Alphen, North Brabant Explained

Alphen
Settlement Type:Village
Native Name Lang:nl
Pushpin Map:Netherlands North Brabant#Netherlands
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Netherlands
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:North Brabant
Subdivision Type2:Municipality
Subdivision Name2:Alphen-Chaam
Elevation Footnotes:[1]
Elevation M:24
Area Total Km2:39.92
Population Footnotes:[2]
Population Total:4,305
Population As Of:2021
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:5130 & 5131
Area Code Type:Dialing code
Area Code:013
Coordinates:51.4808°N 4.9561°W

Alphen is a village in the municipality of Alphen-Chaam, in the Netherlands. It is located about 12 km southwest of Tilburg.

History

Alphen was first mentioned in 709,[3] when a nobleman named Engelbrecht sold "Alfheim" to Saint Willibrord. In 739, it was sold on to the Abbey of Echternach. Alphen was originally a collection of hamlets which started to concentrate around the church.[4]

The Catholic St Willibrord Church was built in 1954 to replace a church from 1909-1910 which was destroyed in 1944. The earliest church dated from the 16th century and had a tower which was built around 1559. The emergency church, which was built in 1945, is still located next to the St Willibrord Church.[4]

In 1542, Alphen was burned to the ground by the army of Guelders under Maarten van Rossum, and in 1944, it suffered from destruction and looting as well.[5]

Alphen includes the hamlets of 't Zand, Alphen-Oosterwijk, Druisdijk, Looneind, Boslust, Hondseind, Het Sas, Terover, Boshoven and Kwaalburg.[6]

Alphen was home to 431 people in 1840. Until 1997, Alphen was the main village of the municipality of Alphen en Riel.[6]

Notable people

References

  1. Web site: Postcodetool for 5131AA . nl . Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland . Het Waterschapshuis . 14 April 2022 .
  2. Web site: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2021 . Central Bureau of Statistics . 14 April 2022.
  3. Web site: Alphen - (geografische naam) . Etymologiebank . 14 April 2022 . nl.
  4. Book: Alphen . Chris Kolman & Ronald Stenvert. 1997 . Waanders . Zwolle . 90 400 9945 6 . 14 April 2022 . nl.
  5. News: Historische Alphense klok is nu pronkstuk van klokkenmuseum . Brabants Dagblad . 14 April 2022 . nl.
  6. Web site: Alphen NB . Plaatsengids . 14 April 2022 . nl.