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Barn

A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain. As a result, the term barn is often qualified e.g. tobacco barn, dairy barn, cow house, sheep barn, potato barn. In the British Isles, the term barn is restricted mainly to storage structures for unthreshed cereals and fodder, the terms byre or shippon being applied to cow shelters, whereas horses are kept in buildings known as stables. In mainland Europe, however, barns were often part of integrated structures known as byre-dwellings (or housebarns in US literature). In addition, barns may be used for equipment storage, as a covered workplace, and for activities such as threshing.

Etymology
The word barn comes from the Old English bere, for barley (or grain in general), and aern, for a storage place—thus, a storehouse for barley. The word bere-ern, also spelled bern and bearn, is attested to at least sixty times in homilies and other Old English prose. The related words bere-tun and bere-flor both meant threshing floor. Bere-tun also meant granary; the literal translation of bere-tun is "grain enclosure". While the only literary attestation of bere-hus (also granary) comes from the Dialogi of Gregory the Great, there are four known mentions of bere-tun and two of bere-flor. A Thesaurus of Old English lists bere-ærn and melu-hudern ("meal-store house") as synonyms for barn.

History
The modern barn largely developed from the three aisled medieval barn, commonly known as tithe barn or monastic barn. This, in turn, originated in a 12th-century building tradition, also applied in halls and ecclesiastical buildings. In the 15th century several thousands of these huge barns were to be found in Western Europe. In the course of time, its construction method was adopted by normal farms and it gradually spread to simpler buildings and other rural areas. As a rule, the aisled barn had large entrance doors and a passage corridor for loaded wagons. The storage floors between the central posts or in the aisles were known as bays or mows (from Middle French moye).

The main types were large barns with sideway passages, compact barns with a central entrance and smaller barns with a transverse passage. The latter also spread to Eastern Europe. Whenever stone walls were applied, the aisled timber frame often gave way to single-naved buildings. A special type were byre-dwellings, which included living quarters, byres and stables, such as the Frisian farmhouse or Gulf house and the Black Forest house. Not all, however, evolved from the medieval barn. Other types descended from the prehistoric longhouse or other building traditions. One of the latter was the Low German (hall) house, in which the harvest was stored in the attic. In many cases, the New World colonial barn evolved from the Low German house, which was transformed to a real barn by first generation colonists from the Netherlands and Germany.

Construction
In the Yorkshire Dales, England, barns, known locally as cowhouses were built from double stone walls with truffs or throughstones acting as wall ties. In the U.S., older barns were built from timbers hewn from trees on the farm and built as a log crib barn or timber frame, although stone barns were sometimes built in areas where stone was a cheaper building material. In the mid to late 19th century in the U.S. barn framing methods began to shift away from traditional timber framing to "truss framed" or "plank framed" buildings. Truss or plank framed barns reduced the number of timbers instead using dimensional lumber for the rafters, joists, and sometimes the trusses. The joints began to become bolted or nailed instead of being mortised and tenoned. The inventor and patentee of the Jennings Barn claimed his design used less lumber, less work, less time, and less cost to build and were durable and provided more room for hay storage. Mechanization on the farm, better transportation infrastructure, and new technology like a hay fork mounted on a track contributed to a need for larger, more open barns, sawmills using steam power could produce smaller pieces of lumber affordably, and machine cut nails were much less expensive than hand-made (wrought) nails. Concrete block began to be used for barns in the early 20th century in the U.S.

Modern barns are more typically steel buildings. From about 1900 to 1940, many large dairy barns were built in northern USA. These commonly have gambrel or hip roofs to maximize the size of the hay loft above the dairy roof, and have become associated in the popular image of a dairy farm. The barns that were common to the wheatbelt held large numbers of pulling horses such as Clydesdales or Percherons. These large wooden barns, especially when filled with hay, could make spectacular fires that were usually total losses for the farmers. With the advent of balers it became possible to store hay and straw outdoors in stacks surrounded by a plowed fireguard. Many barns in the northern United States are painted barn red with a white trim. One possible reason for this is that ferric oxide, which is used to create red paint, was the cheapest and most readily available chemical for farmers in New England and nearby areas. Another possible reason is that ferric oxide acts a preservative and so painting a barn with it would help to protect the structure. The custom of painting barns in red with white trim is widely spread in Scandinavia. Especially in Sweden the Falu red with white trims is the traditional colouring of most wooden buildings.

With the popularity of tractors following World War II many barns were taken down or replaced with modern Quonset huts made of plywood or galvanized steel. Beef ranches and dairies began building smaller loftless barns often of Quonset huts or of steel walls on a treated wood frame (old telephone or power poles). By the 1960s it was found that cattle receive sufficient shelter from trees or wind fences (usually wooden slabs 20% open).

Uses
In older style North American barns, the upper area was used to store hay and sometimes grain. This is called the mow (rhymes with cow) or the hayloft. A large door at the top of the ends of the barn could be opened up so that hay could be put in the loft. The hay was hoisted into the barn by a system containing pulleys and a trolley that ran along a track attached to the top ridge of the barn. Trap doors in the floor allowed animal feed to be dropped into the mangers for the animals.

In New England it is common to find barns attached to the main farmhouse (connected farm architecture), allowing for chores to be done while sheltering the worker from the weather.

In the middle of the twentieth century the large broad roof of barns were sometimes painted with slogans in the United States. Most common of these were the 900 barns painted with ads for Rock City.

In the past barns were often used for communal gatherings, such as barn dances.

Features
A farm may have buildings of varying shapes and sizes used to shelter large and small animals and other uses. The enclosed pens used to shelter large animals are called stalls and may be located in the cellar or on the main level depending in the type of barn. Other common areas, or features, of an American barn include:
 * a tack room (where bridles, saddles, etc. are kept), often set up as a breakroom
 * a feed room, where animal feed is stored – not typically part of a modern barn where feed bales are piled in a stackyard
 * a drive bay, a wide corridor for animals or machinery
 * a silo where fermented grain or hay (called ensilage or haylage) is stored.
 * a milkhouse for dairy barns; an attached structure where the milk is collected and stored prior to shipment
 * a grain (soy, corn, etc.) bin for dairy barns, found in the mow and usually made of wood with a chute to the ground floor providing access to the grain, making it easier to feed the cows.
 * modern barns often contain an indoor corral with a squeeze chute for providing veterinary treatment to sick animals.
 * In North Yorkshire cowhouses would have a muck hole (muck’ole in the local dialect) to allow manure to be deposited outside the barn without the cowhand leaving the building.
 * In North Yorkshire a cowhouse would have a small door or forking hole (forking’ole in the local dialect) high up on the wall to enable fodder to be 'forked' into the baux or baulks (hayloft).
 * Some English barns would have a gin gang, a semi-circular extension added to house a horse engine.

Derivatives
The physics term "barn", which is a subatomic unit of area, 10−28 m2, came from experiments with uranium nuclei during World War II, wherein they were described colloquially as "big as a barn", with the measurement officially adopted to maintain security around nuclear weapons research.

Barn idioms

 * "He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn" is a popular expression for a person having poor aim when throwing an object or when shooting at something.
 * To "lock the barn door after the horse has bolted" implies that one has solved a problem too late to prevent it.
 * "Were you born/raised in a barn?" is an accusation used differently in various parts of the English-speaking world, but most commonly as a reprimand when someone exhibits poor manners by either using ill-mannered language (particularly if related to manure), or leaving doors open.
 * "Your barn door is open" is used as a euphemism to remind someone to zip the fly of their trousers.
 * To "barnstorm" is to travel quickly around a large area making frequent public appearances.

Types
Barns have been classified by their function, structure, location, or other features. Sometimes the same building falls into multiple categories.
 * Apple barn or fruit barn – for the storage of fruit crops
 * Bank barn – A multilevel building built into a banking so the upper floor is accessible to a wagon, sometimes accessed by a bridge or ramp.
 * Bastle house – a defensive structure to guard against border reivers with accommodation on the lower floor for livestock.
 * Bridge barn or covered bridge barn – general terms for barns accessed by a bridge rather than a ramp.
 * Boô – A sheep-barn and dwelling in the Netherlands, seasonal or sometimes year round.
 * Pennsylvania barn (U.S.) of which there are sub-categories such as standard and sweitzer types. Also known as forebay or porch barns.
 * Cantilever barn – a type of log crib barn with cantilevered upper floors which developed in Appalachia (U.S.A.)
 * Combination barn – found throughout England, especially in areas of pastoral farming and the standard barn type in America. This general term means the barns were used for both crop storage and as a byre to house animals.
 * Crib barn – Horizontal log structures with up to four cribs (assemblies of crossing timbers) found primarily in the southern U.S.A.
 * Drying barns for drying crops in Finland and Sweden are called riihi and ria, respectively.
 * New World Dutch Barn – A barn type in the U.S. Also see Dutch barn (U.K.) in Other farm buildings section below.
 * Field barn – An outbuilding located in a field further afield than the main cluster of buildings that constitute a farmstead
 * New England barn – a common style of barn found in rural New England and in the U.S.
 * English barn (U.S.), also called a Yankee or Connecticut barn – A widespread barn type in the U.S.
 * Granary – to store grain after it is threshed, some barns contain a room called a granary, some barns like a rice barn blur the line between a barn and granary.
 * Gothic arch barn, has profile shaped as a Gothic arch, which became feasible to be formed by laminated members
 * Ground stable barn, a barn with space for livestock at ground level
 * Housebarn, also called a byre-dwelling – A combined living space and barn, relatively common in old Europe but rare in North America. Also, longhouses were housebarns.
 * Pole barn – a simple structure that consists of poles embedded in the ground to support a roof, with or without exterior walls. The pole barn lacks a conventional foundation, thus greatly reducing construction costs. Traditionally used to house livestock, hay or equipment.
 * Potato barn or potato house– A semi-subterranean or two story building for storage of potatoes or sweet potatoes.
 * Prairie barn – A general term for barns in the Western U.S.
 * Rice barn and the related winnowing barn
 * Round barn, built in a round shape the term often is generalized to the include polygonal barn and octagonal barn
 * Swing beam barn – A rare barn type in part of the U.S. designed for threshing with animals walking around a pole held by a swing beam inside the barn.
 * Tobacco barn – for drying of tobacco leaves
 * Tithe barn – a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing the tithes—a tenth of the farm's produce which had to be given to the church
 * Threshing barn – built with a threshing floor for the processing and storage of cereals, to keep them in dry conditions. Characterised by large double doors in the centre of one side, a smaller one on the other, and storage for cereal harvest or unprocessed on either side.  In England the grain was beaten from the crop by flails and then separated from the husks by winnowing between these doors.  The design of these typically remained unchanged between the 12th and 19th centuries.  The large doors allow for a horse wagon to be driven through; the smaller ones allow for the sorting of sheep and other stock in the spring and summer.

