1.
List of municipalities of the Netherlands
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There are 388 regular municipalities and 3 public bodies, also referred to as special municipalities, in the Netherlands. Municipalities are the administrative division in the Netherlands and are subdivisions of their respective provinces. Their duties are delegated to them by the government and they are ruled by a municipal council that is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the number of municipalities by two-thirds since the first official boundaries were created in the mid 19th century. Municipalities themselves are subdivided into districts and neighbourhoods for administrative. These municipalities come in a range of sizes, Westervoort is the smallest at 7.84 km2. Schiermonnikoog is both the least populous municipality and has the lowest population density with 938 inhabitants for a density of 21/km2, Amsterdam has the highest population with 810,909 residents, whereas The Hague is most densely populated with a density of 6, 131/km2. As a second level administrative division municipalities are the tier of public administration in the Netherlands after the central government. The Netherlands is a unitary state, which means that the central government is supreme. The different levels do, however, make work agreements, which give municipalities a certain degree of independence in their policy decisions. Municipalities are responsible for a variety of public services, which include land-use planning, public housing, management and maintenance of local roads, waste management. After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010 three special municipalities were formed and these municipalities function the same as regular municipalities and are grouped together as the Caribbean Netherlands and are not part of a province. The municipalities are governed by both a board of mayor and aldermen and a municipal council, the municipal council, which is titled island council in the special municipalities, is elected every four years. The number of members in the ranges from nine members for the smallest municipalities to forty-five members for the largest. It is the highest administrative body in the municipality and controls public policy, the mayor is appointed for six years at a time by the crown and the alderman are elected by the municipal council, typically after each municipal election. The mayor is responsible for order and is the first in command during emergencies. The exact portfolio for each person differs between each municipality, official municipal boundaries were first drawn up in 1832 in the Netherlands after a cadastre was formed. The Municipalities Act of 1851, written by prime minister Thorbecke, throughout the years, less populous municipalities have been merged
List of municipalities of the Netherlands
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Map of municipalities of the Netherlands after the mergers of 1 January 2015
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
3.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
Netherlands
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The Netherlands in 5500 BC
Netherlands
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Flag
Netherlands
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The Netherlands in 500 BC
Netherlands
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An oak figurine found in Willemstad, North Brabant (4500 BC).
4.
Provinces of the Netherlands
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The most populous province is South Holland, with over 3.5 million inhabitants in 2009. With approximately 381,000 inhabitants, Zeeland has the smallest population, in terms of area, Friesland is the largest province with a total area of 5,749 km2. If water is excluded, Gelderland is the largest province in terms of area at 4,972 km2, Utrecht is the smallest at 1,449 km2. In total about 13,000 people were employed by the administrations in 2009. The provinces of the Netherlands are joined in the Association of Provinces of the Netherlands and this organisation promotes the common interests of the provinces in the national government of the Netherlands in The Hague and within the EU in Brussels. The government of each province consists of three parts, The States-Provincial is the provincial parliament elected every four years. The number of members varies between 39 and 55, depending on the number of inhabitants of the province, being a member is a part-time job. The main task of the States-Provincial is to scrutinise the work of the provincial government, the Provincial Executive is a college elected from among the members of the States-Provincial and charged with most executive tasks. Each province has three and seven deputies, each having their own portfolio. The task of the Provincial Executive is the management of the province. The Kings Commissioner is a person appointed by the Crown who presides over the States-Provincial as well as over the Provincial Executive. The Commissioner is appointed for a term of six years, after which reappointment for another term is possible, the members of the States-Provincial are elected every four years in direct elections. To a large extent, the political parties are enlisted in these elections in the national elections. The chosen provincial legislators elect the members of the national Senate within three months after the provincial elections, the elections for the water boards take place on the same date as the provincial elections. The last three elections were held in 2007,2011 and in 2015. The provinces of the Netherlands have 7 core tasks, Sustainable spatial development, also, provinces have income from a part of the Vehicle Excise Duty. Several provinces have made a profit in the past from privatising utility companies originally owned or partly owned by the provinces. An example is Essent, which was owned by six provinces
Provinces of the Netherlands
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Flags of the provinces flown at the Hofvijver in The Hague.
Provinces of the Netherlands
5.
North Brabant
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Noord Brabant, also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the west, the northern border follows the Meuse river westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait, part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. The Duchy of Brabant was a state of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183 or 1190. Until the 17th century, the area that now makes up the province of North Brabant was mostly part of the Duchy of Brabant, of which the southern part is now in Belgium. In the 14th and 15th century, the experienced a golden age, especially the cities of Brussel, Mechelen, Leuven, Antwerpen, Breda, Bergen op Zoom. After the Union of Utrecht was signed in 1579, Brabant became a battlefield between the Protestant Dutch Republic and Catholic Spain, which occupied the southern Netherlands, attempts to introduce Protestantism into the region were largely unsuccessful, North Brabant remained strongly Roman Catholic. For over a century, North Brabant served mainly as a buffer zone. In 1796, when confederate Dutch Republic became the unitary Batavian Republic and this status ended with the reorganisation by the French, and the area was divided over several departments. This boundary between the Netherlands and Belgium is special in that it does not form a contiguous line, a few of these irregularities were corrected, Huijbergen became totally Dutch, but some remain, notably Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau. The period from 1900 until the late 1960s is called Het Rijke Roomse Leven, in those days every village in North Brabant had a convent from which the nuns operated. Politically, the province was dominated by Catholic parties, the Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij and its successor, the Katholieke Volkspartij. The influence of Het Rijke Roomse Leven remains in the form of education where some schools are still Roman Catholic, a cultural divide is still found between the Catholic south and the Protestant north, but with a total of 1. In the province of North Brabant Catholics are no longer a majority of the population as of 2010, only 1–2% of the total population of Catholic area attend mass, and these churchgoers consist mostly of people over 65 years old. With a population density of 501/km², North-Brabant is above average urbanized, the urbanization is at the center of the province at largest, where the kite is located, the rest of the province has a more rural character. The province has preserved some of its scenic nature well, also, south of Eindhoven named De Kempen is a beautiful area with farmlands and forests. In Heeze, also south of Eindhoven, are the areas the Groote Heide. The Strabrechtse Heide holds also the largest fen of the Netherlands, like most of the Netherlands, North Brabant is mostly flat but nearly every part of North Brabant is above sea level, therefore, there are not as many canals as in the lower parts of The Netherlands. Although most of the lives in urban areas, the province is scattered with villages around which most of the land is cultivated
North Brabant
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De Groote Peel, National Park
North Brabant
North Brabant
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A sign saying, "Welcome to Brabant". North Brabant is often just referred to as "Brabant".
North Brabant
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Map of North Brabant (2012)
6.
Municipal council (Netherlands)
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In the Netherlands the municipal council is the elected assembly of the municipality. Its main role is laying down the guidelines for the policy of the council of mayor and aldermen and exercising control over its execution by the council of mayor and aldermen. The municipal councils range in size from nine to 45 seats, depending on the municipalitys population, in many municipalities all major political parties contest in the election in addition to local parties. All citizens and foreigners who live in the Netherlands for at least four years in a municipality have the right to vote, ministers and state secretaries in the national government are barred from standing in elections as well as mayors and civil servants employed by the municipality. After the elections the parties in the elect the aldermen. The municipal council is supported by its own civil service headed by the raadsgriffier, members of the council are not paid as full-time politicians, instead, most of them have day job. As in most legislatures, the members of municipal council work in political groups and policy area related committees. The mayor chairs the meetings of the council, some municipalities allow parties to have dual councillors, politicians who are not elected into the city council but are allowed to speak in committees
Municipal council (Netherlands)
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Members of the city council of Spijkenisse.
7.
Burgemeester
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In the Netherlands and Belgium, the mayor is an appointed government position, whose main responsibility is chairing the executive and legislative councils of a municipality. The title is translated in English as burgomaster. In the Netherlands, mayors chair both the council of mayor and aldermen and the municipal council and they are members of the council of mayor and aldermen and have their own portfolios, always including safety and public order. They also have a role for the municipal government, both to its civilians and to other authorities on the local, regional and national level. A large majority of mayors are members of a political party and this can be the majority party in the municipal council, but there are many exceptions on this. However, the mayors are expected to exercise their office in a non-partisan way, the mayor is appointed by the national government for a renewable six-year term. In the past, mayors for important cities were chosen after negotiations between the national parties. This appointment procedure has been criticised because it was seen by some as undemocratic, especially the party D66 had a direct election of the mayor as one of the main objectives in its platform. In the early 2000s, proposals for change were discussed in the national parliament, however, opponents of the status quo were divided between two alternatives, direct election of the mayor by the people or appointment by the municipal council. A constitutional change to direct election gained a majority in both chambers but failed to pass the vote in the Senate in March 2005. In the meantime, although the law remained the same, the practice changed, nowadays, when a vacancy occurs, a special committee of the municipal council interviews candidates, which are pre-selected by the provincial governor. After advice by the committee, the council express its preferences to the Minister of the Interior, who almost always follows this recommendation
Burgemeester
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Session of the council of the community Oude IJsselstreek, eastern Netherlands: mayor Steven de Vreeze (right) as chairman of the council.
8.
