I live in a quiet suburb of the Dutch city of 's-Hertogenbosch. (Literal meaning: The Duke's forest). It was founded around 1182 on a protrusion of sand between the rivers Aa and Dieze and obtained a city charter in 1196 due to the strategically useful position and fortifications. Since it was one of the first city charters that was actually written down, many cities used that as a template in the years to follow. The greater city currently houses some 155 thousand people.

Historically 's-Hertogenbosch is mostly recognised as the city that brought us the surrealistic medieval painter Hieronimus Bosch. (3D versions of his art are strewn across the old city, see Another Stroll Through the Bosch, as well as more modern art, see Public Art in My Hometown of Bosch). Another notable occasion was when Napoleon Bonaparte came to visit in 1810, giving back the Sint Jan Cathedral (See Calling an Angel) to the Catholic community after his brother reinstated the freedom of religion earlier on. As a city, it is nicknamed "De Moerasdraak" which means "The Swamp dragon" as it relied on flooding the surrounding lower ground when facing attack. This worked most of the time. The interesting thing about the four-and-a-half-pointed citadel (one point was mutilated to allow for a canal in the 1880's) is that its cannon are also pointed toward the city centre, because there were doubts about the loyalty of the Catholic inhabitants after they were "freed" from the Catholic Spanish (That was one occasion where the flooding strategy didn't work). The nickname of the Citadel was "Papenbril" which roughly translates into "Papist looking glass". The lower ground area in the South means that the original city wall with its bastions is still the boundary of the city.

Here are some photos of what remains of the original fortifications.

Originally there were only two gates for road traffic and two water gates. This is the watergate in the Southwest. The river network inside the city, called "Binnendieze" has been partly uncovered in recent years, to recover some of the original character of the city. Most people visiting as tourists take the tour of the Binnendieze, if they manage to get tickets. (It is worthwhile)

This iron artwork shows the original profile on the earthworks on top of the brick city walls, to protect the defenders. Those earthworks have now mostly gone to provide a better view.

The Southern city wall still faces the clear shooting range of the "Bossche Broek" lower ground, because this has a Natura 2000 protected status. There are still some of the old cannons on display (for kids to sit on and claim the land)

In the last few decades, protection of the historic fortifications means that the large parking lot just outside the city walls moved underground (under the water in this photo).

New developments toward the North were only possible from 1877, after the laws prescribing a clear line of sight for the cannons was disbanded. The right half of this photo would have been cleared to ground level before that. (The buildings inside the city wall are new as well).

Internationally, 's-Hertogenbosch has always been very popular:

• Conquered by the Catholic Spanish from 1579 till 1629 (in the eighty years war)
• Conquered by the Protestant Republic of the seven united Netherlands in 1629
• Conquered by the Catholic French from 1794 till 1813 when Protestant Prussians conquered and added it to United Kingdom of the Netherlands
• Conquered by the Germans of unspecified denomination from 1940-1944, when the British took their turn at succesfully storming the city.

In the 1970s, large building projects were started to provide for much needed housing, eventually leading to a more than fivefold increase of the size of the city. (not counting the acquisition of neighbouring villages in the name of efficiency). The building went all the way North to the river Maas, since going South was not an option.

My house is a typical Seventies three-storey drive-in house that consists of a box of concrete slabs with a façade stuck to the front and back end and bricks to the remaining open side (we have a house at the end of a row of 8). The slabs function very well in relaying sound all across the block. So far, we managed to insulate the roof and end wall, put in double glazing and covered the roof in solar panels to make it more energy efficient. The original garage has been converted to a playroom and large bathroom. Since it is situated on the "lower grounds" the ground can be quite wet and muddy at times. (there used to be two streams close by, to the North and South)

Since 's-Hertogenbosch is not as covered in concrete as some cities I do not wish to mention here, it is a good place to live, with plenty of greenery.

Caiman Raptor Elk

29.04.24 Front Page

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