Other farm buildings often associated with barns

 * Carriage house: cart shed
 * Dutch barn (U.K.): an open sided structure for hay storage. The type with a movable roof is called a hay barrack in the U.S or a hooiberg (kapberg) in the Netherlands.
 * A corn crib a horizontal slatted structure built to allow airflow to dry corn (maize)
 * A granary or hórreo: a storage space for threshed grains, sometimes within a barn or as a separate building.
 * Linhay (linny, linney, linnies): A shed, often with a lean-to roof but may be a circular linhay to store hay on the first floor with either cattle on the ground floor (cattle linhay), or farm machinery (cart linhay). Characterised by an open front with regularly spaced posts or pillars.
 * Milk room or milk house: to store milk.
 * Oast houses: an outbuilding used for drying hops as part of the brewing process.
 * Shelter sheds: open-fronted structures for stock
 * Shippon: a shed which houses oxen and cattle. Has fodder storage above, regularly spaced doors on the yard side, a pitching door or window on the first floor.
 * Stable: Usually for housing horses.

Historic farm buildings
Old farm buildings of the countryside contribute to the landscape, and help define the history of the location, i.e. how farming took place in the past, and how the area has been settled throughout the ages. They also can show the agricultural methods, building materials, and skills that were used. Most were built with materials reflecting the local geology of the area. Building methods include earth walling and thatching.

Buildings in stone and brick, roofed with tile or slate, increasingly replaced buildings in clay, timber and thatch from the later 18th century. Metal roofs started to be used from the 1850s. The arrival of canals and railways brought about transportation of building materials over greater distances.

Clues determining their age and historical use can be found from old maps, sale documents, estate plans, and from a visual inspection of the building itself, noting (for example) reused timbers, former floors, partitions, doors and windows.

The arrangement of the buildings within the farmstead can also yield valuable information on the historical farm usage and landscape value. Linear farmsteads were typical of small farms, where there was an advantage to having cattle and fodder within one building, due to the colder climate. Dispersed clusters of unplanned groups were more widespread. Loose courtyard plans built around a yard were associated with bigger farms, whereas carefully laid out courtyard plans designed to minimize waste and labour were built in the latter part of the 18th century.

The barns are typically the oldest and biggest buildings to be found on the farm. Many barns were converted into cow houses and fodder processing and storage buildings after the 1880s. Many barns had owl holes to allow for access by barn owls, encouraged to aid vermin control.

The stable is typically the second-oldest building type on the farm. They were well built and placed near the house due to the value that the horses had as draught animals

Modern granaries were built from the 18th century. Complete granary interiors, with plastered walls and wooden partitioning to grain bins, are very rare.

Longhouses are an ancient building where people and animals used the same entrance. These can still be seen, for example, in North Germany, where the Low Saxon house occurs.

Few interiors of the 19th century cow houses have survived unaltered due to dairy-hygiene regulations in many countries.

Old farm buildings may show the following signs of deterioration: rotting in timber-framed constructions due to damp, cracks in the masonry from movement of the walls, e.g. ground movement, roofing problems (e.g. outward thrust of it, deterioration of purlins and gable ends), foundation problems, penetration of tree roots; lime mortar being washed away due to inadequate weather-protection. Walls made of cob, earth mortars or walls with rubble cores are all highly vulnerable to water penetration, and replacement or covering of breathable materials with cement or damp-proofing materials may trap moisture within the walls.

In England and Wales some of these historical buildings have been given "listed building" status, which provides them some degree of archaeological protection.

Some grant schemes are available to restore Historic Farmland buildings, for example Natural England's Environmental Stewardship, Countryside Stewardship and Environmentally Sensitive Areas Schemes.

title: Barn


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Oirschot

Oirschot (Orskot in the local dialect) is a municipality and town in the province of North Brabant (Noord-Brabant) in the southern Netherlands. It is 12 km from Eindhoven and 20 km from Tilburg. The municipality had a population of 0 in.

Population centres
• Oirschot

• Middelbeers

• Oostelbeers

• Spoordonk

• Westelbeers

Sights
There are more than 300 monuments in the municipality Oirschot.

Some of the historic buildings in the town of Oirschot are:
 * The Roman Catholic Church named Sint-Petrus’-Bandenkerk. This 15th and 16th century Gothic church is the biggest building in the town, and has a 73 meter tower
 * The old town hall built in 1513 in the town centre
 * Maria-church (Maria-kerk). A 12th-century Romanesque church in the town centre
 * Monastery Nazareth (Klooster Nazareth) with a chapel in Neo-Romanesque style (1910)
 * Former Brewery De Kroon (Brouwerij de Kroon) built in 1773
 * Hof van Solms, palace of Arnoldus Feij (or Arnold Fey)
 * The Big Chair (De Grote Stoel) the biggest chair of Europe
 * Huize Groenenberg, a house built in 1613

Monuments outside the town include:
 * Chapel of the Holy Oak (Kapel van de Heilige Eik), stone chapel dated 1854 built on the foundations of a stone chapel of 1606 (there was another stone chapel and a wooden chapel on the same location before the one of 1606). The chapel of 1606 was demolished by order of the States General in 1649 (Catholicism could not be practiced openly)
 * The Old Tower (Oude Toren) of Oostelbeers, a church tower of the 14th century in a patch of forest surrounded by fields
 * The Old Church of Middelbeers (Het Oude Kerkje – Oude Sint-Willibrorduskerk) – intact gothic rural church (15th century) typical for the region
 * Maria Chapel (Mariakapel) of Westelbeers – chapel dating to 1637; it is unknown why this chapel was not demolished during the 1640s or 1650s like most other Catholic chapels in the region

Events
Among the festivals held in Oirschot every year are:
 * Zinderend Oirschot
 * Countery & Western weekend

City council
The municipal elections in March 2022 resulted in the following make-up of the City Council (17 seats in total):

 * De Gewone Man (local party): 5 seats
 * CDA: 4 seats
 * Dorpsvisie (local party): 3 seats
 * Sociaal Progressief Oirschot (local party): 2 seats
 * VVD: 2 seats
 * D66: 1 seats

Mayor
The mayor of the municipality is Judith Keijzers-Verschelling, a member of the CDA political party.

Notable people

 * Arnold Fey, (Dutch Wiki) (born 1633 in Oirschot – 1679) a Dutch doctor.
 * Frans van Lith (born 1863 in Oirschot – 1926) a Jesuit priest in Central Java
 * Cornelius Van de Ven (1865 in Oirschot – 1932) Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana
 * Carl Romme (1896 in Oirschot – 1980) a Dutch politician
 * Michiel van Kempen (born 1957 in Oirschot) a Dutch writer, art historian and literary critic
 * Anita Smits (born 1967 in Oirschot) a former archer who competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics
 * Truus Smulders-Beliën (1902–1966), first female mayor in the Netherlands
 * Sophie van Gestel (born 1991 in Oostelbeers) a Dutch beach volleyball player, participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Oirschot


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Uranus (film)

Uranus is a 1990 French comedy-drama film with Gérard Depardieu about post-World War II recovery in a small French village, as the controlling French Communist Party tries to dispose of Pétain loyalists.

It was directed and written by Claude Berri and Arlette Langmann, based on a novel by Marcel Aymé. The film was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival.

Cast

 * Michel Blanc as Gaigneux
 * Gérard Depardieu as Léopold Lajeunesse
 * Jean-Pierre Marielle as Archambaud
 * Philippe Noiret as Watrin
 * Gérard Desarthe as Maxime Loin
 * Michel Galabru as Monglat
 * Danièle Lebrun as Mrs. Archambaud
 * Fabrice Luchini as Jourdan
 * Daniel Prévost as Rochard
 * Myriam Boyer as Mrs. Gaigneux
 * Ticky Holgado as Mégrin, lawyer
 * Vincent Grass as Ledieu
 * Florence Darel as Miss Archambaud
 * Yves Afonso as the brigadier
 * Josiane Lévêque as Andréa Lajeunesse

Reception
The film opened at number one at the Paris box office with a first week gross of 4.9 million Franc ($1 million) from 48 screens.

title: Uranus (film)


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Oisterwijk

Oisterwijk is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands.

Population centres

 * Haaren
 * Heukelom
 * Moergestel
 * Oisterwijk

Topography

Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Oisterwijk, 2021

Transport

 * Railway station: Oisterwijk

City
Oisterwijk received city rights in 1230. Part of the municipality of Oisterwijk includes the 'Oisterwijkse bossen en vennen' (Oisterwijk forests and fens) and the 'Kampina', two nature reserves. The reserves are owned and kept by the 'Vereniging Natuurmonumenten' (Nature Monuments Society).

Notable people

 * Maria van Oisterwijk (died 1547), Dutch Catholic mystic and writer
 * Nicolaus van Esch (1507 in Oisterwijk – 1578) a Dutch Roman Catholic theologian and mystical writer.
 * Adriaan Poirters (1605 in Oisterwijk – 1674) a Dutch Jesuit poet and prose writer, active in the Counter Reformation
 * Johan Antony Barrau (1873 in Oisterwijk – 1953) a Dutch mathematician and geometer
 * Arnold Meijer (1905 – 1965 in Oisterwijk) a Dutch fascist politician
 * Annita van Iersel (born 1948 in Oisterwijk) former wife of Paul Keating, former Prime Minister of Australia
 * Jan Schuurkes (born 1950 in Oisterwijk) a Dutch biologist and gastrointestinal researcher
 * Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (born 1963 in Ridderkerk) a Dutch politician, municipal councillor 1994 to 2006

title: Oisterwijk


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Oosterhout

Oosterhout (from ooster, "eastern", and hout, "woods") is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. The municipality had a population of 0 in.

