GHEEL or GEEL, a town of Belgium, about 3o m. E. of Antwerp and in the same province. Pop. (193o) 18,638. It is remarkable on account of its colony of insane persons. The legend reads that in the year 600 Dymphna, an Irish princess, was exe cuted here by her father; in consequence of certain miracles she was canonized and made patron saint of the insane. The old Gothic church is dedicated to her, and in the choir is her shrine, with fine panel paintings by, probably, as contemporary of Memling. The colony of the insane is in farms and houses round the little place within a circumference of 3o m. and is said to have existed since the i3th century. This area is divided into four sections, each having a doctor and a superintendent attached to it. The Gheel system is regarded as the most humane method of dealing with the insane.