TILBURG - In Your Pocket

E8 HISTORY
Tilburg’s long history stretches back to the 8th century.
709 - First mention of Tilburg
A document from the Liber Aereus Epternacensis includes a
mention of Tiliburgis. On 21May, the priest Vigilius writes a
document in Tiliburgis, in which the nobleman Aengilbertus
donates a farm to the Bishop of Utrecht, Wilibrord. Tiliburgis
is most likely a name for a collection of settlements.
1232 - First
mention of the
church
Duke Hendrik I of Brabant
grants patronage rights to
the church of West Tilburg at
the abbey of Tongerlo. The
church had Saint Dionysius,
the first bishop of Paris,
as its patron. It’s unknown
when Tilburg’s first church
was built, but it was erected
at the location of the current
Heike Church.
1387 - Lord of Tilburg
Duchess Johanna van Brabant is in need of money. Knight
Paulus van Haestrecht, high sheriff of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, is
willing to lend the Duchess a sum of money. Johanna van
Brabant gives him the villages of Tilburg, Drunen and Goirle
as collateral for the loan. Hereby Paulus van Haestrecht
becomes lord of Tilburg.
1453 - Philip’s
own aldermen
Philip the Good of Burgundy
and the Duke of Brabant
grants Paulus van
Haestrecht the authority
to annually appoint seven
aldermen to oversee the
administration of justice in
his villages of Tilburg and
Goirle. From now on justice
will be meted out according
to the code of justice of
’s-Hertogenbosch.
Beautiful stained glass
1500 - A centre
for textiles
At this time Tilburg consists
of the villages of Goirke,
Heike, Heuvel, Hasselt and
Heikant. Many sheep are
kept on the vast heaths
surrounding these villages. The large quantities of wool
generated through this are ideal for the emerging of Tilburg’s
textile industry. Many people in Tilburg find work as sheep
shearers, spinners or weavers. As time passes Tilburg
grows to become the Netherlands’ largest centre for textiles.
1570 - The Tilburg Fair
The first written mention
of the Tilburg Fair, which is
held in August, is made in a
custody account. In 1575,
King Philip II grants Tilburg
permission to hold three
annual fairs. The Fun Fair
of Tilburg, which has been
held each last week of July
since 1939, has now grown into an event which draws over
one million visitors.
1746 - Painter
Gérard van
Spaendonck is
born
The painter Gérard van
Spaendonck is born. This
son of a future mayor of
Tilburg receives his training
as a painter in Antwerp
from Guillaume-Jacques
Herreyns. In 1769 he leaves
for Paris where he makes a name for himself as a painter
of flowers. Claude-Henri Watelet vouches for him and he is
appointed as a miniature painter at the court of Louis XVI.
In 1808 Napoleon grants him the title of Count. When he
dies in 1822, he is buried at
the Parisian cemetery Père
Lachaise.
1809 - Tilburg
becomes a city
King Louis Napoleon visits
Tilburg during a tour of the
Netherlands. By royal decree
the king grants Tilburg the
rights of a city on 18 April
1809. An earlier census
showed that Tilburg had
9465 inhabitants.
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