Population centers
The municipality of Oosterhout includes the following places: • Baarschot

• Den Hout

• Dorst

• Eind van den Hout

• Groenendijk

• Heikant

• Heistraat

• Hespelaar

• Oosteind

• Oosterhout (city)

• Seters

• Steelhoven

• Steenoven

• Ter Aalst

• Vijfhuizen

• Vrachelen

History
Oosterhout is mentioned for the first time in 1277, although archaeological excavations showed the existence of human settlements in the area in prehistoric times. 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 surrounding area, up to Breda and Bergen op Zoom. The castle was destroyed by Spanish troops during the Eighty Years War, in 1573; only a tower of it survives today.

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, and suffered heavy damage.

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.

Main sights

 * Slotjes (Castle)
 * Unfinished basilica of St. John. A Romanesque church existed in 1277, but from around 1473 it was rebuilt in the current Gothic style, being finished in 1493. 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

Culture
De anoniemen a group of statues created by Paul Elshout is situated in Slotpark.

Sport
Oosterhout is home to several sports clubs, for example volleyball club VOKO, football clubs SCO-Tofs, VV Oosterhout, baseball club Twins and hockey club De Warande.

Sport clubs
• VOKO, Volleyball

• ATV Scorpio, Athletics

• SCO-Tofs, Football

• TSC, Football

• VV Oosterhout, Football

• De Warande, Hockey

• OZ&PC De Warande, Swimming and Water polo

• De Voltreffers, Korfball

• De Glaskoning Twins, Baseball

Notable people

 * Willem Hendrik de Vriese (1806–1862) a Dutch botanist and physician
 * Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857–1936) a Dutch scholar of Oriental cultures and Advisor to the colonial government of the Netherlands East Indies
 * Marinus De Jong (1891-1984) a Belgian composer and pianist of Dutch origin
 * Gerrit Brokx (1933–2002) a Dutch politician
 * Johannes Wilhelmus Maria Liesen (born 1960) a Dutch clergyman and bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Breda
 * Mirjam Mous (born 1963) a Dutch author of children's literature
 * Marlies Dekkers (born 1965) a Dutch fashion designer
 * Peter Kops (born 1967) known as Extince, a Dutch rapper
 * Sander P. Zwegers (born 1975) a Dutch mathematician and academic

Sport

 * Kees Pijl (1897–1976) a Dutch footballer with 203 caps for Feyenoord, competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics
 * Wanny van Gils (1959–2018) a Dutch football player with over 300 club caps and coach
 * Kelly van Zon (born 1987) a Dutch table tennis player
 * Wesley Vissers (born 1993) a Dutch professional bodybuilder
 * Jennifer Vreugdenhil (born 1995) a Dutch footballer

title: Oosterhout


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Ravenstein, Netherlands

Ravenstein is a city and a former municipality in the south of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. The former municipality covered an area of 42.68 km² (of which 0.96 km² water). In 2003 it was incorporated into the city of Oss.

Ravenstein was founded by Walraven van Valkenburg. It received city rights in 1380. From 1631 until 1796, Ravenstein and the surrounding area were part of the Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg and was a Catholic enclave within the Dutch Republic.

Land van Ravenstein
In 1360, Ravenstein became part of the Land van Ravenstein, and received city rights in 1380. Philip of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein died in 1528 without successors, and the land became part of the Duchy of Cleves. In 1609, it became part of the Margraviate of Brandenburg who sold the Dutch Republic the right to fortify Ravenstein and maintain troops in the city. In 1631, it changed hands to the Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg, and became a Catholic enclave within the Dutch Republic. The Land van Ravenstein was conquered by France in 1794, and sold to the Batavian Republic (the predecessor of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) in 1800. In 1814, it became part of the province of North Brabant.

History
In 1360, Ravenstein was founded by Walraven van Valkenburg who moved his castle from Herpen to the bank of the river Maas. In 1380, it received city rights and a wall was built around the city with three gates. The fortification were renewed between 1522 and 1526, but demolished in 1543 by order of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Around 1621, the city was refortified by the Dutch Republic. In 1630, the city became part of the Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg, and a catholic enclave within the Dutch Republic. In 1635, a garrison of the Dutch Republic was stationed in Ravenstein and stayed until 1672. In 1794, Ravenstein was conquered by France and sold to the Batavian Republic in 1800. In 1818, the castle was demolished. In 1872, a railway station was built in Ravenstein and the city started to industrialise.

Ravenstein was home to 875 people in 1840. It was an independent municipality until 2003 when it was merged into Oss.

Former municipality
Ravenstein also included the following towns, villages and townships: Demen, Dennenburg, Deursen, Dieden, Herpen, Huisseling, Keent, Koolwijk, Neerlangel, Neerloon, Overlangel.

Dieden, Demen en Langel was a separate municipality until 1923, when it was merged with Ravenstein.

Transport

 * Ravenstein railway station

Ravenstein lies directly to the A50, the highway from Eindhoven to Nijmegen. Close is Paalgraven junction, where the A59 divericates to 's-Hertogenbosch (25 km) and the A2 (20 km), the main road from north to south in the Netherlands.

title: Ravenstein, Netherlands


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Reusel-De Mierden

Reusel-De Mierden is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. It is located in the North Brabant province, and has an area of undefined km2. It had a population of 0 in.

Population centres
• Hooge Mierde

• Hulsel

• Lage Mierde

• Reusel

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Reusel-De Mierden, June 2015

Genealogy
Reusel-De Mierden erroneously appears in more than a million family trees as a place of origin or residence. This is due to a software error that changed "Holland" to "Reusel-De Mierden, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands."

Notable people

 * Steven Mierdman (ca.1510 in Hooge Mierde – 1559) a Dutch printer of Reformation books
 * Harry van Gestel (born 1953 in Reusel) a Dutch artist and painter
 * Geert van der Weijst (born 1990 in Reusel) a former Dutch cyclist

title: Reusel-De Mierden


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Rucphen

Rucphen is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands between Roosendaal and Etten-Leur, south of the railway, but without a train-station.

Population centres
• Sint Willebrord ('t Heike) (pop.: 9,320)

• Sprundel (5,090)

• Rucphen (4,580)

• Zegge (2,210)

• Schijf (1,430)

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Rucphen, June 2015

Notable people

 * Hendrik Detmers (1761 in Sprundel – 1825) a Dutch general in the Battle of Waterloo
 * Dick Jaspers (born 1965 in Sint Willebrord) a Dutch professional carom billiards player
 * John Kerstens (born 1965 in Zegge) a Dutch politician and former trade union leader
 * Donny Gorter (born 1988) a Dutch professional footballer with over 200 club caps
 * Tessa ter Sluis (born 1995 in Sint Willebrord) a Dutch professional squash player

title: Rucphen


text:
Schijndel

Schijndel is a town and former municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Schijndel is located approximately 14 km southeast of 's-Hertogenbosch. Schijndel was founded on 6 December in the year 1309. On 1 January 2017 Schijndel, together with Veghel and Sint-Oedenrode, merged into a new municipality called Meierijstad creating the largest municipality of the province North-Brabant in terms of land area.

Population centres

 * Schijndel
 * Wijbosch

The municipality had a population of 23,705 in. This figure has remained virtually unchanged since the 1990s.

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Schijndel, June 2015

Notable residents

 * Gérard Buzen, Belgian general\minister of defense
 * André Gevers, cyclist
 * Winy Maas, architect
 * Wiljan Vloet, football manager
 * Rai Vloet, football player and son of Wiljan Vloet
 * Carli Hermès, photographer and director
 * Jack de Gier, football player
 * Hein van de Geyn, jazz bassist
 * Sissy van Alebeek, cyclist
 * Ronald Mutsaars, cyclist
 * Manon van den Boogaard, football player
 * Said Ali Hussein, football player

Trivia
In the 2010 film New Kids Turbo, the city is hit by a huge bomb that was originally intended to destroy neighboring Maaskantje. Finally, in the sequel New Kids Nitro, a bitter fight rages between a group of young men and a woman from Schijndel and a group of young men from Maaskantje. This also brought Schijndel to the attention of New Kids fans, who had previously almost exclusively traveled to Maaskantje to visit locations from the series and the films.

title: Schijndel


text:
Sint Anthonis

Sint Anthonis is a village and former municipality 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 former municipality had a population of 0 in. Sint Anthonis, Boxmeer, Cuijk, Grave, and Mill en Sint Hubert merged into the new municipality of Land van Cuijk on 1 January 2022.

History
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.

Sint Anthonis was a part of the lordship of Boxmeer during the ancien régime. After the French rule, Sint Anthonis was parted from Boxmeer. Together with the village of Ledeacker it formed the municipality of "Sint Anthonis en Ledeacker". In 1821 Oploo joined this municipality, now called "Oploo, Sint Anthonis en Ledeacker". In 1913 this municipality had 1769 inhabitants, of which 906 men and 863 women, and of which 965 lived in the village of Sint Anthonis. The surface of the municipality existed of 3818 ha (with 46,33 inhabitants per km²).

On 1 January 1994 the municipality of Wanroij fused with the municipality of Oploo, Sint Anthonis en Ledeacker into the new municipality of Sint Anthonis. On 4 July 1994 also the name of the village was changed: St. Anthonis became Sint Anthonis.

Population centres
•

•

• Oploo

• De Walsert

• Sint Anthonis

•

• Wanroij

• Westerbeek

Topography

Map of the former municipality of Sint Anthonis, 2015

Notable people

 * Piet de Bekker (1921 in Empel – 2013) a Dutch politician.
 * Dien Cornelissen (1924 in Oploo – 2015) a Dutch politician and social worker
 * Monic Hendrickx (born 1966 in Sint Anthonis) a Dutch actress

Sport

 * Piet van Katwijk (born 1950 n Oploo) a retired Dutch cyclist, competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics
 * Fons van Katwijk (born 1951 in Oploo) a retired Dutch cyclist, competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics

title: Sint Anthonis


text:
Sint-Michielsgestel (municipality)

Sint-Michielsgestel is a municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands. It is named for the village of Sint-Michielsgestel located within its boundaries.

