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's-Hertogenbosch (literally "Duke's Woods"; Dutch and sometimes in French: Bois-le-Duc), unofficially also called Den Bosch, is a municipality in the Netherlands, the capital of the province of North Brabant. It is located in the south of the Netherlands, some 80 km south of Amsterdam.
Population centres
Bokhoven, Empel, Engelen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Hintham, Kruisstraat, Meerwijk, Orthen, Rosmalen, Maaspoort.
(Note: See Basic Data - in Dutch)
The city of 's-Hertogenbosch
History
The city owes its official name to des hertogen bosch - the duke's woods. The duke in question was Henry I, Duke of Brabant. At age 26, he granted 's-Hertogenbosch city rights and the corresponding trade privileges in 1185. His reason for doing so was to protect his own interest against Gelre and Holland.
Until 1520, the city flourished, after that it came under Spanish rule for 50 years, while it was besieged several times by Prince Maurice of Orange, who wanted to put 's-Hertogenbosch under rule of the United Provinces. The town was finally conquered by Frederik Hendrik of Orange in 1629, cutting the town off from the rest of the duchy. In 1794, French troops under the command of Charles Pichegru took the city; it was liberated by the Prussians in 1814. The next year, when the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, it became the capital of North Brabant.
Den Bosch has a canal network throughout the old city called the Binnendieze, however it is generally hidden under buildings and roads. Although the canals fell into disrepair and were used as sewers, many have been renovated and it is possible to take a guided boat trip around them.
The painter Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450 - 1516) probably remains the best known citizen of 's-Hertogenbosch.
WWII concentration camp
One of the few official Nazi concentration camp complexes in western Europe located outside of Germany and Austria was named after 's-Hertogenbosch. It operated from January, 1943, to September, 1944 and was known in German as Herzogenbusch, see List of subcamps of Herzogenbusch.
The concentration camp was actually located in Vught, a few kilometers south of the city.
About 30,000 inmates were interned in the complex during this time, of which about 12,000 were Jews.
Rosmalen
Rosmalen (population 30,000) is the location of the Autotron car museum/attraction park. The park also hosts an annual international tennis tournament in the summer.
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