Heusden

For other uses, see Heusden (disambiguation).

Heusden () is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. It is located between the cities Waalwijk and 's-Hertogenbosch.

Population centres

(links to additional info bolded)

Doeveren, Drunen, Elshout, Giersbergen, Haarsteeg, Hedikhuizen, Heesbeen, Herpt, Heusden, Nieuwkuijk, Oudheusden & Vlijmen. The municipality was formed with the fusion between the municipalities of Heusden, Drunen, and Vlijmen.

Heusden

Heusden was a municipality in itself, incorporating the communities of Herpt, Heesbeen, Hedikhuizen, Doeveren, and Oudheusden. In 1997 Heusden was incorporated along with the municipalities of Vlijmen and Drunen to form a new municipality, for which the name of Heusden was chosen.

Castle

The settlement of Heusden as we know it today dates back to the 13th century, and started with the construction of a fortification to replace the castle that was destroyed by the Duke of Brabant in 1202. This fortification was quickly expanded with water works and a donjon. The city of Heusden received city rights in 1318. The castle of Heusden was the property of successive Dukes of Brabant, in 1357 it went over to the Dukes of Holland. With the construction of ramparts and moats the castle became located within the city's fortifications, and the castle lost its function as a stronghold. The donjon was now used as a munition depot. A disaster marked the end of the castle of Heusden and the economic demise of the city; on 24 July 1680 a terrible thunderstorm hit Heusden, and lightning struck the donjon. Sixty thousand pounds of gunpowder and other ammunition exploded, and destroyed the castle. It took the people of Heusden seven weeks to clear the rubble and debris. The castle was never fully rebuilt: the original outline of the main features has been restored, however.

Heusden Town Hall Disaster - a forgotten nazi warcrime

Towards the end of World War II, in October 1944, the cities of Tilburg and 's-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) are liberated by the allied forces. The bridge across the river Meuse makes Heusden, then still occupied by the Germans, a strategic object. The basements of the old town hall, built in 1588, is a shelter for civilians during artillery fire. The German Wehrmacht uses the building as a communication centre and hospital.

On Saturday 4 November 1944 the allied operation Pheasant starts. Heavy artillery fire hits Heusden, two Scottish Highlander regiments advance, and 170 civilians seek shelter in the town hall's basement. Early in the morning of 5 November, three German army engineers detonate the explosive charges they placed earlier. The 40-meter tower collapses, killing 134. Only hours later, the 51st Highland Division liberates Heusden.

Witnesses state that on 4 November German soldiers carried explosives into the town hall's tower, and also into two churches, a windmill, and dairy factory. NCO (non-commisioned officer) Bottnick who was probably following orders from commander Pfühl, a mining engineer, undermined the eastern part of the tower thus ensuring that the tower would collapse on the town hall, not on the street. An investigation by the British Civil Affairs was lost, and this prevented the trial and punishment of the war criminals.

File:Heusden.jpg

City of Heusden

Drunen

The village of Drunen (population: 20,000 as of 2003) is the most populous of the municipality.

Drunen is known for its theme park Het Land van Ooit and for the inland dunes nearby named Loonse en Drunense Duinen.

Drunen is a former municipality consisting of: Drunen, Elshout, Giersbergen and the old farm Fellenoord.

External links

• Official Website Heusden municipality (in Dutch)
• City tour Heusden/Stadswandeling vestingstad Heusden (in Dutch)
• Society for local history/Heemkundekring Onsenoort (in Dutch)
• google maps satellite view