Population centres
Smaller townships, also part of Sint-Michielsgestel, are: Besselaar, Doornhoek, Haanwijk, Hal, Halder, De Bus, De Hogert, De Loofaart, Heikantse Hoeve, Hersend, Hezelaar, Hoek, Kerkeind, Laar, Maaskantje, Middelrode, Nijvelaar, Plein, Poeldonk, Ruimel, Tielse Hoeve, Wielsche Hoeven, Wamberg (Netherlands) and Woud.
 * Berlicum
 * Den Dungen
 * Gemonde
 * Sint-Michielsgestel

Contemporary Sint-Michielsgestel
The municipality consists of a number of villages and rural areas just south and south east of 's-Hertogenbosch. Most inhabitants are commuters preferring to live in these quite villages, while working elsewhere. There is little industrial activity in the villages, but the agricultural sector is certainly important.

Sint-Michielsgestel and Gemonde are in the drainage basin of the river Dommel. Den Dungen, Berlicum and Middelrode are in that of the Aa (Meuse) and the Zuid-Willemsvaart. It makes that there are very few roads connecting these two groups of settlements.

History
The current municipality Sint-Michielsgestel was created in 1996. That year the municipalities of Sint-Michielsgestel, Den Dungen (est. 1810) and Berlicum (est. 1238) were merged. The entire village of Gemonde, which had previously been part of Boxtel, Sint-Michielsgestel, Sint-Oedenrode and Schijndel, was added to the new municipality.

Local government
The municipal council of Sint-Michielsgestel consists of 21 seats, which are divided as follows after the municipal elections of March 16 2012:

 * Local Political Alliance (Plaatselijke Politieke Alliantie) - 7 seats
 * CDA - 4 seats
 * Dorpsgoed - 3 seats
 * GroenLinks/PvdA - 2 seats
 * De Gestelse Coalitie - 2 seats
 * VVD - 2 seats
 * D66 - 1 seat

At the moment, the municipal board (college van burgemeester en wethouders) is formed by the Local Political Alliance, CDA and GroenLinks/PvdA.

Notable people

 * Gerrit Braks (1933–2017) a Dutch politician and agronomist
 * Cas Wouters (born 1943) a Dutch sociologist who embraces figurational sociology
 * Anneke van Giersbergen (born 1973) a Dutch singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist; formerly of The Gathering

Sport

 * Jan van Grinsven (born 1960 in Den Dungen) a former football goalkeeper with 484 club caps
 * Ronald Jansen (born 1963) a former field hockey goalkeeper, gold medallist in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics
 * Kees Akerboom Jr. (born 1983) a retired Dutch basketball player
 * Tom van Weert (born 1990) a footballer with 230 club caps, currently playing at Volos, Greece

title: Sint-Michielsgestel (municipality)


text:
Sint-Oedenrode

Sint-Oedenrode is a town in the province of North Brabant.

Sint-Oedenrode is a moderately urbanized town in the Meierij of 's-Hertogenbosch. Sint-Oedenrode had a population of 18,360 as of and has an area of undefined km2. On 1 January 2017 Sint-Oedenrode, together with Schijndel and Veghel, merged into a new municipality called Meierijstad creating the largest municipality of the province North-Brabant in terms of land area.

The municipality traditionally had "vrijheidsrechten" (a predecessor of city rights), since 1232, until the abolishment of the privileges and introduction of the Municipalities Act in 1851. In those feudal times Sint-Oedenrode was referred to as a "Vlek" (market town). Today it is still a large town. From southeast to northwest, the town is split by the river Dommel.

Population centers
The municipality Sint-Oedenrode consists of several quarters and hamlets:
 * 11 quarters in Sint-Oedenrode and 3 hamlets ("Everse", "Koevering" and "Kremselen")
 * 1 quarter in Boskant and 3 hamlets ("De Bus", "Scheeken Vernhout" and "De Bunders")
 * 1 quarter in Olland and 1 hamlet ("Houthem")
 * 1 quarter in Nijnsel and 2 hamlets ("Vressel" and "Zwijnsbergen")

The town of Sint-Oedenrode consist of two historical urban cores: "Sint-Oedenrode" and "Eerschot", which are separated by the Dommel.

The origin of the name 'Sint-Oedenrode'
According to legend, Sint-Oedenrode owes its name to Saint Oda. The saga goes as follows: This woman was a mythical blind born Scottish, possibly Irish, daughter of king Eugenius VII, who around the year 700, along with a servant was sent on a pilgrimage on the mainland by her father. Oda was miraculously cured from her blindness after she visited the tomb of Saint Lambert of Maastricht in Liège. She decided she wanted to devote her life to the Christian God as a nun. She returned to her father who had decided a husband for her. Oda did not wish to marry as was her father's wish. In a desperate attempt of not marrying, she decided to flee to the mainland. She started to travel from one place to another, wherever she could find silence for worshipping. Time on time she was disrupted in her worshipping by magpies, and she fled from the birds. Eventually she arrived in Toxandria (Austrasia) in a little settlement called Rode (old Dutch word for a man made open place in the woods), where the villagers built her a hut on the heath and she settled as a hermit. After she died in 726 A.D. the villagers were getting pilgrims from the entire region, and started to call the place Sint-Oda's-Rode, which became Sint-Oedenrode in present-day speaking.

World War II
During the Second World War Sint-Oedenrode suffered tremendously. In May 1940 the German Army invaded the Low Countries and France, and due to the retreat from the Peel-Raam Line by the Dutch Armed Forces skirmishes arouse in Sint-Oedenrode in an attempt to keep the enemy at bay. After the capitulation (15 May 1940, in Zeeland 2 days later) Sint-Oedenrode found itself under German occupation. There was a small German Luftwaffe detachment of about 15 people providing a manned look-out (just like the Royal Observer Corps) for Allied planes which were undertaking operations against Volkel Air Base and Eindhoven (Air Base Welschap, now Eindhoven Airport).

During the final months of occupation the mayor (appointed by the Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands) was sacked and replaced by a pro-German mayor. The reasons for the sacking were that the central Distribution Office was plundered from blank distribution cards that were necessary to get coupons for males who were hiding from the Arbeitseinsatz (compulsory labour in the German war industry) and were using fake names. Also the mayor tried to sabotage the arbeitseinsatz.

With the beginning of Operation Market Garden in 1944, Sint-Oedenrode was situated on an important location between the Allied landing zones in Son and Veghel. General Eisenhower and Field Marshal Montgomery had the important task of keep the corridor (which ran through Sint-Oedenrode) open for the passage of the British XXX Corps to conquer Nijmegen.

In September 1944 the liberation of Sint-Oedenrode came during Operation Market-Garden envisaged by Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery. The US 101st Airborne Division liberated the Town of Sint-Oedenrode (the 'Market' part) after para droppings in the fields in the vicinity. They were followed by the British XXX Army Corps (the 'Garden' part). For a brief time the 18th-century castle Henkenshage was used as allied HQ.

The British left 150 comrades behind, the Americans 125. Twenty-two British soldiers are buried at the General Cemetery in Sint-Oedenrode. Most of the British are reburied at the Uden War Cemetery and some did find their final resting place in Mierlo. The Americans who were originally buried in Wolfswinkel (Son en Breugel) are reburied in Margraten or the US.

On September 16, 1994 101st Airborne veterans revealed a war monument 'Monument for the Dutch'. The monument is a gift from the veterans to the civilians who fought alongside of the US troops, much to surprise and relief of the US soldiers. The inscription on the monument is in English and reads "Dedicated to the people of the Corridor by the veterans of the 101st Airborne Division, in grateful appreciation of their courage, compassion and friendship". The monument can be found alongside the road 'Corridor' which was constructed after the war between key points of the actual Corridor: the allied supply route from Eindhoven to Nijmegen.

Post-war era
In the twentieth century mainly the growth of N.V. ODA Steel Works and Ovenbouw v/h H.J. van de Kamp, later N.V. ODA Steel Furniture (now part of the multinational Royal Ahrend) created employment in Sint-Oedenrode. Sint-Oedenrode is regularly erroneously referred to as rural municipality. As a former market town the urbanization had already begun at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The excessive urbanization is evident from the fact that in 1930 already more than half of the population was not engaged in agriculture. After neighboring municipalities Schijndel and Veghel, Sint-Oedenrode was at the time the third most industrialized town of eastern North-Brabant. Around 1950 Sint-Oedenrode lost its third place to Uden, which began to develop quickly after it was designated as a core congregation. In 1956 only 30% of the inhabitants of Sint-Oedenrode was involved in agriculture.

Urban development
Sint-Oedenrode is traditionally a large town. Towns like this, which had already before 1850 more than just local significance, are referred to as "vlek" (market town) or "vrijheerlijkheid". These kind of towns often show a mix of historical origin and growth factors. Usually these settlements date back to the Middle Ages and were the primary parishes with a market function, attested by the presence of a square. In St. Oedenrode this is clearly recognizable in the current market square. The oldest buildings of St. Oedenrode were concentrated around "'t Sant", and the centre moved later to the current market square, where the function as a transit town led to a widening of the main road and the town's development into a linear settlement. Fairs were held at the market square, especially for livestock and dairy products.

Early 19th century the sacristan Brock describes his birthplace Sint-Oedenrode as follows:

''Dit laatsten, van ouds zoo vermaard Vlek, is thans weinig meer dan een middelmatig dorp der Meierij, bestaande uit weinig meer dan 150 afzonderlyke huizen, die een enkele straat formeert, verdeeld in den Heuvel, de Markt, het Moleneind, welke digt betimmert zyn, en den Dyk, zynde dat gedeelte naar de zyde van Eerschot tot aan de Dommel, waar de huizen meer verspreid liggen, niet aanzienlyk zyn, als in het overige gedeelte. Aan de Markt, waar het Raadhuis midden op ligt, en waar men van vooren één schoonen lindenboom, en agter eenen grooten ronden poel aantreft, zijn er de huizen op stadswijze gebouwd, en leverd een fraaij gezigt op.''

