the opportunity to start with the redesign of the Oranjeplein in Mariahout. It became a kind of 'walking boulevard' with a practical look. The walking area is now connected to the entrance of the open air theatre and procession park on the other side of Mariastraat. 

History

Mariahout is a reclaimed village. From 1920, the wild lands in the northwest of Lieshout were reclaimed en masse. The establishment of many new farms, together with the already existing hamlets, formed the basis for a new village community. Before the place was founded, it was a heathland to which the name Ginderdoor was attached. There was a chapel in this hamlet in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was dedicated to Antonius Abbot. It was demolished not long after 1803.

In the fifties of the twentieth century, Mariahout's inhabitants emigrated in large numbers to Canada. The first inhabitants of the village, called 'pioneers', had large families and for many of those children the village did not offer enough future. This led to the emigration of about a third of the population, which disrupted the social life of the village for some time. The emigrants kept a strong connection with Mariahout, which is shown by the many reunions that were held both in Mariahout and in Canada.

The Weapon - of Mariahout

The coat of arms is based on the coat of arms of Lieshout, to which Mariahout has always belonged. The shield holder has been adapted and the namesake of the village has been chosen.

Churches - and Monasteries

The Catholic Church played an important role in the creation of the new place. In 1933 the church of the new parish was consecrated and the place got the name Mariahout, after the patron saint of the parish and the place Lieshout, of which the parish was a split-off. The pastor was J.R.A. van Eijndhoven. A Lourdes grotto was built (1935) which attracted many pilgrims. A local pub had the name 'Pelgrimsrust' (nowadays: 'De Pelgrim') until 1995. Processions were held there, for which a procession park was also set up. The names Mary and Bernadette permeated all aspects of village life. After the 1950s, interest declined and, when Van Eijndhoven retired in 1970, the grotto soon disappeared. An initiative in 1997 to rebuild the grotto led, with the support of an entrepreneur and numerous volunteers, to its rededication in 1999. Since then, Marian devotion has been revived, albeit no longer with the massiveness of the 1930s.