Tilburg (gemeente)

Geschiedenis

Tilburg is a city in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of, it is the second largest city in North Brabant, and the sixth largest in the Netherlands.Tilburg University is located in Tilburg, as are Avans University of Applied Sciences and Fontys University of Applied Sciences.Tilburg is known for its ten-day-long funfair, held in July each year. The Monday during the funfair is called "Roze Maandag" (Pink Monday), and is primarily LGBT-oriented.There are three railway stations within the municipality: Tilburg, Tilburg Universiteit and Tilburg Reeshof. The 75ha "Spoorzone" area around Tilburg Central station, once a Dutch Railways train maintenance yard, has been purchased by the city and is being transformed into an urban zone.HistoryLittle is known about the beginnings of Tilburg. The name "Tilburg" first appeared in documents dating from 709 AD but after that there was no mention for several centuries. In the later Middle Ages, Tilburg referred to a region rather than a particular town or village; its population was largely in a couple of hamlets, one of which was known as "Eastern Tilburg" (Oost-Tilburg), which was later reflected in the name of Oisterwijk ("Eastern Quarter"). This village centred around a small (probably wooden) castle or Motteburcht on an equally small hill, which became derelict and was torn down after a few centuries at most. Of this first "Tilburg Castle", nothing remained c. 2000, except for a few remnants of its moat in the suburbs of Oisterwijk. In the 14th century, Tilburg was proclaimed a manor; together with Goirle, it acquired the title of "The Manor of Tilburg and Goirle".