"This last, traditionally so renowned "Vlek", is now little more than a mediocre village of the Meierij, consisting of little more than 150 separate houses, which forms a single street, divided into "de Heuvel", the Market, the "Moleneind" which are densely housed, and "de Dijk", being the part of Eerschot till the Dommel, where the houses are more scattered and are not considerable, as in the other part of town. At the Market, where the town hall is situated in the middle, and where one can find one beautiful linden tree in the front, and a large round pool in the back, there are houses build in the urban way, which looks very fine"

The description indicates that despite the minimal growth in the past few centuries, Sint-Oedenrode has retained its as it were urban allure in its old centers. For the most part the town kept a very rural character, in which an alternating ribbon of workers houses, farmhouses and manors defined the towns image. This street in the old town has been quite well maintained to this date.

The center of Sint-Oedenrode been developed in recent years into a pleasant residential area. In total, the shopping area is almost 25.000m2. More than 40 percent of these shops ar in the center of Sint-Oedenrode. Sint-Oedenrode is mainly a shopping center for people from the own community who shop for groceries. A relatively large proportion of the sales volume ( 64% ) consists of retail and horeca expenditure by the inhabitants of the municipality itself. The town is only to a limited extent able to attract customers from other parts of the country. Within the region, in particular the relationship with Son en Breugel appears to be strong. The inhabitants of Veghel and Boxtel are an important group of customers for the retail and horeca in Sint-Oedenrode as well. The inhabitants of Sint-Oedenrode go to regional shopping centers in Schijndel, Veghel themselves as well. However, especially Eindhoven has a strong attraction to Sint-Oedenrode and the entire region : 17% of spending outside the village by residents from Stint-Oedenrode is done in Eindhoven.

Landscape development
Sint-Oedenrode originated on the banks of the river the Dommel. The presence of this river has left a mark on the development of the landscape and the main parts of the town. The valley landscape with meadows, pastures and small landscape elements such as steep edges and pools was fairly open. The higher, cultivated fields formed with its gibbous fields, hawthorn hedges and wooden windbreaks a more closed landscape. In the late 13th century, the Dukes of Brabant were about to issue a perpetual lease of common grounds. For example, in 1314 the lease issued the "Bodem van Elde". This vast humid forest and heathland was virtually uninhabitable. The border of this congregation, which was located between Sint Michielsgestel, Boxtel, Schijndel, Sint-Oedenrode and Liempde, was formed by the river the Dommel. The commissioning of the Bodem of Elde led to the emergence of the characteristic gibbous fields in this part of the Meierij. Some of these fields in this area existed for centuries in the same form and can nowadays be very well identified by their unchanged shape. On some of the parts with very loamy soils in Sint-Oedenrode there were many poplars planted from 1750 on. Between 1760 and 1780 the largest increase in silviculture took place in the municipalities Schijndel, Sint-Oedenrode, Veghel and Udenhout. Following the planting of poplars, the pattern of sand paths and wet stream valley soils were formed which characterizes the Meierijs "Poplar Landscape" till this day. This landscape was in fact purely economic, since the poplar cultivation served the clog industry. The core of this clog industry, and therefore of the poplar cultivation, was mainly formed by the municipalities Sint-Oedenrode, Schijndel, Veghel, Liempde, Best and Boxtel. In the nineteenth century Sint-Oedenrode grew again because of this industry, which reached its peak in the first half of the 20th century. The reclamation of the remaining waste land known as the Schijndelse Heath, especially the Kienehoef, took place since the 18th century.

Nature and Parks
Most nature in Sint-Oedenrode is located in the Dommeldal (valley of the Dommel river). The most original part and natural state of the Dommel can be found between Eindhoven and Boxtel and hence in Sint-Oedenrode. Here the Dommel has still its original winds and meanders and forms a cultural-historical and valuable landscape area.

In addition there is the park of the Castle Henkenshage with large oak trees, designed by Leonard Springer. This park borders the area Diependaal. Originally Diependaal was a poplar planting to accommodate the wood for the clog industry, and is now being transformed into a more natural forest.

North of Sint-Oedenrode is also a heath-area. Here was formerly the Schijndel Heath. North of the Schijndelse Heath lie the Marggraff Forests. This is a deciduous forest measuring 85 ha, which lies close to the Geelders and forms together a nature reserve. South of Sint-Oedenrode lies an ancient agrarian and poplar landscape.

In the north lies park Kienehoef. With a playground, a petting zoo and two ponds.

List of nature areas in Sint-Oedenrode

 * Het Groene Woud
 * The Dommelbeemden
 * The Moerkuilen
 * The Vresselse Bossen
 * De Rooise Broek and De Scheeken
 * The Geelders

Municipal council
The municipal council of Sint-Oedenrode consists out of 17 seats. Below is the formation of the council since 1998: In 2014, Democratische Groepering Sint-Oedenrode and B.V.T. Rooi joined as one political party "DGS-BVT Rooi".

Notable buildings

 * Neo-Gothic Sint Martinus Kerk (Sint-Oedenrode) (Saint Martin Church) from 1915. This is on the site of the old Oda Church. This was a Romanesque style basilica from the 11th century. It stood near the castle of Rode. In 1494 this church was expanded with a Gothic choir with a continuous light-colored horizontal strip of tuff stone, between the normal layer of bricks. It was a chapter church where nine secular canons lived. The chapter existed until 1648. In 1801 the tower collapsed, and the church was demolished to be replaced by a new building, the Saint Martin's church, which was consecrated in 1808. In 1807 the new church was built on the foundations of the original church. In 1915 the new church was replaced by the present church, which was designed by W.Th. Aalst. It has been restored from 1995 - 1997. The choir from 1498 is still intact and is a national monument. The church is the presumed to be the tomb of Hildeware, Countess of Rode, from 1507. This was the foundress of the first church. There are some Baroque paintings and a font in the interior from the 12th century. There is also an organ of 1839, produced by Frans Smits. This was restored in 2001.
 * Martinus Cemetery from 1854. The Oda chapel is set on the famous "Odabergje", in the legend the place where the Holy Oda of Brabant settled in the early Middle Ages.
 * The Knoptoren. The old Eerschot church served since 1648 as a Protestant church. In 1800 the tower, dating from around 1400, lost its steeple. In the past the tombs of the Lords of the castle De Laar were located in this church.
 * The Sint Paulusgasthuis (St. Paul's Hospice) dates from 1434. The plaque, which indicates the wrong year 1546, was only applied in 1926. The characteristic white houses were inhabited until 1972 by poor single women of good character. Also the museum for Brabantic hats and poffers is located in the small house.
 * Henkenshage. A former fortified farmhouse, which was known in the 14th century as Strijpe or Streepe. This was bought in 1850 by Peter Jacob Girard de Mielet van Coehoorn and was given its present form as a country stay. In fact, the building is therefore not a real castle, but a country house. During WWII it was used as a distribution centre and during the liberation of Holland (Operation Market Garden) in 1944 it was the headquarters of the US 101st Airborne Division. It is now known as Kasteel Henkenshage and is a Wedding and Function Centre.
 * Castle Dommelrode is a former castle, which was built in 1605 by the sheriff of the Peelland quarter. It has long been a monastery, but today it serves as the municipal hall of Sint-Oedenrode.
 * De Grote Laar is a farmstead that exist since 1360. The well belonged to the castle De Laar, which has long since disappeared.
 * De Markt is a tapered, more or less square market area with a bandstand, which is partly surrounded by stately mansions, including:
 * Het Oude Raadhuis (The Old Town Hall), built in 1863 as a mansion for J.G. Raup and bought in 1881 by the municipality, after the old town hall from 1691, which was at the center of the market square, was demolished. There was a balcony and a tower built, but it was abandoned in 1963 as the town council moved to Castle Dommelrode. At the back of the house is a coach house including a 14th-century cellar, from the former house "Ten Kelre". In the sidewall there are a number of plaques, including those of the 2nd Regiment Hussars that was stationed in Sint-Oedenrode because of the mobilization during World War I, including a number of Horse Doctors of the 1st and 2nd class. In 1939 this regiment was again stationed in the town. There is also a memorial of the 101st Airborne Division, made in 1985.
 * The Giant Clog, located in the Dommel park on the Corridor, is a reminder that Sint-Oedenrode was the centre of the clompen industry. This Clog was originally made of wood but due to vandalism has been remade in concrete.
 * Coöperatieve Zuivelfabriek Sint-Oda is a building by Louis Kooken from 1916 and was a butter factory with steam engine, which has been in use till 1979. The chimney is a municipal monument.
 * De Gouden Leeuw (The Golden Lion). Inn dating back to at least 1876.

Musea
Sint-Oedenrode has several museums and castles:
 * Museum H.J. van de Kamp shows an old forge interior dating back to 1905.
 * Museum Sint-Paulusgasthuis or Poffer- en mutsenmuseum located in the former Sint-Paulus hospice. Shows a herbal garden and a collection of Brabantian poffers and headdresses.
 * Museum Kasteel Henkeshage shows artefacts related to the local nobility.
 * Museum Kasteel Dommelrode exhibits archeological findings which are excavated in the Sint-Oedenrode area, mostly near the Hazenputten and the Everse Akkers.
 * Jukeboxenmuseum Christ Boelens, a private museum showing jukeboxes.

Trivia

 * Though the town is called Sint-Oedenrode, it is generally called "Rooi" by the local population, while the municipality as a whole is referred to as Sint-Oedenrode.
 * During the yearly carnaval, the name of the town is changed into "Papgat" for three days. Sint-Oedenrode has 23 carnaval associations.
 * Each November the arrival of Sinterklaas in the town is celebrated by a parade for the town's children by the characters involving the holiday.
 * The spoken language is North Meierijs (an East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to colloquial Dutch).

Awards
Sint-Oedenrode was awarded the prestigious award Entente Florale of the greenest village of Europe in 2000.