Christian Democratic Appeal
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The Christian Democratic Appeal is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Sybrand van Haersma Buma has been the party leader since 18 May 2012, the party suffered severe losses in the 2010 general election, losing half of its seats and falling to fourth place in the House of Representatives. Subsequently, the CDA again lost a number of seats in the 2012 general election. Since 1880 the sizeable Catholic and Protestant parties had worked together in the so-called Coalitie and they shared a common interest in public funding of religious schools. In 1888 they formed the first Christian-democratic government, led by the Anti-Revolutionary Æneas Baron Mackay, the cooperation was not without problems and in 1894 the more anti-papist and aristocratic conservatives left the Protestant Anti Revolutionary Party, to found the Christian Historical Union. The main issues dividing Protestants and Catholics was the position of the Dutch Representation at the Holy See, the General League evolved into the Roman Catholic State Party by 1926, and the Catholic Peoples Party in 1945. From 1918 to 1967, the three Christian Democratic parties had a majority in both houses of the States General, and at least two of them were included in every cabinet, the KVP and its antecedents had been in government without interruption since 1918. In the sixties, the Dutch society became more secularized and the pillars faded, in 1963 general election the three parties held 51% of the vote, whilst in 1972 general election they held only 32%. This decline forced the three parties to work closer together, in 1967 the Group of Eighteen was formed, it was a think-tank of six prominent politicians per party that planned the future cooperation of the three parties. In 1968 the three leaders of the parties (Norbert Schmelzer, Barend Biesheuvel and Jur Mellema made a public appearance. This caused progressive forces within the three parties, especially the ARP and KVP, to regret their political affiliation, in 1968 they founded the Political Party of Radicals, a left-wing party that sought cooperation with the Labour Party. Locally and provincially however the three parties had long cooperated well, in areas they formed one Christian-democratic parliamentary party. In the 1971 general election, the three presented a common political program, which lay the foundation for the first Biesheuvel cabinet. After the disastrous elections of 1972 the cooperation was given new momentum, in 1973 this federation was officially formed, with Steenkamp as chairperson. The cooperation was frustrated by the formation of the Den Uyl cabinet, established by the leader of the social-democratic PvdA, Den Uyl refused to allow members of the CHU in the cabinet that he would lead. This led to a situation where the CHU, ARP and KVP sat as a faction in both houses of parliament, but only the KVP and ARP supplied ministers and junior ministers. The cabinet Den Uyl was riddled with political and personal conflicts, another issue that split the three parties was the place that the Bible would take in the new party. In 1976, the three announced that they would field a single list at the 1977 general election under the name Christian Democratic Appeal
Christian Democratic Appeal
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Piet Steenkamp, co-founder and honorary chair
Christian Democratic Appeal
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Kingdom of the Netherlands
Christian Democratic Appeal
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Piet Bukman, party chair from 1980 until 1986
Christian Democratic Appeal
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Dries van Agt, party leader from 1976 until 1982
9.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
Daylight saving time
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Ancient water clock that lets hour lengths vary with season.
Daylight saving time
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G. V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.
Daylight saving time
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Retailers generally favor DST. United Cigar Stores hailed a 1918 DST bill.
Daylight saving time
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William Willett independently proposed DST in 1907 and advocated it tirelessly.
10.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
Central European Summer Time
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light blue
11.
Municipality
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It is to be distinguished from the county, which may encompass rural territory and/or numerous small communities such as towns, villages and hamlets. The term municipality may also mean the governing or ruling body of a given municipality, a municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district. The term is derived from French municipalité and Latin municipalis, a municipality can be any political jurisdiction from a sovereign state, such as the Principality of Monaco, or a small village, such as West Hampton Dunes, New York. The power of municipalities range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to the state, municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations with income tax, property tax, and corporate income tax, but may also receive substantial funding from the state. Similar terms include Spanish ayuntamiento, also called municipalidad, Polish gmina, Dutch/Flemish Gemeente, in Australia, the term local government area is used in place of the generic municipality. Here, the LGA Structure covers only incorporated areas of Australia, incorporated areas are legally designated parts of states and territories over which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility. In Canada, municipalities are local governments established through provincial and territorial legislation, the Province of Ontario has different tiers of municipalities, including lower, upper, and single tiers. Types of upper tier municipalities in Ontario include counties and regional municipalities, nova Scotia also has regional municipalities, which include cities, counties, districts, or towns as municipal units. In India, a Nagar Palika or Municipality is a local body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more. Under the Panchayati Raj system, it directly with the state government. Generally, smaller cities and bigger towns have a Nagar Palika. Nagar Palikas are also a form of local self-government entrusted with duties and responsibilities. Such a corporation in Great Britain consists of a head as a mayor or provost, since local government reorganisation, the unit in England, Northern Ireland and Wales is known as a district, and in Scotland as a council area. A district may be awarded borough or city status, or can retain its district title, in Jersey, a municipality refers to the honorary officials elected to run each of the 12 parishes into which it is subdivided. This is the highest level of government in this jurisdiction. In the United States, municipality is usually understood as a city, town, village, or other local government unit, in the Peoples Republic of China, a direct-controlled municipality is a city with equal status to a province, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing. In Taiwan, a municipality is a city with equal status to a province, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei. In Portuguese language usage, there are two words to distinguish the territory and the administrative organ, when referring to the territory, the word concelho is used, when referring to the organ of State, the word município is used
Municipality
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The Ponce City Hall, in the city of Ponce, is the seat of the government for both the city and the surrounding barrios making up the municipality.
12.
Dutch Republic
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It preceded the Batavian Republic, the Kingdom of Holland, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and ultimately the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands. Alternative names include the United Provinces, Seven Provinces, Federated Dutch Provinces, most of the Low Countries had come under the rule of the House of Burgundy and subsequently the House of Habsburg. In 1549 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles was succeeded by his son, King Philip II of Spain. This was the start of the Eighty Years War, in 1579 a number of the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they promised to support each other in their defence against the Spanish army. This was followed in 1581 by the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence of the provinces from Philip II. In 1582 the United Provinces invited Francis, Duke of Anjou to lead them, but after an attempt to take Antwerp in 1583. After the assassination of William of Orange, both Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England declined the offer of sovereignty, however, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a protectorate of England, and sent the Earl of Leicester as governor-general. This was unsuccessful and in 1588 the provinces became a confederacy, the Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the Anglo-French war, the territory was divided into groups, the Patriots, who were pro-French and pro-American and the Orangists. The Republic of the United Provinces faced a series of revolutions in 1783–1787. During this period, republican forces occupied several major Dutch cities, initially on the defence, the Orangist forces received aid from Prussian troops and retook the Netherlands in 1787. After the French Republic became the French Empire under Napoleon, the Batavian Republic was replaced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland, the Netherlands regained independence from France in 1813. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the names United Provinces of the Netherlands, on 16 March 1815, the son of stadtholder William V crowned himself King William I of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890 the King of the Netherlands was also in a union the Grand Duke of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, the state became known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region in the world, the free trade spirit of the time received a strong augmentation through the development of a modern, effective stock market in the Low Countries. The Netherlands has the oldest stock exchange in the world, founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, while Rotterdam has the oldest bourse in the Netherlands, the worlds first stock exchange, that of the Dutch East-India Company, went public in six different cities. Later, a court ruled that the company had to reside legally in a city so Amsterdam is recognized as the oldest such institution based on modern trading principles
Dutch Republic
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Dutch East-India trading ship 1600
Dutch Republic
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Flag
Dutch Republic
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Onrust Island near Batavia, 1699
Dutch Republic
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Courtyard of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, 1653
13.
Vincent van Gogh
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Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings and his suicide at 37 followed years of mental illness and poverty. Born into a family, Van Gogh drew as a child and was serious, quiet. As a young man he worked as an art dealer, often travelling and he turned to religion, and spent time as a Protestant missionary in southern Belgium. He drifted in ill health and solitude before taking up painting in 1881 and his younger brother Theo supported him financially, and the two kept up a long correspondence by letter. His early works, mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers, in 1886 he moved to Paris, where he met members of the avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were reacting against the Impressionist sensibility. As his work developed he created a new approach to still lifes and his paintings grew brighter in colour as he developed a style that became fully realised during his stay in Arles in the south of France in 1888. During this period he broadened his subject matter to include trees, cypresses, wheat fields. Van Gogh suffered from episodes and delusions and though he worried about his mental stability, he often neglected his physical health, did not eat properly. His friendship with Gauguin ended after a confrontation with a razor and he spent time in psychiatric hospitals, including a period at Saint-Rémy. After he discharged himself and moved to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris and his depression continued and on 27 July 1890, Van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a revolver. He died from his injuries two days later, Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous after his suicide, and exists in the imagination as the quintessential misunderstood genius. His reputation began to grow in the early 20th century as elements of his style came to be incorporated by the Fauves. The most comprehensive source on Van Gogh is the correspondence between him and his younger brother, Theo. Their lifelong friendship, and most of what is known of Vincents thoughts, Theo van Gogh was an art dealer and provided his brother with financial and emotional support, and access to influential people on the contemporary art scene. Theo kept all of Vincents letters to him, Vincent kept few of the letters he received, after both had died, Theos widow Johanna arranged for the publication of some of their letters. A few appeared in 1906 and 1913, the majority were published in 1914, Vincents letters are eloquent and expressive and have been described as having a diary-like intimacy, and read in parts like autobiography
Vincent van Gogh
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Self-Portrait, Spring 1887, Oil on pasteboard, 42 × 33.7 cm., Art Institute of Chicago (F 345)
Vincent van Gogh
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Vincent c. 1871-1872 aged 18. This photograph was taken at the time when he was working at the branch of Goupil & Cie 's gallery in The Hague.
Vincent van Gogh
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Vincent c. 1866, approx. age 13
Vincent van Gogh
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Van Gogh's drawing of 87 Hackford Road
14.
