Vught facts for kids

Quick facts for kids

Vught

Former Saint Peter church in Vught

Flag	Coat of arms

Location in North Brabant

Vught

Location in Netherlands

Vught

Location in North Brabant

Government

• Body

Municipal council

Area

• Total

34.44 km² (13.30 sq mi)

• Land

33.48 km² (12.93 sq mi)

• Water

0.96 km² (0.37 sq mi)

Elevation

5 m (16 ft)

Population

(May 2014)

• Total

25,769

• Density

770/km² (2,000/sq mi)

Demonym(s)

Vughtenaar

Time zone

UTC+1 (CET)

• Summer (DST)

UTC+2 (CEST)

Postcode

5260–5266

Area code

0411, 073

Vught (Dutch pronunciation: [vʏxt]) 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
- Topography
History
Landmarks
- Ewald Marggraff
Transport
Notable residents
Gallery
See also

Population centres

Cromvoirt
Helvoirt
Vught

Topography

Map of the municipality of Vught, 2021

History

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

Watchtowers and barbed wire fences at Herzogenbusch concentration camp in Vught

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.

Camp in post-war times

Bezinningsruimte ("Room for reflection") at the Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught. It shows the names of all those who did not survive imprisonment at the Kamp Vught

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.

Landmarks

Maurick Castle

Zionsburg, Vught

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.

Notable residents

Isaac Gogel, c. 1812

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

Joost Prinsen, 1973

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

Indy de Vroome, 2014

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
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