Born in Sint-Oedenrode

 * Els Coppens-van de Rijt, painter and writer
 * Nikki Kerkhof, singer (Winner of Dutch Idols 4)
 * Lou Tellegen, actor
 * Ruud van der Rijt, football player (Willem II)
 * Willem van Genugten, jurist

title: Sint-Oedenrode


text:
Someren

Someren is a municipality and town in the province of North Brabant in the Southern Netherlands. As of January 2019, the municipality had 19,322 inhabitants, with over half of the population residing in the town. Someren, just south of Helmond and to the north of Weert, Limburg, is located on the provincial border with Limburg.

The spoken dialect is Peellands (an East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to colloquial Dutch). In Brabantian, Someren is known as Zummere.

Population centres
• Someren-Eind

• Someren-Heide

• Someren

• Lierop

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Someren, June 2015

Notable people

 * Antonius Lambertus Maria Hurkmans (born 1944 in Someren) Bishop emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch
 * Marie-José de Groot (born 1966 in Someren) a Dutch rower, competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics
 * Vincent Voorn (born 1984 in Someren) a Dutch show jumper, competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics
 * Evy Kuijpers (born 1995 in Lierop) a Dutch professional racing cyclist

title: Someren


text:
Son en Breugel

Son en Breugel is a municipality in the southern Netherlands just outside Eindhoven. The municipality covers an area of undefined km2 of which undefined km2 is water. It had a population of 0 in. 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 (an East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to colloquial Dutch).

Population centres

 * Breugel
 * Son

Map of the municipality of Son en Breugel, June 2015

History
The villages of Son and Breugel were founded between the 12th and 14th centuries. The villages developed quickly; some 300 households (150 household for each village) occupied the two villages during the 15th century.

According to Karel van Mander's 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, and the number of households in the two villages shrank down to approximately 140 (which translates to approximately 600 - 800 inhabitants). 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 heavy fighting at the end of the Second World War, particularly during Operation Market Garden. From 1960 onwards, Son en Breugel continued to grow. As of August 2002, the number of inhabitants was estimated at 15,000.

Future
Currently, the number of households in Son en Breugel has reached 6,000. The combined village is expected to grow by about 3,000 households in the coming years, a growth of 50% (to be confirmed after a MER investigation as of March 2008), the result of which would prevent the municipality from being absorbed within the larger neighbouring municipality of Eindhoven.

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.

Politics
This municipality has a local council of 17 seats. After the 2022 municipal elections this had the following distribution: !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center colspan=2|Party !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats
 * bgcolor="#d3d3d3" width=2|
 * align=left|DorpsVISIE||
 * align=left|Christian Democratic Appeal||
 * align=left|People's Party for Freedom and Democracy||
 * bgcolor="#d3d3d3" width=2|
 * align=left|Village Interests Son en Breugel||
 * align=left|Labour Party-GreenLeft||
 * bgcolor="#d3d3d3" width=2|
 * align=left|Voor U||
 * align=left|Democrats 66||
 * }
 * align=left|Village Interests Son en Breugel||
 * align=left|Labour Party-GreenLeft||
 * bgcolor="#d3d3d3" width=2|
 * align=left|Voor U||
 * align=left|Democrats 66||
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 * align=left|Voor U||
 * align=left|Democrats 66||
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Notable people born in Son en Breugel

 * Franciscus Sonnius (1506–1576) - theologian, first Bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch and later first Bishop of Antwerp
 * Antoon van de Ven (1867–1934) - farmer and mayor
 * Menno Oosting (1964–1999) - professional tennis player
 * Bart Oomen (1964) - Dutch actor
 * Adri Vogels (1941–2022) - soccer player and coach
 * Michiel de Vaan (1973) - Dutch linguist and Indo-Europeanist
 * Willemijn Verkaik (1975) - Dutch singer and actress

title: Son en Breugel


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Steenbergen

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 0 in and covers an area of undefined km2 of which undefined km2 is water. The municipality is mainly agricultural including a strongly growing greenhouse sector, but Steenbergen and the nearby town of Dinteloord also contain some light industry. A new stretch of A4 motorway under construction is expected to further increase the municipality's attractiveness, allowing easy connections with the large cities of Rotterdam to the north and the Belgian city of Antwerp to the south. The connection with the nearby city of Bergen op Zoom will also be improved as a result.

Population centres
• Steenbergen (population: 12,440)

• Dinteloord (5,680)

• Nieuw-Vossemeer (2,400)

• Kruisland (2,340)

• Welberg (1,118)

• De Heen (440)

• t'Haantje

The city of Steenbergen
Steenbergen received city rights in 1272.

Graves of Guy Gibson and Jim Warwick
Guy Gibson, Wing Commander and the first CO of the RAF's 617 Squadron which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid in 1943, crashed with his Mosquito aircraft in this municipality. Having returned to operational duties in 1944 after pestering Bomber Command, 26-year-old Gibson was killed along with his navigator, Sqn Ldr Jim Warwick, on a bombing raid on Rheydt (nowadays a borough of Mönchengladbach) operating as a Pathfinder Master Bomber based at RAF Coningsby, when his de Havilland Mosquito XX, KB267, crashed near Steenbergen on 19 September 1944. It was assumed for years that he had been shot down, but following the discovery of the wreckage it was found that a fault with the fuel tank selector possibly meant the aircraft simply ran out of fuel. 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 been 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 aircraft's propellers is located in the city park as a memorial.

Notable people

 * Johan Arnold Bloys van Treslong (1757 in Steenbergen – 1824) a Dutch naval officer and Patriot
 * Jan Maas (1900 in Steenbergen – 1977) a Dutch racing cyclist who competed in the 1924 and the 1928 Summer Olympics
 * Niel Steenbergen (1911 in Steenbergen – 1997) a Dutch artist, sculptor, painter and medalist
 * Ella Vogelaar (born 1949 in Steenbergen) a retired Dutch politician
 * Pierre van Hooijdonk (born 1969 in Steenbergen) a retired Dutch international footballer with 551 club caps
 * Eric Hellemons (born 1971 in Kruisland) a Dutch former footballer with 358 club caps and current football coach,
 * Nasrdin Dchar (born 1978 in Steenbergen) a Moroccan-Dutch actor and presenter

title: Steenbergen


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Uden

Uden is a town and former municipality in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands. Since 2022 it has been part of the new municipality of Maashorst.

History
Uden was first recorded around 1190 as "Uthen". However, earlier settlements have been found in the areas of 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 religious freedom in 1631. A result of this was the establishment in the municipality of the Crosiers, who fled from Protestant Dutch oppression in 's-Hertogenbosch in 1638. After the peace of Munster in 1648, Uden remained outside the Dutch republic and was a haven of religious tolerance, and Catholics from the nearby towns of Veghel, Nistelrode and Erp were able to build churches at the municipality's boundaries. 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 immigration to the Midwestern United States.

In 1848 The Dominican Catholic missionary Father Theodore J. van den Broek led a group of Dutch Catholics from Uden to Little Chute, Wisconsin, beginning a pattern of immigration to northeast Wisconsin that would last until the early twentieth century. That region of Wisconsin remains largely populated by descendants of Dutch Catholic immigrants from the Uden area. The Midwest was selected for its fairly similar landscape, which allowed the East Dutch immigrants, who were primarily farmers, to continue the same agricultural practices in the United States.

On 12 June 1840, a meteorite weighing approximately 720 grams fell into a field just outside Uden. It narrowly missed a group of laborers 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 and replaced by a new larger one.

During World War I (in which the Netherlands stayed neutral) North Brabant had many 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 regional centre of development, providing much needed economic growth. Due to its growth, very little is left of the old town's character.

Population centres

 * Odiliapeel
 * Uden
 * Volkel

Places of interest
• Brigitinesse abbey of Mary's Refuge

• Church of Saint Peter's Chair

• Chapel of the Crosiers

• Mill of Jettens

• Monastery of the Crosiers

• Monastery of the Ursulines

• Volkel Air Base

• World War II cemetery

Notable people

 * Theodorus Verhoeven (1907–1990), missionary and archaeologist
 * Gerrit Braks (1933–2017), politician and agronomist
 * Theodore J. van den Broek, Dominican Catholic Missionary who led a wave of Dutch emigration to the American Midwest, primarily Wisconsin.
 * Gerrit van Dijk (1938–2012), animator, filmmaker, actor, and painter
 * Cilia van Dijk (1941–2023)), film producer
 * Addy van den Krommenacker (born 1950), fashion designer
 * Sultan Günal-Gezer (born 1961), politician, municipal councillor and alderman of Uden
 * Martin van Drunen (born 1966), death metal vocalist
 * Nikkie de Jager (born 1994), makeup artist and beauty vlogger

Sport

 * Theo Willems (1891–1960), archer, team gold medallist at the 1920 Summer Olympics
 * Wilma van den Berg (born 1947), sprinter, competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics (which she left in the middle, in sympathy with the Israelis after the Munich Massacre)
 * Earnie Stewart (born 1969), American retired soccer player
 * Laura de Vaan (born 1980), Paralympian who competes in handcycle events
 * Cheryl Maas (born 1984), snowboarder, competed at three Winter Olympics
 * Maud van der Meer (born 1992)m swimmer, competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics

International relations
Uden is twinned with

title: Uden


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Valkenswaard

Valkenswaard is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant. The municipality had a population of 0 in, with an area of undefined km2 of which undefined km2 is water.

The name Valkenswaard stems from its history of falconers, who caught wild falcons there; valk is Dutch for "falcon". It lay on a route where falcons migrated south each year. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, Valkenswaardian falconers were active at many European courts, in which falconing was a beloved pastime. Valkenswaard's falcon-catching area has now been built over and falcons are no longer caught there.

In the 19th and 20th century, a number of large cigar factories were founded in Valkenswaard, the two most renowned of which being Willem II and Hofnar.

A Second World War cemetery containing 220 British soldiers was created near Valkenswaard in October 1944. It is now maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The spoken language is Kempenlands (an East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to colloquial Dutch).

The Eurocircuit Valkenswaard is a motorsport racetrack that has hosted the European Rallycross Championship and the FIM Motocross World Championship.

