Waalwijk

Municipality in Noord-Brabant, Netherlands

Flag

Coat of arms

Location in North Brabant

Coordinates: 51°41′N 5°4′E / 51.683°N 5.067°E / 51.683; 5.067Country

NetherlandsProvince

Noord-BrabantGovernment

^[1]

• BodyMunicipal council • MayorSacha Ausems (Ind.)Area

^[2]

• Total67.65 km² (26.12 sq mi) • Land64.58 km² (24.93 sq mi) • Water3.07 km² (1.19 sq mi)Elevation

^[3]

2 m (7 ft)Population

(January 2021)^[4]

• Total48,815 • Density756/km² (1,960/sq mi)DemonymWaalwijkerTime zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)Postcode

5140–5146, 5160–5165

Area code0416WebsiteOfficial website

Dutch topographic map of Waalwijk, July 2013

Waalwijk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋaːlʋɛik] ^ⓘ) is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. It had a population of 48,815 in 2021 and is located near the A59 and N261 motorways. The villages of Capelle, Vrijhoeve-Capelle, Sprang (the former municipality of Sprang-Capelle) and Waspik together with the city of Waalwijk form the municipality of Waalwijk. The city has an old town center, which has recently been modernized.

Population centers

Capelle
Vrijhoeve-Capelle
Sprang
Waalwijk
Waspik

The city of Waalwijk

Waalwijk is a city in North Brabant that lies north of Tilburg and west of 's-Hertogenbosch. To its north runs the Bergse Maas canal, with the River Waal further to the north.

Waalwijk used to be known for its shoe business.

Waalwijk was granted city rights in 1303. The professional football team RKC plays in Waalwijk.

Waalwijk is also known for an event in the city and surroundings: the "80 van de langstraat", held every September, in which a few thousand people make an 80-km walk through all towns that are part of the Langstraat region.

Some other events:

Waalwijk Modestad (Waalwijk Fashion City), a weekend full of fashion
Nacht van het levenslied (Night of the "Dutch song"), where Dutch and local singers perform
Straattheaterfestival (street theatre festival), a weekend full of street performers and theatre acts

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Waalwijk is twinned with:

Chojnice, Poland

Unna, Germany ^[5]

Town hall and city centre.

Notable people from Waalwijk

Valensia, a Dutch composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Grew up in Waalwijk.
Willem Hendrik Johan van Idsinga (1822 in Baardwijk – 1896), politician and Governor of the Dutch Gold Coast and Surinam
Hendrikus Chabot (1894 in Sprang – 1949), painter and sculptor
Martinus J. G. Veltman (born 1931 in Waalwijk – 2021), theoretical physicist, joint winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in physics for work on particle theory
René Mioch (born 1959 in Waalwijk), journalist and presenter for radio and TV ^[6]
Jan-Hein Kuijpers (born 1968 in Waalwijk), lawyer and columnist
Wieki Somers (born 1976 in Sprang-Capelle), designer
Olcay Gulsen (born 1980 in Waalwijk), fashion designer
Ariën van Weesenbeek (born 1980 in Waalwijk), drummer with the Dutch metal band Epica
Bas van Daalen (born 1996 in Waalwijk), known as Will Grands, record producer, singer and songwriter

Sport

Frans Slaats (born 1912 in Waalwijk – 1993), professional cyclist who broke the world hour record
Ramon van Haaren (born 1972 in Waalwijk), former footballer with 291 club caps
Patrick van Balkom (born 1974 in Waalwijk), former sprinter, competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Jos van Nieuwstadt (born 1979 in Waalwijk), former footballer with 310 club caps
Yuri van Gelder (born 1983 in Waalwijk), gymnast on the rings, competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Frank van Mosselveld (born 1984 in Waalwijk), former footballer with 266 club caps

Gallery

Waalwijk, townhall
Waalwijk, church: de Sint Janskerk
Waalwijk, view to a street: de Stationsstraat
Waalwijk, pub in monumental house

References

^ "Drs. A.M.P. Kleijngeld" (in Dutch). Gemeente Waalwijk. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
^ "Postcodetool for 5141PA". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
^ "List of Twin Towns in the Ruhr District" (PDF). Twins2010.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
^ IMDb Database retrieved 09 March 2020