Cartils, Rural hamlet in Gulpen-Wittem, Netherlands.
Cartils is a small settlement nestled where two valleys meet, made up of a handful of traditional farms built with timber framing. The buildings display the local style with decorative brick patterns that adorn the walls and show the regional construction methods of the area.
The settlement grew in the 8th and 9th centuries around a large farm, with its name coming from the Latin word cortilis. The lords who held the land maintained power here for many centuries until outside forces arrived in the 1790s.
The four square farms here reflect how people have lived and worked the land for centuries in this region. Walking past these buildings, you can see the traditional way rural communities organized their homes and farms together.
The settlement is reached on foot or by bicycle through a network of paths that cross the rolling countryside around it. The terrain is hilly, so comfortable shoes and some time to explore at a leisurely pace will help you appreciate the landscape.
The lords who controlled this land held it as an independent domain within a larger empire for several centuries. This unusual status came to an end only in the late 1700s when political changes in Europe reshaped the region.
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