Venray

Venray (old Dutch spelling: Venraij) ( pronunciation ) (Limburgish: Venroj) is a municipality and a town in Limburg, the Netherlands. As of March 2015, Venray has about 43,222 inhabitants (source: CBS).

Venray consists of 13 population centers located on a surface of 146,000 km, with 43,222 inhabitants. About 30.000 of those inhabitants live in Venray itself, the other 13,000 live in one of the 12 surrounding towns. After Venlo, Venray is the second biggest city in northern Limburg.

Topography

Dutch topographic map of Venray (town), Dec. 2013

Population centres

Blitterswijck, Castenray, Geijsteren, Heide, Leunen, Merselo, Oirlo, Oostrum, Smakt, Venray, Veulen, Vredepeel, Wanssum and Ysselsteyn

Mental Hospitals

In 1905, the Sint Servatius mental hospital for males was built by the Brothers of Charity. The first patients arrived in 1907. In 1906, the Sint Anna mental hospital for women was built by the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary. The first patients arrived in 1909. In 1969, management of the mental hospitals was transferred to two separate foundations. Both mental hospitals have had a big impact on Venray from cultural, religious and employment perspectives that lasts up to today. Nowadays, both mental hospitals are managed by GGZ Noord- en Midden-Limburg.