104th Infantry Division (United States)
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The 104th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army. Today, it is known as the 104th Division and based at Fort Lewis, Washington, activated in 1921, the division was created as an infantry unit with a focus on nighttime combat operations. This was the combat duty that the 104th Infantry Division has served during its history. At the end of the fighting on 7 May 1945, this division was in central Germany opposite the troops of its allies from the Soviet Army, after World War II, this division was reorganized primarily as a training division for Reserve forces. After several decades, the then expanded its role to conducting entry-level training for soldiers of all branches of the Army in the northwestern United States. The 104th Infantry Division was first constituted on 24 June 1921 as the 104th Division, before being organized and activated in October of that year in Salt Lake City, Utah. Assigned to the division were the 207th and 208th Infantry Brigades, containing the 413th, 414th, 415th, as a unit of the Organized Reserves, the division represented assets from the states of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. In 1924 it received its shoulder sleeve insignia, the division would not see significant duty until World War II. At the outbreak of World War II, the 104th Infantry Division began preparing to participate in the war in Europe. The division was ordered into military service on 15 September 1942 under the command of Major General Gilbert R. Cook. The 207th and 208th Brigades did not reactivate as part of an elimination of brigade commands within its divisions. The division was centered on three infantry regiments, the 413th, the 414th, and 415th Infantry Regiments. From that point it began training as a division in preparation for deployment to Europe, the division trained in the northwestern United States during the next two years, earning its name Timberwolf Division from its time in the area. The division was the first army division to train specifically for fighting in nighttime conditions, after training at Camp Adair, the division participation in the Oregon Maneuver combat exercise in the fall of 1943. The 104th Infantry Division sailed for the Western Front on 27 August 1944 and it landed in France on 7 September 1944. In early October, Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen and he had previously commanded the 1st Infantry Division, The Big Red One, in North Africa and Sicily and would command the 104th during most of its time in combat. The division was assigned to III Corps of the Ninth United States Army, the division then organized and assembled at Manche, France before heading into combat. Joining the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, the moved into defensive positions in the vicinity of Wuustwezel
104th Infantry Division (United States)
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Distinctive Unit Insignia
104th Infantry Division (United States)
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104th Division shoulder sleeve insignia
104th Infantry Division (United States)
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Timberwolf World War II Liberation Memorial in Zundert, Netherlands
104th Infantry Division (United States)
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Soldiers of the 104th manning a Sturmgeschütz III with concrete armour, captured during the Battle of the Bulge. U.S. markings were added upon capture. The GI to the left is carrying a captured German StG 44
15.
Statistics Netherlands
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Statistics Netherlands, founded in 1899, is a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about the Netherlands. In Dutch it is known as the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek and it is a department of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is located in The Hague and Heerlen. Since 3 January 2004, Statistics Netherlands has been a self-standing organisation and this independent commission must guard the impartiality, independence, quality, relevance, and continuity of the CBS, according to the Law on the CBS of 1996. The CBS has offices in Den Haag and Heerlen, the main office is located in Den Haag. The office in Heerlen was located there by the government in 1973 to compensate the area for the loss of ten of thousands of jobs because of closing the coalmines, the office in The Hague with the name Double U was designed by Branimir Medić and Pero Puljiz. It has a surface of 33,191 m2 and the total cost was €41,000,000, the office in Heerlen was designed by Meyer en Van Schooten Architects in 2009. The office has a surface of 22,000 m2 and parking spaces for 296 cars, glass was used everywhere in the building. The main hall has a roof and the outside walls are fully glass. The several straight staircases in the hall have glass balustrades with a RVS handrail and were manufactured by EeStairs. Queen Beatrix from The Netherlands officially opened the building the 30th of September 2009
Statistics Netherlands
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The office of Statistics Netherlands in The Hague
Statistics Netherlands
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The office of Statistics Netherlands in Heerlen
16.
Moerdijk
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Moerdijk is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. The municipality of Moerdijk was founded in 1997 following the merger of the municipalities of Fijnaart en Heijningen, Klundert, Standdaarbuiten, Willemstad, at that time the new municipality was called Zevenbergen. The name changed to Moerdijk in 1999, population as of 2002 is 1,205. This was the last bridge available for the retreat from the vital Scheldt Estuary of the rapidly collapsing German defences near Antwerp in World War II. Moerdijk made headlines on January 5,2011, because of a fire at Chemie-Pack causing a large cloud of toxic smoke to blow over the surrounding area. Above the Moerdijk is used as an expression in Belgium and the parts of the Netherlands to mean in the Netherlands or in Holland. Below the Moerdijk is also a Dutch expression for the Catholic provinces North Brabant and this expression is used particularly around Mardi Gras in relation to the regions traditional carnival culture, which does not exist north of the major rivers. Zevenbergen is the largest town of the municipality and it is located about 10 km northwest of Breda. It received city rights in 1427, Zevenbergen has a train station with connections to Dordrecht and Roosendaal. List of mayors of Moerdijk Media related to Moerdijk at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Moerdijk
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Aerial view over Moerdijk (Zevenbergen in centre)
Moerdijk
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For other uses, see Moerdijk (disambiguation).
17.
Breda
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Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark, as a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance. Breda had a population of 180,420 in 2014, the area had a population of 324,812. In the 11th century, Breda was a fief of the Holy Roman Emperor. The city of Breda obtained a charter in 1252. After that Breda had the rights to build fortifications, the city constructed brick walls and Roman-style gates. In 1327 Adelheid of Gaveren Breda sold Breda to Duke Johannes III of Brabant, in 1350, the fief was resold to Johannes II of Wassenaar. In 1403 the heiress of his line, Johanna of Polanen, thus, the baron of Breda was also count of Nassau, Germany, prince of Orange and stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. Breda remained part of the barony Breda until it was taken by French revolutionary forces in 1795, the acquisition of the city by the House of Orange-Nassau marked its emergence as a residentiestad. The presence of the Orange-Nassau family attracted other nobles, who built palatial residences in the old quarters of the city. The most impressive one, built by the Italian architect Thomas Vincidor de Bologna for the first Dutch prince, was the first renaissance-style palace built north of the Alps, in the 15th century the citys physical, economic and strategic importance expanded rapidly. A great church was built in Brabantine Gothic style with a gallant 97-metre-high tower, in 1534 Henry III of Nassau-Breda rebuilt the modest medieval fortifications in impressive style. In 1534 a fire destroyed over 90 percent of the city, close to 1300 houses, churches and chapels, only 150 houses and the main church remained. In July 1581, during the Eighty Years War, Breda was captured by surprise by Spanish troops then under the command of Claudius van Barlaymont, although the city had surrendered upon the condition that it would not be plundered, the troops vented their fury upon the inhabitants. In the resulting mayhem, known as Haultpennes Fury, over 500 citizens were killed, the so-called Spaniards Hole marks the spot where the peat-boat allegedly lay, although this has not been historically proven. After a ten-month siege in 1624–25, the city surrendered to the Spaniards under Spinola, in 1637 Breda was recaptured by Frederick Henry of Orange after a four-month siege, and in 1648 it was finally ceded to the Dutch Republic by the Treaty of Westphalia. The Treaty of Breda was signed in the city, July 31,1667, during World War II the city was under German occupation. It was liberated following a successful outflanking manoeuvre planned and performed by forces of 1st Polish Armoured Division of Gen. Maczek on October 29,1944
Breda
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Grote Kerk in Breda
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Haultpenne's soldiers vent their fury upon the citizens of Breda in 1581
Breda
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Surrender of Breda, by Diego Velázquez.
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Polish soldiers welcomed by the residents of Breda, 1944
18.
Zundert
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Zundert is a municipality and town in the south of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant The origin of the town of Zundert is like that of many others, very unclear. The name is first encountered in a certificate dating from 1157, in which the Bishop of Liege and this Sunderda actually relates to the current settlement of Klein-Zundert, one of the first settlements in the area. The local monks, besides their religious labour, were involved in clearing the land. The monks also assisted in improving agricultural methods, Zundert is still surrounded by a rural environment with beautiful nature areas, one of them is the Buissche Heide, a magnificent heath area with unique walking possibilities. The Kalmthoutse Heide, across the border with Belgium, is also in the vicinity, Zundert, Achtmaal, Wernhout and Klein-Zundert were liberated on October 27, Rijsbergen on October 28. At a small distance from the town, an old tavern called In Den Anker can be found and it originally dates from 1635, but was rebuilt in 1913. Zundert is surrounded by the municipalities Etten-Leur and Breda on the north, Hoogstraten on the east, Wuustwezel on the south, Kalmthout on the southwest, Zundert is one of the most agricultural municipalities of the Netherlands. 10% of all production of the Netherlands is around Zundert. Production of strawberries and young field grown trees and hedging plants is important in the area. The Roman Catholic church of Zundert, dedicated to Saint Trudo, was built in 1927 and these treasures consist of marble altar tables, three Alabaster sculptures, several paintings and two carved oaken confessionals. The church itself was designed by Jan Stuyt, a pupil of the famous architect Pierre Cuypers, Stuyt also designed the church of nearby Klein-Zundert in the same municipality. The town hall of Zundert was built in 1830 in neoclassical style and demolished, Zundert is the home of a 17th-century windmill, called De Akkermolen. It is said to have originally built in 1652. It is a mill, and it was built to process grain. The mill had numerous private owners in the past, including stadtholder Willem V, as the Baron of Breda, in the early 1900s the mill was owned by Wilhelmus van der Stappen. The mill was damaged in 1950, and its existence was threatened several occasions after that. The Akkermolen is currently owned by the municipality of Zundert, which bought it in 1959, after the mill was taken over by Zundert, it needed serious restoration, which took place in 1961. Another restoration took place in 1991, but then, the mill needed to be taken apart
Zundert
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Zundert city hall in 2010
Zundert
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Topographic map of Zundert, Sept. 2014
Zundert
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Van Gogh House in 2009.
Zundert
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Sculpture of Theo and Vincent van Gogh by Ossip Zadkine. The Dutch Reformed church is in the background.
19.