Population centres

 * Borkel en Schaft
 * Dommelen
 * Valkenswaard

Topography
Map of the municipality of Valkenswaard, June 2015

Notable people born in Valkenswaard

 * Henk van den Breemen (1941–2024) a Dutch military officer
 * Pieter van Geel (born 1951) a retired Dutch politician
 * Linda Williams (born 1955) a Dutch singer, participated in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest
 * Ine Gevers (born 1960) a Dutch curator of contemporary art, writer and activist
 * Jeroen Mettes (1978–2006) a Dutch poet, essayist and blogger
 * Dominique van Hulst (born 1981), singer, known by her stage name Do

Sport

 * Jan Tops (born 1961) an equestrian, gold medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics
 * Jens van Son (born 1987) a Dutch professional footballer with over 250 club caps
 * Lidewij Welten (born 1990) a Dutch field hockey player
 * Daniëlle van de Donk (born 1991) a Dutch professional footballer

title: Valkenswaard


text:
Veldhoven

Veldhoven is a municipality and town on the Gender in the southern Netherlands, just southwest of Eindhoven, in the province of North Brabant.

Topography
Map of Veldhoven (town), Dec. 2013

Population centres
The modern town of Veldhoven is an agglomeration of former rural villages that in the twentieth century grew together to form one large suburban area catering to Eindhoven commuter needs. The villages are: Veldhoven proper to the southwest; Meerveldhoven to the southeast; Oerle to the west; and Zeelst to the northeast. A new city center was constructed between Zeelst and Veldhoven.

Economy
Veldhoven is home to the headquarters of the manufacturer of high-tech (semiconductor) lithography equipment ASML. As of 2022, the company employed over 14,000 people—equivalent to nearly one third of the town's population. ASML occupies the tallest building (83 meters) in Veldhoven. The municipality features a large industrial and office area along the Gender, which also includes the second-largest hospital in the Eindhoven urban region, Máxima Medisch Centrum.

Veldhoven Centrum
Veldhoven Centrum has over 100 shops with famous brands covering restaurants, groceries, fashion products, jewelry and banks, and a market every Monday for fruit and produce. It also has services such as a library and municipal and VVV offices.

Culture
The yearly festival Cult en Tumult offers a varied program of art and culture in the broadest sense. Theatre De Schalm is near the City Centrum.

The spoken language is Kempenlands (an East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to colloquial Dutch).

Town council
The current town council of Veldhoven was elected at the 2022 local elections.

Transport
Eindhoven Airport is near Veldhoven, on the border with Eindhoven in Meerhoven, close to the A2 and A67 motorways.

Notable people

 * Willem Adams (1937 in Veldhoven–2022) a Dutch painter
 * Jan Cornelius van Sambeek (1886 in Veldhoven–1966 in Kabanga) a Dutch White Fathers missionary in Tanganyika
 * Marius van Amelsvoort (1930–2006 in Veldhoven) a Dutch politician and diplomat
 * Hendricus Stoof (born 1962 in Veldhoven) a professor of theoretical physics at Utrecht University
 * Henrieke Goorhuis (born 1990 in Veldhoven) a Dutch cartoonist and illustrator
 * Raoul van Grinsven (born 1974) stage name DJ Zany, a disc jockey, owns Fusion Records, lives in Veldhoven
 * Anita Groener (born 1958 in Veldhoven) a Dutch artist
 * Mau Heymans (born 1961 in Veldhoven) a Dutch Disney comics artist and writer
 * Jessy Seuntiens (born 1980 in Oerle) stage name Jesselyn, is a Dutch DJ
 * Daan de Kort (born 1992 in Veldhoven) a Dutch politician
 * Tiny Kox (born 1951 in Veldhoven) a Dutch politician
 * Teun Luijkx (born 1986 in Veldhoven) a Dutch actor
 * Maartje Verhoef (born 1997 in Veldhoven) a Dutch fashion model

Sport

 * John van den Akker (born 1966 in Veldhoven) a Dutch former cyclist
 * Rob van Boekel (born 1987 in Veldhoven) a Dutch footballer
 * Kayleigh van Dooren (born 1987 in Veldhoven) a Dutch footballer
 * Gerard Egelmeers (born 1999 in Veldhoven) a former Olympic rower
 * Toon Geurts (1932 in Veldhoven – 2017) a Dutch sprint canoer, silver medallist at the 1964 Summer Olympics
 * Ingrid Teeuwen (born 1981 in Veldhoven) a Dutch weightlifter
 * Eelco Horsten (born 1989 in Veldhoven) a Dutch footballer
 * Maud Kaptheijns (born 1994 in Veldhoven) a Dutch cyclist
 * Corné van Kessel (born 1991 in Veldhoven) a Dutch professional cyclo-cross and road cyclist
 * Paco van Moorsel (born 1989 in Veldhoven) a Dutch footballer with 280 club caps
 * Milou van der Heijden (born 1990 in Veldhoven) a professional squash player

title: Veldhoven


text:
Vught

Vught is a municipality and a town in the Province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands, and lies just south of the industrial and administrative centre of 's-Hertogenbosch. Many commuters live there, and in 2004 the town was named "Best place to live" by the Dutch magazine Elsevier.

Population centres

 * Cromvoirt
 * Helvoirt
 * Vught

Topography
Map of the municipality of Vught, 2021

Early history
The first mention of Vught in the historical record dates to the eleventh century. By the fourteenth century, the Teutonic Order had acquired the parish and set up a commandery across from the Saint Lambert Church. In 1328, the residents of Vught were granted the right of municipality by the Duke of Brabant.

Eighty Years War
During the Eighty Years War Vught was the site of struggles between Catholic interests and the troops of William of Orange. In 1629 the Saint Lambert Church became a Reformed Protestant church, after the troops of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, were victorious in 's-Hertogenbosch.

World War II
Vught was the site of a transit/concentration camp (Herzogenbusch) built by Nazi Germany during its occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. It was part of Camp Herzogenbusch, but usually better known as "Kamp Vught". The camp held male and female prisoners, many of them Jewish and political activists, captured in Belgium and the Netherlands. The guards included SS men and a few SS women, headed by Oberaufseherin Margarete Gallinat. The SS initially used it as a transit camp to gather mostly Jewish prisoners for classification and transportation to camps in Poland and other areas.

For supporting another female prisoner, a group of 74 women were punished by being placed in a cell barely nine square meters and held there for over fourteen hours. Ten of the women died, and several suffered permanent physical or mental damage. The camp commander responsible was demoted by Himmler to the regular rank of soldier and sent to the Hungarian front, where he died in 1945.

Dutch underground members Corrie and Betsie ten Boom were held at Vught in 1944, before being sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp. 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 devices. Poncke Princen, who would later 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, but only after German guards killed several hundred prisoners held there, mainly by firing squad.

Camp in post-war times

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 national monument related to the Nazi occupation during World War II.

The barracks of Camp Vught were later adapted into a number of home units to house Indonesian Moluccan exiles, former soldiers of the Netherlands armed forces and their families who were transferred to the Netherlands after Indonesian independence.

Department of corrections — PI Vught
From 1953, part of the former detention camp was developed as a juvenile prison called Nieuw Vosseveld.' Today, as PI Vught, it is a high-security prison with 15 separate units and up to 750 prisoners. Amongst those imprisoned there are:
 * Samir Azzouz, terrorist with ties to Hofstad Network. Released in 2013.
 * Mohammed Bouyeri, murderer of Theo van Gogh. Serving a life sentence without parole.
 * Willem Holleeder, one of the perpetrators in the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken. Life imprisonment.
 * , nicknamed, drug dealer. Released in 2000.
 * Curtis Warren, British drug trafficker. Released in 2007.
 * Ridouan Taghi, drug trafficker and murderer.

Politics
On 2 April 2007 Roderick van de Mortel (VVD) was appointed mayor of Vught. The aldermen appointed after the 2022 local elections were Mark du Maine (VVD), Yvonne Vos (CDA) J.H.L. den Otter (Gemeentebelangen) and N. de Lange (PvdA-GroenLinks).

Landmarks
Just outside the town border lies the lake IJzeren Man (literally 'Iron Man'). It was named after the machine that dug it in the years 1890 to 1915 for sand used as fill for the expansion of the nearby city of 's-Hertogenbosch. The lake is about 2 kilometers long, has a small island and is now mainly used for recreation.

Maurick Castle dates back to the 13th century. In 1629 it was occupied by Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange as his headquarters for his siege of 's-Hertogenbosch. The castle now houses a restaurant.

Vught is home to the Bredero barracks, which houses the Ministry of Defence's CBRN defense training center.

After the village of Helvoirt and surroundings had been transferred from the former municipality of Haaren to Vught in 2021, the eastern part of the Loonse en Drunense Duinen national park became part of the municipality.

Ewald Marggraff
Ewald Marggraff was a well-to-do nobleman who lived in Vught. A hermit, he acquired a large amount of land and several buildings. He had frequent disputes with the local authorities, mostly over his decision to let his properties deteriorate. This enabled his land to return to natural habitat, with animal species living there that had disappeared elsewhere. On 7 December 2003 Marggraff's manor (Zionsburg) burned down; his body was later found inside.

Marggraff's surviving sisters founded a non-profit corporation, Marggraff stichting, to take over and manage their late brother's extensive landholdings, providing public access to the forests, and rebuilding Zionsburg.

Transport
Vught has a railway station with connections to Amsterdam/Utrecht via 's-Hertogenbosch, Maastricht via Eindhoven, Tilburg and Nijmegen. Highway 2 / E25   and Highway 65 /  N93   intersect at Vught. Also two Arriva buslines connecting Vught to the Jeroen Bosch Hospital, school district and central station, all located in neighbouring Den Bosch.

