Geel is a town of about 40,000 people in the Kempen region of Antwerp province, known internationally for a remarkable tradition: since the Middle Ages, residents have taken people with mental illness into their homes as boarders, a form of community-based psychiatric care that predates modern deinstitutionalisation by centuries. The practice is linked to the legend of Saint Dymphna, an Irish princess said to have been martyred here in the 7th century and who became the patron saint of the mentally ill.
The Sint-Dimpnakerk (Church of St. Dymphna) is the town's main sight, a fine late-Gothic church with a richly carved retable. The Gasthuismuseum, housed in a former hospital, tells the story of Geel's psychiatric boarding tradition. The Palmkermis, the town's main festival, is held every year in the second week of March on the Markt.
The town is otherwise a quiet, pleasant Kempen community — flat farmland, cycling paths, and a relaxed pace. It makes for an interesting stop if you are passing through the Antwerp hinterland.