Asten, Netherlands
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Asten is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. It is home to the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry and also a carillon museum, the spoken language is Peellands, an East Brabantian dialect. Asten Heusden Ommel Asten has a history going back to the Roman period. In the swamp of the national park De Peel an ancient Roman centurion helmet was found. Silhouets of Hunter-Gatherer and Agricultural societies were also found in the area, the village has a castle dating back to the 12th century, at the south of the current village. It has also given its name to the village, Aa-Stein, a second stone-built fortified building was suspected at the north, at the site of the current Slotweg to be precise. Some stone fragments have been excavated, although no evidence of a fortified building has been produced here. The village was pillaged and burnt twice in the 17th century, by Austrian and Swedish army troops
Asten, Netherlands
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Asten
Asten, Netherlands
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Topographic map of Asten (municipality), June 2015
20.
Baarle-Nassau
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Baarle-Nassau is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, located in North Brabant province. It had a population of 6,626 in 2014, topographic map of the municipality of Baarle-Nassau, June 2015. It is closely linked, with complicated borders, to the Belgian exclaves of Baarle-Hertog, Baarle-Hertog consists of 26 separate pieces of land. Apart from the main piece located north of the Belgian town of Merksplas, there are 22 Belgian exclaves in the Netherlands, there are also six Dutch exclaves located within the largest Belgian exclave, one within the second-largest, and an eighth within Zondereigen. The smallest Belgian parcel, H22, measures 2,632 square metres, the borders complexity results from a number of equally complex medieval treaties, agreements, land-swaps and sales between the Lords of Breda and the Dukes of Brabant. Generally speaking, predominantly agricultural or built environments became constituents of Brabant and these distributions were ratified and clarified as a part of the borderline settlements arrived at during the Treaty of Maastricht in 1843. For clarification and the interest of tourists, the border is made visible on all streets with iron pins and this way it is always clear whether one is in Belgium or in The Netherlands. This is also visible on the numbers, the style of house numbers is different in both countries and often one will find the Dutch or Belgian flag next to the number. Baarle-Nassau Ulicoten Castelré These are all part of Baarle-Nassau Commune and these are all part of Baarle-Hertog Commune, and are surrounded by Baarle-Nassau Commune
Baarle-Nassau
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Baarle-Nassau town hall
Baarle-Nassau
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Border between Netherlands and Belgium in Baarle-Nassau.
Baarle-Nassau
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Baarle-Nassau
21.
Bergeijk
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Bergeijk is a municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. It consists of an area of 101.73 km2 and had a population of 18,279 in 2014 and it is one of 21 municipalities, including Eindhoven, that make up the Eindhoven Region Cooperative. Until 1998 it had the spelling of Bergeyk. Bergeijk is traditionally an area, but tourism and recreation are steadily gaining importance. Among the facilities in the municipality of Bergeijk is a park in the village Westerhoven. Bergeijk is known in the Netherlands for a program on radio, Radio Bergeijk. Bergeijk Boscheind Braambosch Hof t Loo Loveren Luyksgestel Riethoven Rijt Sengelsbroek Walik Weebosch Westerhoven Topographic map of the municipality of Bergeijk, media related to Bergeijk at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Bergeijk
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Church in Bergeijk
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Bergeijk
22.
Bergen op Zoom
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Bergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city located in the south of the Netherlands. The city was built on a place where two types of soil meet, sandy soil and marine clay, the sandy soil pushed against the marine clay, accumulating and forming hills over several centuries. People called those hills the Brabantse Wal, literally meaning wall of Brabant, Zoom refers to the border of this wall and bergen in Dutch means mountains or hills. The name has nothing to do with the channel the ‘Zoom’ which was later built through Bergen op Zoom. Bergen op Zoom was granted city status probably in 1212, in 1287 the city and its surroundings became a lordship as it was separated from the lordship of Breda. The lordship was elevated to a margraviate in 1559, several noble families, including the House of Glymes, ruled Bergen op Zoom in succession until 1795, although the title was only nominal since at least the seventeenth century. During the early period, Bergen op Zoom was a very strong fortress and one of the main armories. It had a natural defensive site, surrounded as it was by marshes. Furthermore, it could receive reinforcements and supplies by sea, if the army did not have a fleet to blockade its port. Due to these features, the city was one of the strategic points held by the Dutch during their revolt in the Eighty Years War and it was at that time besieged by Alessandro Farnese first in 1588, and by Ambrosio Spinola a second time in 1622. Both sieges were unsuccessful and Bergen op Zoom got the nickname La Pucelle or The Virgin as it was never sieged successfully, in 1747, during the War of the Austrian Succession, the French army laid siege to it again. However, it had no line of fortifications, nor any fortress. After seventy days of siege, the city was taken and thoroughly sacked, during the War of the Seventh Coalition, the town was again besieged by the British in 1814 in a failed attempt to dislodge the French garrison. During the reign of Jan II van Glymes, nicknamed Jan metten Lippen, which means Jan with the big lips, probably caused by an infection, large fairs were held twice a year, in spring and fall, that were known both nationally and internationally. Merchants from all over Europe came to Bergen op Zoom to sell their goods, because of this major economic growth, the Sint-Gertrudischurch was enlarged. The enlargement was called the Nieuw Werck but was never finished, because of the recession of the mid 16th century. The economic recession was largely caused by the bad accessibility of the port, due to a number of floods in Zeeland, because of the great reliance on the port, the economic growth received a major blow. In addition, the modernization of trade techniques, like the permanent stock exchange instead of the fairs, nevertheless, these fairs existed until 1910
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Markiezenhof in Bergen op Zoom
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Topographic map of Bergen op Zoom, March 2014
Bergen op Zoom
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Bergen op Zoom in 1649. Note marshes (left, top right), canalized diversion of the Scheldt and extensive fortifications.
23.
Bernheze
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Bernheze is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. It was formed in 1994 from the municipalities of Heesch, Heeswijk-Dinther. The municipality was named after an old farm Bernhese, which came into the possession of the Berne Abbey and this abbey was situated in the village of Bern. The meaning of Bernhese is twofold, Bern is the same as the word born. In 1857 the Berne Abbey was founded in Heeswijk, Heesch Heeswijk Dinther Loosbroek Nistelrode Vorstenbosch Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Bernheze, June 2015. Media related to Bernheze at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Bernheze
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Heeswijk Castle
Bernheze
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Bernheze
24.
Best, Netherlands
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Best is a municipality and a village in the southern Netherlands. It is situated northwest of the city Eindhoven, and is part of the agglomeration of this city. The headquarters of Europes largest meat processor Vion NV are located in Best, as are Philips Healthcare, the village used to be a part of Oirschot, a nearby town. But as Best was situated on the road from Amsterdam to Maastricht. Each time the military wanted to quarter troops in Best, they had to request to be stationed in Oirschot,10 km away, because of this difficulty, the government decided to separate Best from Oirschot in 1819. Archaeological excavations around the village suggest settlement in the area dating back to the Roman era, the Armenhoef is a monumental farm on the Oirschotseweg 117 in Best. This stable is the oldest still in use within Western Europe, historical building research in 2009 showed that the wooden frame of the stable dates from 1263. The living part of the farm itself is built in recent times, in 1640 at the earliest, the farm is an official monument. The first written text about Best dates back to 1421, the village itself, however, did not exist until the 19th century. There were three villages, Naastenbest in the west, Wilhelminadorp in the south and Verrenbest where Oranjestraat is located. They grew together, and formed the village with the name Best, Best received a train station on the line Rotterdam - Breda - Boxtel - Helmond - Venlo - Maastricht. The line had one track, but traffic congestion necessitated another track. In the 1980s, congestion once again became a problem so two more tracks were added in 2002 and it is now possible to travel to Best from Utrecht or Eindhoven by train. The spoken language is North Meierijs, one can take a bus from the Eindhoven central station to Best. Or one can take a bus from the Tilburg central station to Best
Best, Netherlands
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Chapel in Best
Best, Netherlands
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Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Best, June 2015
25.
Boekel
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Boekel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. The name Boekel can be explained bij the word loo the Dutch word for forest from de heeren Boc and fits in the category as places like Boxmeer. The heeren Boc was seen as the first lord of van Boxmeer, in present time is presumed that the name is derived from Beukeloo or Beukenbos. Boekel Huize Padua Venhorst Boekel is founded somewhere in the Middle Ages as a settlement of a number of farms, in the 13th century Boekel was part of de heerlijkheid Uden. In 1233 a separation took place between the Land van Cuijk and the Land van Herpen and Uden, at that time Uden together with Herpen formed a form of government called a heerlijkheid. Until the foundation of the city of Ravenstein, Herpen was the city of this region. Rutger van Herpen sold or leased 1313 of 1314 the community rights to the residents of Boekel and Volkel, when the noble lord wanted to improve its cash position, then he charges the use of any of its soils, beginning with the wasteland in his heerlijkheid. This common land should particularly think of marshy land and barren higher grounds, in 1324 the heerlijkheid of Uden administratively belonged to the Land of Ravenstein under the rule of the House of Valkenburg until 1396. From the aldermen Herpen and Uden the Heikantsgericht was created in 1339 and these shipsbanks stretched across the entire former heerlijkheid of Uden, consisting of Uden, Boekel and Zeeland. Of these aldermen, which in total consisted of seven members, by childless death of Reinoud of Valkenburg grants the Duke of Brabant Adolf van Kleef with Herpen, Ravenstein and Uden so in 1397 the Land of Ravenstein Kleefs territory aids was. Afterwards the area comes under ruling of Neuburg-Palts in 1629, under the Neubergers ruling the area had religious freedom. Because the neighboring provinces of Brabant and Gelderland from 1648 officially fall under the States-General, the religious freedom provided opportunities for Catholics in the States of Brabant. So the Catholics of Erp built their own church on the border with Boekel. Due to the religious freedom several Catholic religious orders settled in the Land of Ravenstein, in 1741 members of the Brothers Penitents, from the Handelse Kluis themselves wanted to settle in Boekel. Led by Daniël de Brouwer the brothers laid the foundations for the Psychiatric Hospital Huize Padua, from the 17th and 18th centuries various conflicts arise between the villages of Boekel, Uden and Gemert around the demarcation lines between the Ravenstein, Cuijk and Gemert areas. In 1663 the boundary dispute with the Vrije Heerlijkheid Gemert was settled, in 1729, a similar problem with Uden settled
Boekel
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Boekel town hall
Boekel
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Dutch Topographic map of Boekel, June 2015
26.