Public service

 * Alexander Gogel (1765 in Vught – 1821) first minister of finance of the Batavian Republic
 * Betsie ten Boom (1885–1944) & Corrie ten Boom (1892–1983), sisters, who hid Jewish families in their home and were held at Kamp Vught in WWII
 * Frans Teulings (1891 – 1966 in Vught) a Dutch politician and deputy prime minister 1951/1952
 * Anton de Kom (1898–1945) Surinamese resistance fighter and anti-colonialist author
 * Damiaen Joan van Doorninck (1902 in Vught – 1987) a naval officer and a POW in Colditz
 * Ewald Marggraff (1923 in Vught – 2003) see narrative above
 * Edy Korthals Altes (1924 in Vught – 2021) economist, Dutch diplomat and peace advocate
 * Ad Geelhoed (1942 in Vught – 2007) a law professor, civil servant and advocate-general of the European Court of Justice
 * Jeroen Oerlemans (1970 in Vught – 2016) a Dutch photographer and war correspondent

The arts

 * Erna Spoorenberg (1925 – 2004 in Vught) a Dutch soprano
 * Misha Geller (1937 – 2007 in Vught) a Russian viola player and composer
 * Joost Prinsen (born 1942 in Vught) a Dutch actor, TV presenter, singer and writer
 * Mina Witteman (born 1959 in Vught) a Dutch children's author
 * Maarten van der Vleuten (born 1967 in Vught) a Dutch producer, composer and recording artist
 * Jan-Hein Arens (born 1974 in Vught) a Dutch painter, sculptor and illustrator

Sport

 * Tonny van Lierop (1910 in Vught – 1982) a Dutch field hockey player and team bronze medallist in the 1936 Summer Olympics
 * Harry Schulting (born 1956) a Dutch Olympian at the 400 meter hurdles and Dutch record holder, lives and works in Vught
 * Pierre Hermans (born 1953 in Vught) a former field hockey goalkeeper, competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics
 * Simon Tahamata (born 1956 in Vught) a former Dutch / Maluku Islands / Belgian footballer with 604 club caps
 * Bas de Bever (born 1968 in Vught) a Dutch former professional BMX racer
 * Martijn Bok (born 1973) a retired Dutch tennis player, lives in Vught
 * Thomas Kortbeek (born 1979) a retired Dutch international athlete at the 400 meter hurdles, lives and works in Vught
 * Vincent Kortbeek (born 1982 in Vught) as retired Dutch Olympian in bobsleigh
 * Paul Beekmans (born 1982 in Vught) a football manager and former player with 280 club caps
 * Koen van de Laak (born 1982 in Vught) a former professional footballer with 290 club caps
 * Wouter van der Steen (born 1990 in Vught) a Dutch professional football goalkeeper with nearly 200 club caps
 * Indy de Vroome (born 1996 in Cromvoirt) a Dutch tennis player
 * Florian Rijkers (born 2005 in Vught) a Dutch professional basketball player for Heroes Den Bosch

title: Vught


text:
Waalre

Waalre is an affluent municipality and town in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands, immediately south of the city of Eindhoven.

Population centres

 * Aalst
 * Waalre

Waalre is often called the Groenfontein (Green fountain) due to its civic policy of providing a variety of trees in its streets.

Waalre is considered one of the richest villages in the Netherlands due to the numerous millionaires living there. 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 spoken language is Kempenlands (an East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to colloquial Dutch).

Town council
The current town council was elected at the 2022 local elections.

Waalre town hall
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.

Notable people

 * Geert Jan Jansen (born 1943 in Waalre) a Dutch painter and art forger, who was arrested in 1994 and convicted in 2000.
 * John Baselmans (born 1954 in Aalst) a Dutch artist, sculptor, graphic designer and illustrator, lives in Curaçao
 * Jan van den Dobbelsteen (born 1954 in Waalre) an interdisciplinary Dutch artist who teaches at Academy St. Joost
 * Frans van Houten (born 1960) CEO of Royal Philips Electronics since 2011
 * Martijn Oostra (born 1971 in Waalre) a Dutch graphic designer, photographer, artist and publicist

title: Waalre


text:
Werkendam

Werkendam is a town and a former municipality in southern Netherlands. The municipality, part of Land van Heusden en Altena, contained a large part of De Biesbosch area as it is located in the province of North Brabant. On January 1sth 2019 it joined Woudrichem and Aalburg in the new municipality of Altena.

Population centres

 * Dussen
 * Hank
 * Nieuwendijk
 * Sleeuwijk
 * 't Zand
 * Werkendam

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Werkendam, 2013.

Transport
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.

Notable people

 * Gijsbert van Tienhoven (1841 in De Werken – 1914), Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1891–1894
 * Anton Mussert (1894 in Werkendam – 1946), one of the founders of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) and its formal leader (executed)
 * Cornelis Pieter van den Hoek (1921 in Leerdam – 2015 in Werkendam), resistance fighter (line-crosser), lived in Werkendam
 * Adri van Heteren (born 1951 in Gouda), SGP party chair and Christian minister (in Werkendam)
 * Rebekka Kadijk (born 1979 in Werkendam), professional beach volleyball and indoor volleyball player, competed in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics

title: Werkendam


text:
Woensdrecht

Woensdrecht is a municipality (named after the village) 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 and to the north-west of Huijbergen.

Second World War
On 2 October 1944, at the beginning of the Battle of the Scheldt (2 October-8 November 1944), 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 the advance very difficult. On 13 October, what would come to be known as "Black Friday", the Canadian 5th Infantry Brigade's Black Watch was virtually wiped out in an unsuccessful attack. 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 land link to South Beveland and Walcheren. The Canadians were 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.

Cold War era
In 1983, it was decided that the United States would station 48 nuclear armed cruise missiles at the air base in the district, unless the USSR reduced their number of SS-20 missiles to 378. 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.

Population centres

 * Hoogerheide (population: 8,268)
 * Ossendrecht (5,300)
 * Putte (3,860)
 * Huijbergen (2,180)
 * Woensdrecht (village) (1,470)

Climate
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.

Notable people

 * René Pijnen (born 1946) former racing cyclist, Olympic champion in the 100 km team time-trial in the 1968 Summer Olympics
 * Adri van der Poel (born 1959) retired Dutch cyclist
 * Demi de Jong (born 1995) road cyclist

title: Woensdrecht


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Woudrichem

Woudrichem (Brabantian: Woerkum) is a city and former municipality in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands.

History

Woudrichem originated in the ninth century. A marketplace emerged on a riverbank where Hoogstraat and Molenstraat are now located. Around the year 1000, several settlements, mostly north of the Alm, appeared and were centered around Woudrichem. Initially, the Maas did not flow past Woudrichem. The main course of this river first flowed approximately through the bed of the current Bergsche Maas; later, the Alm was the main course, and later still, the current Afgedamde Maas, until the Bergsche Maas was dug in 1904.

Woudrichem was strategically located at the confluence of the Maas and Waal rivers, within the spheres of influence of the Duchy of Brabant, Gelre, and the County of Holland. In 1322, the Land of Altena was incorporated into the County of Holland, only to be assigned to the newly formed province of North Brabant in 1815.

In the fourteenth century, the town had grown so much that the Lord of Altena, Willem VII van Horne, granted city rights to Woudrichem in 1356. In the same year, the Count of Holland moved the comital river toll from Niemandsvriend, located in Sliedrecht, to Woudrichem. As a result, and due to other privileges such as the fishing rights granted in 1362 by Dirk Loef of Horne, the builder of Loevestein Castle, the town flourished.

During this time, the Martin church was also built. In 1386, construction of the city wall began. It was in this year that the Count of Holland annexed the Land of Altena. Negotiations between John IV of Brabant and John VI of Bavaria led to the Treaty of Woudrichem (1419). After this, the economy began to decline when the toll was moved to Gorinchem in 1420 and the Saint Elizabeth's flood caused devastation in 1421. The situation further deteriorated, partly due to military activities.

Due to its strategic location, Woudrichem was frequently besieged. The city was attacked by the Arkels in 1405 and by the Gelders in 1511. In 1572, Woudrichem sided with William of Orange. In 1573, the Geuzen deemed the city indefensible and set it on fire.

Between 1583 and 1588, a fortification belt was built around the city, although it enclosed a smaller area than the former city wall. The fortification was designed by Adriaen Antonisz. van Alkmaar. With the help of surrounding cities, the town was rebuilt. Nevertheless, the economic situation remained poor, and in 1700, Woudrichem was granted tax exemption.

In 2006, Woudrichem celebrated '650 years of city rights.' Residents dressed in historical costumes and performed various scenes from past centuries over a weekend in August.

Naming
There are several explanations for the origin of the name Woudrichem. The first and most likely explanation suggests that the place name comes from 'wald' and 'heim,' indicating a wooded area. A second explanation is that a Lord Waldrik built a house on the bank of the Waal. Over time, Woudrichem has been pronounced and written in various ways. Several variants have been displayed on the facade of a building on Kerkstraat in Woudrichem. Some of these variants are as follows:

 * ca. 866 UUalricheshem
 * ca. 1000 Walderinghem
 * 1178 Waldrichem
 * 1230 Woudrichemerward
 * 1241 Wodrinheim / Wodrincheym / Wodrinchem
 * 1465 Woldrichem
 * 1476 Woerchem
 * 1500 Worrynckhem / Worrynhem
 * 1536 Worcum / Worcom
 * 1600 Worichem
 * 1724 Wornichem

In the region, people now usually say Woerkum or Woerkem.

Geography
The municipality is located at 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 south bank of where the rivers Waal and Afgedamde Maas join to form the Boven Merwede. The other population centres in the municipality were:

 * Almkerk
 * Andel
 * Bronkhorst
 * Duizend Morgen
 * Eng
 * Giessen
 * Oudendijk
 * Rijswijk
 * Stenenheul
 * Uitwijk
 * Uppel
 * Waardhuizen
 * Zandwijk

East of the city lies Loevestein Castle, on the other side of the river in the province of Gelderland.

Government
The municipal council of Woudrichem had 15 members. The mayor was Arie Noordergraaf of the Reformed Political Party. On January 1sth 2019 it joined Werkendam and Aalburg in the new municipality of Altena.

Notable people

 * Louwrens Hanedoes (1822 in Woudrichem - 1905 in Woudrichem) landscape painter; in the Romantic style, later turning to Realism.

title: Woudrichem