Boxtel
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Boxtel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. This is the origin of the Van Boxtel family, which has numerous descendants in North Brabant, the town was the site of the Battle of Boxtel fought in September 1794 during the Flanders campaign. It is often remembered as the first battle of the future Duke of Wellington. Boxtel Lennisheuvel Liempde Dutch Topographic map of Boxtel, March 2014
Boxtel
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Boxtel town centre
Boxtel
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Boxtel
27.
Cuijk
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Cuijk is a municipality and a town in upper southeastern Netherlands of pre-historic origin. Its existence is recorded on the Roman roadmap Tabula Peutingeriana under the name of Ceuclum, cuijk is twinned with Maldon in Essex, UK. It is a big town with very good public transport services to nearby Nijmegen. The nearest hospital is at Boxmeer and the nearest international airport is situated in the German town of Weeze, cuijk has a railway station on the Nijmegen to Venlo railway
Cuijk
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Monumental church in Cuijk
Cuijk
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Cuijk
Cuijk
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Cuijk, church: Sint-Martinuskerk
Cuijk
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Cuijk, windmill: windmolen Jan van Cuijk
28.
Dongen
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Dongen is a municipality and a village in the southern Netherlands. In the past it was home to a profitable Leather industry, the town is formed near a small river called Donge, the water of which was used extensively for the leather industry. The Aerts Automobile was built here in 1899, Dongen s Gravenmoer Vaart Klein-Dongen Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Dongen, June 2015 The municipal council exists of 21 chairs. You can find the composition of the council since 1998 below, karel Willemen Designer Kelly van Zon table tennis player Media related to Dongen at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Dongen
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Street through Dongen
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For the Dutch painter, see Kees van Dongen.
29.
Eersel
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Eersel is a municipality and a town in southern Netherlands in the province of North Brabant. Eersel is situated in the Campine area, Eersel is part of the Acht Zaligheden and known for its attractive market. This market, together with the Hint, has declared a protected village on October 19,1967. This has been done to guarantee the survival of its authentic character. Duizel Eersel Knegsel Steensel Vessem Wintelre About 3,500 years ago the first inhabitants of the area of Eersel were builders of sepulchre hillocks or burial mounds of the Tumulus culture. Following them in the bronze age the people of the Urnfield culture continued living there as has been proved by the urn with cremating ashes that has been found in ‘Schadewijk’. Before the Romans occupied this area, which they called Toxandria, from the Roman period there are also archaeological finds. Many shards of Roman pottery are found between the church of Eersel and the hamlet ‘Schadewijk’, the Salian Franks that settled the area in the 4th century became known as Toxandrians. After the Roman time the region has been virtually depopulated, the Franks established themselves round 700 again in the region. They lived where high and lower grounds were laying close to each other, one of those high grounds was Ereslo. As from this there is a form of government authority in this area. The Franks build their farms around a triangular square and this kind of settlement was called a domain which was the property of the high nobility of the Franks. The oldest known written indication of Eersel is found in the manuscript Codex Aureus of Echternach of the Abbey of Echternach. In this document is an included in which a certain Aengilbertus, son of late Gaobertus. In this registration of the year 712 the name of ‘Ereslo’ was transferred wrong to ‘Eresloch’, wilibrord on his behalve gave the heritage to the Abbey of Echternach in Luxembourg. To approximately in the year 1000 Eersel belonged to the county of Taxandria, hereafter it came under the influence of earl of Guelders. The Earl of Leuven extends its area to the north and in 1203 the region became a part of Brabant. Trading started to develop and Eersel became a point for the routes of Leuven and s-Hertogenbosch and of Antwerp
Eersel
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Eersel municipal hall
Eersel
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Dutch Topographic map of Eersel, June 2015
Eersel
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St. Willibrord Church at Eersel
30.
Eindhoven
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Eindhoven is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender streams. The Gender was dammed short of the city centre in the 1950s, the city has a population of 223,220 in January 2015, making it the fifth-largest municipality of the Netherlands and the largest in the province of North Brabant. Neighbouring cities and towns include Asten, Son en Breugel, Nuenen, Geldrop-Mierlo, Heeze-Leende, Waalre, Veldhoven, Eersel, Oirschot, the agglomeration has a population of 337,487. The metropolitan area consists of 419,045 inhabitants, the city region has a population of 753,426. Also, Eindhoven is located in the Brabantse Stedenrij, a metropolitan area with about 2 million inhabitants. The name Eindhoven derives from the contraction of the regional words eind, toponymically, eind occurs commonly as a prefix and postfix in local place- and streetnames. A hove comprised a parcel of land which a local lord might lease to private persons, given that a string of such parcels existed around Woensel, the name Eindhoven may have originated with the meaning last hoves on the land of Woensel. The written history of Eindhoven started in 1232, when Duke Hendrik I of Brabant granted city rights to Endehoven, then a small town right on the confluence of the Dommel, at the time of granting of its charter, Eindhoven had approximately 170 houses enclosed by a rampart. Just outside the city stood a small castle. The city was granted the right to organize a weekly market. Another factor in its establishment was its location on the route from Holland to Liège. Around 1388, the fortifications were strengthened further. And between 1413 and 1420, a new castle was built within the city walls, in 1486, Eindhoven was plundered and burned by troops from Guelders. The reconstruction of Eindhoven was finished in 1502, with a stronger rampart, however, in 1543 it fell again, its defense works having been neglected due to poverty. A big fire in 1554 destroyed 75% of the houses but by 1560 these had been rebuilt with the help of William I of Orange, Eindhoven did not become part of the Netherlands until 1629. During the French occupation, Eindhoven suffered again with many of its houses destroyed by the invading forces, Eindhoven remained a minor city after that until the start of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution of the 19th century provided a major growth impulse, canals, roads and railroads were constructed. Industrialization brought population growth to Eindhoven, at the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, Eindhoven had 2,310 inhabitants
Eindhoven
Eindhoven
Eindhoven
Eindhoven
31.
Geertruidenberg
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Geertruidenberg is a city and municipality in the province North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The city, named after Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, received city rights in 1213 from the count of Holland, the fortified city prospered until the 15th century. Today, the municipality of Geertruidenberg also includes the population centres Raamsdonk, the municipality has a total area of 29.64 km2 and had a population of 21,596 in 2014. The city government consists of the mayor Willemijn van Hees and three aldermen, Geertruidenberg is named after Saint Gertrude of Nivelles. In 1213, Sint Geertruidenberg received city rights from Count William I of Holland, the fortified city became a trade center, where counts and other nobility gathered for negotiations. The Hook and Cod wars in 1420 and the Saint Elizabeths flood in 1421 ended the prosperity of the city, during the Eighty Years War the city was captured by an English, French Huguenot and Fleming force in 1573 - in a surprise attack. In 1589 however the city was betrayed to Parma by its English garrison and it was finally recaptured by an Anglo-Dutch force under the command of Maurice of Nassau in the summer of 1593. Today, Geertruidenberg is part of the province of North Brabant, Geertruidenberg is the oldest city of Holland as it was the first to receive city rights. It is a misconception that Geertruidenberg is the oldest city of the Netherlands, because the names Holland. The total area of the municipality is 29.64 km2, Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Geertruidenberg, June 2015 As of 2014, the total population of Geertruidenberg is 21,596 inhabitants. The population density of the municipality is 811/km2, the mayor of Geertruidenberg is Willemijn van Hees and she was appointed mayor by the Dutch monarch, like all mayors in the Netherlands. The three aldermen of Geertruidenberg are Kevin van Oort, Adriaan de Jongh, and Bert van den Kieboom, together, the mayor and the aldermen form the College van Burgemeester en Wethouders, which is supported by the citys secretary Richard Nagtzaam. The city council is elected every four years during municipal elections, the 19 members of the city council assemble ten times per year for public meetings in the city hall in Raamsdonksveer
Geertruidenberg
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Former city hall on market square
Geertruidenberg
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Geertruidenberg, churchtower in the street
Geertruidenberg
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Geertruidenberg
32.
Geldrop-Mierlo
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Geldrop-Mierlo is a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. The municipality was created from the two municipalities of Geldrop and Mierlo on 1 January 2004. Geldrop-Mierlo had a population of 38,809 in 2014 and it covers an area of 31.39 km2. The two villages of Geldrop and Mierlo used to be separate municipalities, but joined together after threats from Helmond to take over Mierlo and its partner city is Dobříš in the Czech Republic. Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo, June 2015 The exact age of Geldrop isnt known, over the years there have been several archaeological finds relating to prehistoric peoples who lived in or passed through the area. In the area of Geldrop, where over 10,000 years ago reindeerhunters of the so-called Ahrensburg culture placed their tents, on one of them a reindeerhorn have been represented, on the other one a dancing little girl, who is called venus van Mierlo. In the south of Zesgehuchten finds have been done which indicate on small settlements from the New Stone Age, finds from the Roman Time and the early Middle Ages have been found off Genoenhuis and Hoog Geldrop. In the autumn of 1989 nearby t Zand archaeological unearthings has been carried out, four settlements were found from the late Roman Time and the Middle Ages, a period which covers the years between 350 and 1225. Geldrop railway station Dries van Agt, former Dutch prime-minister, born in Geldrop in 1931 Ernest Faber, football defender, born in Geldrop in 1971 A. F. Th
Geldrop-Mierlo
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Geldrop town centre
Geldrop-Mierlo
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Geldrop-Mierlo
33.
Gemert-Bakel
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Gemert-Bakel is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is Cfb, in the centre of Gemert stands a castle of which the oldest parts date back to the Late Middle Ages, although it has been rebuilt a couple of times. It was founded by German knights who lived in the castle for several hundred years, however these days it is occupied by monks, the predecessor of this castle was a motte-and-bailey located further to the west and was discovered in 1995. It is said that the townfounder Diederik van Gemert lived here, humanist Georgius Macropedius is one of the notable people to have been born in Gemert, and a school and park have been named after him. Media related to Gemert-Bakel at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Gemert-Bakel
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Gemert town centre
Gemert-Bakel
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Gemert-Bakel
34.
Gilze en Rijen
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Gilze en Rijen is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. The municipality contains four villages Rijen, Gilze, Hulten and Molenschot and it is home to the Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Rijen grew in the 19th century due to its leather factories, according to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Gilze en Rijen has a marine west coast climate, abbreviated Cfb on climate maps. Media related to Gilze en Rijen at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Gilze en Rijen
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Square in Gilze
Gilze en Rijen
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Gilze en Rijen
35.
Goirle
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Goirle is a municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Part of the area of the city of Tilburg, it shares with it its phone area code. The municipality also includes the villages of Breehees and Riel, the Netherlands national football team defender Joris Mathijsen was born and raised in Goirle. The skater Ireen Wüst was also born in Goirle, symphonic metal band Nightwishs third vocalist Floor Jansen was also born in Goirle. Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Goirle, June 2015 Van Gool, media related to Goirle at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Goirle
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Goirle town centre
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Goirle
36.
Grave, Netherlands
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Grave is a municipality in the Dutch province North Brabant. The municipality had a population of 12,746 in 2014, Grave is a member of the Dutch Association of Fortified Cities. The municipality includes the towns, Grave, Velp, Escharen. The municipality Grave was formed in the Napoleonic era and coincided with the fortified Grave, the history of the town was thus linked to that of the place. Then there was a place where the municipality Grave was expanded with the previously independent municipalities Velp. Moreover, in 1994 the neighboring municipality of Beers was abolished and a part thereof, Grave received city rights in 1233. Near to Grave lies a bridge, now called John S. Thompsonbrug and it is the northern connection to Gelderland, spanning the river Maas. The bridge was one of the key points in Operation Market Garden, the city was liberated at 17 September 1944. The bridge was named in 2004 after Lieutenant John S. Thompson who commanded the platoon of the 82nd Airborne Division that captured the bridge, the Hampoort is the old entrance to the city, and it is still largely intact and can be visited. Mary of Guelders, born in Grave, the consort of Scotland as the wife of King James II of Scotland. Anna van Egmont, born in Grave, a wealthy Dutch heiress who became the first wife of William the Silent, Prince of Orange, apostolic Vicariate of Grave–Nijmegen, former Catholic pre-diocesan jurisdiction Media related to Grave, Netherlands at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Grave, Netherlands
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Grave town centre
Grave, Netherlands
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Dutch Topographic map of Grave, June 2015
Grave, Netherlands
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Houses in centre
Grave, Netherlands
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Fish ladder and shipyard
37.
's-Hertogenbosch
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S-Hertogenbosch, colloquially known as Den Bosch, is a city and municipality in the southern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant, the citys official name is a contraction of the Dutch des Hertogen bosch—the Dukes forest. The duke in question was Duke Henry I of Brabant, whose family had owned an estate at nearby Orthen for at least four centuries. He founded a new town located on some forested dunes in the middle of a marsh, at age 26, he granted s-Hertogenbosch city rights and the corresponding trade privileges in 1185. This is, however, the date given by later chroniclers. The original charter has been lost and his reason for founding the city was to protect his own interests against encroachment from Gelre and Holland, from its first days, he conceived of the city as a fortress. It was destroyed in 1203 in a joint expedition of Gelre and Holland, some remnants of the original city walls may still be seen. In the late 14th century, a larger wall was erected to protect the greatly expanded settled area. Artificial waterways were dug to serve as a city moat, through which the rivers Dommel, until 1520, the city flourished, becoming the second largest population centre in the territory of the present Netherlands, after Utrecht. The city was also a center of music, and composers, such as Jheronimus Clibano, the wars of the Reformation changed the course of the citys history. During the Eighty Years War, the city took the side of the Habsburg authorities and it was besieged several times by Prince Maurice of Orange, stadtholder of most of the Dutch Republic, who wanted to bring s-Hertogenbosch under the rule of the rebel United Provinces. The city was defended by Claude de Berlaymont, also known as Haultpenne. In the years of Truce, before the fighting after 1618. The surrounding marshes made a siege of the conventional type impossible, after a siege of three months, the city had to surrender—an enormous blow to Habsburg geo-political strategy during the Thirty Years War. This surrender cut the town off from the rest of the duchy, after the Peace of Westphalia, the fortifications were again expanded. In 1672, the Dutch rampjaar, the city held against the army of Louis XIV of France. In 1794, French revolutionary troops under command of Charles Pichegru took the city with hardly a fight, in the Batavian Republic, from 1806, the city became part of the Kingdom of Holland and from 1810, it was incorporated into the First French Empire. It was captured by the Prussians in 1814, the next year,1815, when the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, it became the capital of North Brabant
's-Hertogenbosch
's-Hertogenbosch
's-Hertogenbosch
's-Hertogenbosch
38.
Laarbeek
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Laarbeek is a municipality located in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. It was formed in 1997 from the former municipalities Beek en Donk, Aarle-Rixtel, Laarbeek is part of the city region Samenwerkingsverband Regio Eindhoven, centered on the city of Eindhoven. The town hall is located in Beek en Donk, Lieshout is home of the Bavaria Brewery, one of the Netherlands largest breweries which produces for local and foreign markets. The Croy Castle is located near the village Aarle-Rixtel, dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Laarbeek, June 2015. Media related to Laarbeek at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Croy Castle
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Laarbeek
39.
Loon op Zand
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Loon op Zand is a municipality and a village in the southern Netherlands. It had a population of 23,126 in 2014, de Moer Heikant Kaatsheuvel Loon op Zand Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Loon op Zand, June 2015. Kaatsheuvel is the location of the amusement park Efteling, Loon op Zand is the oldest village of the municipality. Somewhere around the year 1000, this village was founded in a very wet, there was also a lot of drift-sand whose origin, according to geological experts, dates back to the last ice age. As of this moment, Loon op Zand has the biggest driftsand area in all of western Europe, the presence of this driftsand explains the name of Loon op Zand. It means Village build on sand, historically, the presence of this driftsand has caused the relocation of the village on several times. Hinerland farmers build many sandy embankments or levies to protect their land against the ceaseless drifting sand, for 200 years, Loon op Zand and Kaatsheuvel were the centre of the leather tanning and shoe manufacturing industry of the region. There were a lot of factories, most of these were in peoples backyards, there were some big shoe manufacturers like Van Lier. This world-famous shoe brand originated in Loon op Zand, just prior to the new millennium, Van Lier abandoned their factory in Loon op Zand and moved to a bigger factory in Breda
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Windmill in Kaatsheuvel
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Loon op Zand
40.
Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten
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Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten is a municipality consisting of the larger village of Nuenen and two adjacent smaller ones. It is located in the province of Noord-Brabant, about 10 kilometres east of Eindhoven, from being a small farmers town of less than 1000 inhabitants around 1950 Nuenen grew steadily as ever more new employees of Philips and the Eindhoven University chose Nuenen as their new home. Eeneind Gerwen Nederwetten Nuenen Opwetten Stad van Gerwen A battle fought in Nuenen during World War II was shown in an episode of the miniseries Band of Brothers, the historical battle took place there during Operation Market-Garden in September 1944. Vincent van Gogh spent two years in Nuenen from 1883-1885 and his father lived and worked there as the Protestant pastor in the largely catholic environment. Van Gogh lived in the small carriagehouse next to the pastors house. Van Gogh was extremely productive in his years in Nuenen and it is referred to as his so-called dark or sombre period. Here he painted his famous painting The potato eaters as well as Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen, the latter painting was stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in December 2002. Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist, then a professor in the Mathematics Department at the Technical University of Eindhoven, Nuenen was added to the world map of computer science in 1973 when Dijkstra started to circulate his reports signed ‘Burroughs Research Fellow’ with his home address. Many thought that Burroughs, a company known at time for the production of computers based on an innovative hardware architecture, was based in Nuenen. In fact, Dijkstra was the research fellow of Burroughs Corporation and worked for it from home. Dijkstra moved in 1984 to the University of Austin, Texas, USA, Dijkstra returned from Austin, terminally ill, to his original house in Nuenen in February 2002, where he died half a year later, on 6 August 2002. Media related to Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten
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Windmill in Nuenen
Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten
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Dutch Topographic map of Nuenen, June 2015
Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten
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Water Mill at Opwetten, by Vincent van Gogh, 1884 (F48)
41.
Oirschot
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Oirschot is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. It is situated 12 kilometres from the city of Eindhoven and 20 kilometres from the city of Tilburg in the province Noord-Brabant, the municipality had a population of 18,016 in 2014. Oirschot Middelbeers Oostelbeers Spoordonk Westelbeers Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Oirschot, some of the monuments are, The Roman Catholic Church named Sint-Petrus’-Bandenkerk. This 15th- and 16th-century Gothic church is the biggest building in the town of Oirschot, the old town hall build in 1513 in the centre of town Maria-church. A 12th-century Romanesque church in the centre of the town of Oirschot, monastery Nazareth with a chapel in Neoromanesque style. Former Brewery De Kroon built in 1773 Hof van Solms, palace of Arnoldus Feij The Big Chair the biggest chair of Europe, huize Groenenberg, a very fine house built in 1613. Chapel of the Holy Oak, stone chapel dated 1606, zinderend Oirschot Countery & Western weekend There are many more festivals in Oirschot every year. He is member of the political party PvdA, media related to Oirschot at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Former city hall of Oirschot
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Oirschot
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Petruschurch
42.
Oisterwijk
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Oisterwijk is a municipality and a city in the South of the Netherlands. Heukelom Moergestel Oisterwijk Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Oisterwijk, June 2015 Railway station, part of the municipality of Oisterwijk includes the Oisterwijkse bossen en vennen and the Kampina. Both are nature reserves of outstanding natural beauty, the reserves are owned and kept by the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten. Media related to Oisterwijk at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Gazebo in Oisterwijk
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Oisterwijk
43.
Oosterhout
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Oosterhout is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. The municipality had a population of 53,771 in 2014, the Knights Templar had a temple here dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It was home to a castle which later acquired control over the area, up to Breda. The castle was destroyed by Spanish troops during the Eighty Years War, in 1573, the city became the seat of a flourishing ceramics industry, which lasted until the 19th century. In 1625 the city was besieged by Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, despite the rise of Protestantism, it was home to several Catholic monasteries, including that of the Premonstratensians, which is still active. Oosterhout received city rights in 1809, by will of Louis Bonaparte, slotjes Unfinished basilica of St. John. A Romanesque church existed in 1277, but from around 1473 it was rebuilt in the current Gothic style, the tower was constructed from 1519 to 1552. It was restored several times in the following centuries, monastery of St. Catherine, once a castle held by the Knights Hospitaller. Slotbossetoren, destroyed castle Oosterhout is home to sports clubs, for example volleyball club VOKO, football clubs SCO-Tofs, VV Oosterhout, baseball club Twins
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Market square in Oosterhout
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Dutch Topographic map of Oosterhout, as per March 2014
44.
Roosendaal
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Roosendaal is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Roosendaal Wouw Heerle Nispen Wouwse Plantage Moerstraten Under King Lodewijk Napoléon of the Kingdom of Holland, Nispen merged with Roosendaal to form the municipality Roosendaal en Nispen. On 1 January 1997 the municipalities Roosendaal en Nispen and Wouw merged into the municipality now known as Roosendaal. Roosendaal goes back to the 12th and 13th century, the name Rosendaele was first mentioned in a document of 1268. Roosendaal was always a part of North Brabant, for decades the countryside of Roosendaal was abandoned. The leading soccer team of the city is RBC Roosendaal, there is also a stop-train service to Antwerp. The Bravis Ziekenhuis Roosendaal is the general hospital for residents of Roosendaal. Bravis Ziekenhuis offers specialised medical care provided by a team of medical specialists. Special units include, Cardiology, Dermatology, Gynaecology, Oncology, Ophthalmology, carnaval Draai van de Kaai cycling race Annual International ABBA Day - A weekend-long event, normally each April, operated by ABBAs official Fan Club which is based in Roosendaal
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Aerial view of Roosendaal
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Dutch Topographic map of Roosendaal (place), as of March 2014.
45.
Sint Anthonis
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Sint Anthonis is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands in the Province of North Brabant. The locals refer to the town as Sint Tunnis, an inhabitant is called a Sintunnisenaar. The municipality had a population of 11,677 in 2014, the town was mentioned in a last will as early as 1312. The town was called Oelbroec at the time, as the church of St. Anthony The Abbot was completed in 1477, people started referring to the town as the Parish of St. Anthony in Oelbroec, and by 1570 the name Oelbroec had disappeared. Church Book registration started in 1640 and are to be found on the BHIC web site
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Windmill in Oploo
Sint Anthonis
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Sint Anthonis
46.
Sint-Michielsgestel
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Sint-Michielsgestel is a municipality and a town in the southern part of the Netherlands. It is located south of s-Hertogenbosch, the capital of North Brabant province. Its name refers to archangel St. Michael, most inhabitants are commuters as there is little to no industry in town. The river Dommel, which flows from a well in Belgium to the river Maas in The Netherlands, most of the villagers come here for fishing, since the river is filled with a lot of different fishes. The fish that you see the most, is the Driel. The present municipality Sint-Michielsgestel was founded in 1996, by merging Sint-Michielsgestel, Den Dungen, the complete village of Gemonde, which till then partly belonged to Boxtel, was added to Sint-Michielsgestel in 1999. Archeological finds near the township of Halder indicate that this area was inhabited during the Roman era. Thousands of Roman coins were found in 1962 not far from the Nieuw Herlaer castle and these and other local archeological finds are now on display in the Museum of Antiquities at Viataal. Sint-Michielsgestel was named after the high and dry land and their catholic church dedicated to archangel St. Michael. Its name was first mentioned when estates or heerlijkheden Herlaer and Gestel were joined in approx, the estate of Herlaer already was mentioned in 1142 AD by name as being the estate of Dirck, Monarch of Herlaer. The klein seminarie Beekvliet was founded in 1815 in the town of Sint-Michielsgestel, during World War II this facility was used as prison-camp, along with the grootseminarie in Haaren. On 4 May 1942 the Germans imprisoned 460 Dutch men in Beekvliet, all prisoners were politically involved or otherwise important to the Dutch people. Luuk van Driel, father of the famous Tim and Dirk, also known as grote spelers, got to escape along with a group of people and he was named local hero after this. Amongst them were writers Simon Vestdijk and Anton van Duinkerken, political prisoners were Wim Schermerhorn, Willem Banning, Pieter Geyl and Jan Eduard de Quay, all post-war politicians. Currently the Gymnasium Beekvliet is a renowned College with over 800 students, anneke van Giersbergen, musician, formerly of The Gathering Media related to Sint-Michielsgestel at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Sint-Michielsgestel
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Town hall of Sint-Michielsgestel
Sint-Michielsgestel
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Dutch Topographic map of Sint-Michielsgestel, June 2015
Sint-Michielsgestel
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Sint Michielsgestel, river: de Dommel
Sint-Michielsgestel
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Berlicum, church
47.
Son en Breugel
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Son en Breugel is a municipality in the southern Netherlands just outside Eindhoven. The municipality covers an area of 26.51 km2 of which 0.56 km2 is water and it had a population of 16,277 in 2014. Son en Breugel used to be two different villages, Son and Breugel, with the stream the Dommel separating the two villages, Son en Breugel also borders the following larger municipalities, Eindhoven, Meierijstad, Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten, and Best. The spoken language is North Meierijs, Breugel Son Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Son en Breugel, June 2015 The villages of Son and Breugel were founded between the 12th and 14th centuries. The villages developed quickly, some 300 households occupied the two villages during the 15th century, according to Karel van Manders 1604 Schilder-boeck, the painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder was born in the village of Breugel. Both Son as well as Breugel were hit badly during the Eighty Years War, however, both villages managed to recover from this setback. During the reign of Napoleon, both villages were combined into one municipality. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the population stayed relatively stable at about 1,500 inhabitants, however, between 1910 and 1940 the population increased from 1,600 to 3,500 inhabitants when people started moving to the village for economic reasons. It was the scene of fighting at the end of the Second World War. From 1960 onwards, Son en Breugel continued to grow, as of August 2002, the number of inhabitants was estimated at 15,000. Currently, the number of households in Son en Breugel has reached 6,000, starting early 2009, a new neighbourhood will be developed within the combined village. This neighbourhood, called Sonniuspark, will contain 600 households and will be finished in 2013, coalition 2006-2010, VVD, CDA and GreenLeft-PvdA. Media related to Son en Breugel at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Monumental home in Son
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Son en Breugel
48.
Steenbergen
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Steenbergen is a municipality and a town in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The municipality had a population of 23,717 in 2014, the municipality is mainly agricultural including a strongly growing greenhouse sector, but Steenbergen and the nearby town of Dinteloord also contain some light industry. The connection with the city of Bergen op Zoom will also be improved as a result. Steenbergen Dinteloord Nieuw-Vossemeer Kruisland Welberg De Heen It also includes the hamlet of tHaantje, Steenbergen received city rights in 1272. Guy Gibson, Wing Commander and the first CO of the RAFs 617 Squadron which he led in the Dam Busters raid in 1943, an eye-witness account detailed how his aircraft circled Steenbergen and heard its engines splutter and stop. In 2011 it was revealed the Mosquito may also have shot down in a friendly fire incident. The graves are in the RC cemetery of Steenbergen, streets have been named for both Gibson and Warwick, and one of the aircrafts propellers is located in the city park as a memorial. Media related to Steenbergen at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Aerial view of Steenbergen
Steenbergen
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Dutch Topographic map of Steenbergen, June 2015
Steenbergen
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Graves of RAF Wing Commanders Guy Gibson and Jim Warwick
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Steenbergen, church: St. Gummaruskerk
49.
Uden
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Uden is a municipality and a town in the province of Noord-Brabant, Netherlands. Uden was first recorded around 1190 as “Uthen”, however, earlier settlements have been found in the areas of the modern day Moleneind, Vorstenburg and Bitswijk and evidence of Ice Age settlements has been found near the hamlet of Slabroek. From 1324 Uden was ruled by the Valkenburg house and became a part of the Land van Ravenstein, after 1397 it became a part of the German duchy of Cleves. Uden was hardly affected by the Eighty Years War and gained freedom in 1631. A result of this was the establishment in the municipality of the Crosiers, the period of 1648–1795 saw an increase in prosperity due to the weekly markets, however, the town was almost destroyed by a fire in 1746. The Dutch folk-hero Kobus van der Schlossen was locally active at this time, in 1795, Uden was taken by French troops and incorporated into the Dutch republic and has been a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1810. After that time Uden’s wealth diminished, mainly due to competition from the neighbouring Brabant towns, resulting in emigration to Wisconsin, on 12 June 1840, a meteorite weighing approximately 720 grams fell into a field just outside Uden. It narrowly missed a group of labourers digging for peat nearby, in 1855 the village of Volkel founded its own parish. Uden began to specialise in the growth of cherries from 1860 onwards and in 1886 the old Petrus-church was demolished by fire, during World War I North Brabant was inundated by Belgian refugees. A refugee camp was erected at Vluchtoord in Uden, which housed several thousand Flemish refugees until 1918, in the 1920s people started to cultivate the extensive heathlands in the eastern part of the municipality, called De Peel. In 1922 a new village was built, called Terraveen and later renamed Odiliapeel, after Uden was struck by a devastating cyclone in 1925, it was visited by Wilhelmina, queen of the Netherlands. Since the 1950s Uden has become a centre of development. Due to the growth, very little is left of the old towns character. S, international football player Earnie Stewart was raised in Uden. His father was a U. S. Air Force airman stationed at Volkel Air Base, fashion designer Addy van den Krommenacker was also born and raised in Uden. Producer Cilia van Dijk was born in Uden on 22 November 1941 and she won an Oscar in 1985 for producing the short animated movie Anna and Bella. The dancing pair Erik van Lieshout and Angelique Bisschops became Dutch Champion in Latin and Ballroom Dancing seven times, Uden is twinned with the German city of Lippstadt. Volkel Air Base Media related to Uden at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Uden
Uden
Uden
Uden
50.
Vught
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Vught is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. Many commuters live in the municipality, and the town of Vught was once named Best place to live by the Dutch magazine Elsevier. Cromvoirt Vught Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Vught, June 2015 The first mention of Vught in the record dates to the eleventh century. By the fourteenth century, the Teutonic Order had acquired the parish, in 1328, the residents of Vught were granted the right of municipality by the Duke of Brabant. During the Eighty Years War Vught was the site of struggles between Catholic interests and the troops of William of Orange. The Saint Lambert Church was made into a Reformed Protestant church in the year 1629, after the troops of Frederick Henry, Vught is known for having been the site of a transit/concentration camp built by Nazi Germany during its occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. It was part of camp Herzogenbusch, but usually known as Kamp Vught. The camp held male and female prisoners, many of them Jewish and political activists, captured in Belgium, the guard staff included SS men and a few SS women, headed by Oberaufseherin Margarete Gallinat. The SS initially used this location as a camp to gather mostly Jewish prisoners for classification and transportation to camps in Poland. A group of women were punished for standing up for another female prisoner. Seventy-four women were pushed into a room of barely nine square meters. Ten of the died, and several suffered permanent physical or mental damage. The camp commander responsible was demoted by Himmler to the rank of soldier and sent to the Hungarian front. Dutch underground members Corrie and Betsie ten Boom were held at Vught in 1944, Vught was also a transition camp for many of the female laborers at the Agfa Kamerawerke in München-Giesing, where they built ignition and camera devises. Poncke Princen, who would become known for going over to the Indonesian guerrillas opposing Dutch rule, was imprisoned at Vught for his anti-Nazi activities. Vught was liberated by the Canadians at the end of the war, after World War II, the camp was first used as a prison for Germans and collaborators. Some of the camp has been preserved as a monument related to the Nazi occupation during World War II. In addition, a prison called Nieuw Vosseveld was built on part of the site of Camp Vught, in the beginning, it chiefly held young offenders
Vught
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Church in Vught
Vught
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Vught
Vught
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Watchtowers and barbed wire fences at Herzogenbusch concentration camp in Vught
Vught
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Bezinningsruimte ("Room for reflection") at the Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught. The room shows the names of all men, women, and children who did not survive the imprisonment at the Kamp Vught.
51.
Waalre
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Waalre is an affluent municipality and town in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands, immediately south of the city of Eindhoven. Aalst Waalre Waalre is the so-called Groenfontein and this stems from its civic policy to provide a diverse tree population in streets and lanes. Waalre is considered to be one of the richest villages in The Netherlands due to the numerous millionaires living there and it was voted 7th best Dutch municipality to live in, according to a 2010 Elsevier research. The municipality is surrounded by woods, fields, and lakes, the nearest city is Eindhoven, which is situated on the other side of the A67 motorway. The current town council was elected at the 2014 local elections, in July 2012 the town hall of Waalre was destroyed by a fire that resulted from two cars driving into the building from opposite ends at night. Media related to Waalre at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Waalre
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Former monastery in Waalre
52.
Waalwijk
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Waalwijk is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. It had a population of 46,495 in 2014 and is located near the motorways A59, the villages of Capelle, Vrijhoeve-Capelle, Sprang and Waspik together with the city of Waalwijk form the municipality of Waalwijk. The city has an old center, which has recently been modernized. Capelle Vrijhoeve-Capelle Sprang Waalwijk Waspik Waalwijk is a city in North Brabant that lies between Tilburg and s-Hertogenbosch, Waalwijk used to be known for its shoe business. Waalwijk was granted city rights in 1303, the professional football team RKC plays in Waalwijk. Some other events, Waalwijk Modestad, a full of fashion
Waalwijk
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Square in Waalwijk with city hall and church
Waalwijk
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Dutch Topographic map of Waalwijk, July 2013
Waalwijk
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Town hall and city centre.
Waalwijk
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Waalwijk, townhall
53.
Werkendam
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Werkendam is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. The municipality, part of Land van Heusden en Altena, contains a part of De Biesbosch area as is located in the province of North Brabant. Dussen Hank Nieuwendijk Sleeuwijk t Zand Werkendam Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Werkendam,2013, public transport is by Veolia neighborhood bus to Gorinchem through Sleeuwijk Tol, and by ferry to Boven-Hardinxveld. The bus between Utrecht and Breda, and the bus between Gorinchem and Den Bosch goes through Sleeuwijk Tol, for road traffic to Dordrecht there is a ferry to cross the Nieuwe Merwede river. Media related to Werkendam at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Werkendam
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Countryside in Werkendam
Werkendam
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Werkendam
54.
Woensdrecht
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Woensdrecht is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. Woensdrecht is the home of the Woensdrecht Air Base, which is located to the north-east of the village of Woensdrecht, on 2 October 1944, at the beginning of the Battle of the Scheldt, the Canadian 2nd Division began its advance north from Antwerp. Stiff fighting at Woensdrecht ensued on 6 October, the objective of the first phase, the Germans, reinforced by Battle Group Chill, saw the priority in holding there, controlling direct access to South Beveland and Walcheren Island. There were heavy casualties as the Canadians attacked over open, flooded land, driving rain, booby traps and land mines made advance very difficult. On 13 October, what would come to be known as Black Friday, the Calgary Highlanders were to follow up with a more successful action, and their Carrier Platoon succeeded in taking the rail station at Korteven. Heavy fighting at Hoogerheide also ensued, but by 16 October, Woensdrecht was secured, cutting the link to South Beveland. The Canadians was successful in completing their objective, after that the Buffaloes, ground forces dedicating to causing as much impact to the enemy troops during the barrage, secured the Breskens pocket on the north side of the Scheldt river. In 1983, it was decided that the United States would station 48 nuclear armed cruise missiles at the air base in the district, since the number was still higher in 1985, stationing was to proceed. Among the Dutch population there was protest against this, the plan was cancelled in 1987 due to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Hoogerheide Ossendrecht Putte Huijbergen Woensdrecht The climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year round, according to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Woensdrecht has a marine west coast climate, abbreviated Cfb on climate maps. Media related to Woensdrecht at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Woensdrecht
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Hill ridge in Woensdrecht
Woensdrecht
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Dutch Topographic map of Woensdrecht, June 2015
55.
Woudrichem
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Woudrichem is a municipality and a city in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. The city of Woudrichem was granted city rights in 1356, the municipality is located at 51°49′N 5°0′E in the north of North Brabant just south of the center of the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Land van Heusden en Altena, the city of Woudrichem is the largest settlement in the municipality. It is situated on the southbank of where the rivers Waal, the other population centres in the municipality are, The municipal council of Woudrichem has 15 members. The mayor is Arie Noordergraaf of the Reformed Political Party, media related to Woudrichem at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Woudrichem
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Martin Church and houses in 2015
Woudrichem
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The Fish Market of Woudrichem (c. 1850) by Jan Weissenbruch
Woudrichem
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2013 map of the municipality
56.
Virtual International Authority File
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The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records
Virtual International Authority File
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Screenshot 2012
57.
Integrated Authority File
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The Integrated Authority File or GND is an international authority file for the organisation of personal names, subject headings and corporate bodies from catalogues. It is used mainly for documentation in libraries and increasingly also by archives, the GND is managed by the German National Library in cooperation with various regional library networks in German-speaking Europe and other partners. The GND falls under the Creative Commons Zero license, the GND specification provides a hierarchy of high-level entities and sub-classes, useful in library classification, and an approach to unambiguous identification of single elements. It also comprises an ontology intended for knowledge representation in the semantic web, available in the RDF format
Integrated Authority File
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GND screenshot
58.
Etten-Leur
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Etten-Leur is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. Its name is a combination of the two towns from which the municipality originally arose, Etten and Leur, nowadays both towns have grown into one. This prosperity was caused by the fact that Etten was a centre for the production of peat, decline in economic importance marked both towns during the nineteenth century. During this time the painter Vincent van Gogh briefly lived in Etten, making him the most famous citizen in the history of Etten and Leur. During World War II, the two towns were freed from German occupation in late October 1944 by elements of the U. S. 104th Infantry Division, the economic decline was halted when, in 1950, the Dutch government decided to encourage population growth and industrial development. As a result of development, both towns have grown towards each other and merged into one, Etten-Leur. Notable residents have included the previously mentioned Vincent van Gogh
Etten-Leur
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Street (Markt) in Etten-Leur
Etten-Leur
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Etten-Leur
.svg)
pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. Its name is a combination of the two towns from which the municipality originally arose: Etten and Leur. Nowadays both towns have grown into one.
Media related to Etten-Leur at Wikimedia Commons
