Vught | |
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Town andmunicipality | |
 Former Saint Peter church in Vught | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
.svg) Location in North Brabant | |
  Vught  Vught | |
| Coordinates:51°39′N5°18′E / 51.650°N 5.300°E /51.650; 5.300 | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | North Brabant |
| Government | |
| • Body | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Chantal Nijkerken de Haan (VVD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 34.69 km2 (13.39 sq mi) |
| • Land | 33.75 km2 (13.03 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0.94 km2 (0.36 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (January 2021)[4] | |
• Total | 31,669 |
| • Density | 938/km2 (2,430/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Vughtenaar |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postcode | 5260–5266 |
| Area code | 0411, 073 |
| Website | vught |
Vught (Dutch pronunciation:[vʏxt]ⓘ) is amunicipality and a town in theProvince ofNorth Brabant in the southernNetherlands, 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 magazineElsevier.[5]
Map of the municipality of Vught, 2021
The first mention of Vught in the historical record dates to the eleventh century. By the fourteenth century, theTeutonic Order had acquired the parish and set up acommandery across from the Saint Lambert Church. In 1328, the residents of Vught were granted the right of municipality by the Duke of Brabant.
During theEighty Years War Vught was the site of struggles between Catholic interests and the troops ofWilliam of Orange. In 1629 the Saint Lambert Church became a Reformed Protestant church, after the troops ofFrederick Henry, Prince of Orange, were victorious in 's-Hertogenbosch.
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 byOberaufseherinMargarete 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 byHimmler to the regular rank of soldier and sent to the Hungarian front, where he died in 1945.
Dutch underground membersCorrie andBetsie ten Boom were held at Vught in 1944, before being sent toRavensbrück concentration camp. Vught was also a transition camp for many of the female laborers at theAgfa Kamerawerke in München-Giesing, where they built ignition and camera devices.Poncke Princen, who would later become known for going over to theIndonesian 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, but only after German guards killed several hundred prisoners held there, mainly by firing squad.
AfterWorld 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 IndonesianMoluccan exiles, former soldiers of the Netherlands armed forces and their families who were transferred to the Netherlands after Indonesian independence.
From 1953, part of the former detention camp was developed as a juvenile prison calledNieuw Vosseveld.'[6] Today, asPI Vught, it is a high-security prison with 15 separate units and up to 750 prisoners.[7] Amongst those imprisoned there are:
On 2 April 2025 Chantal Nijkerken-de Haan was inaugurated as mayor of Vught.[8]The aldermen are Mark du Maine (VVD), Yvonne Vos (CDA) and Jos den Otter (Gemeentebelangen).[9]
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Just outside the town border lies the lakeIJzeren 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 byFrederick 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 theMinistry of Defence'sCBRN defense training center.[10]
After the village ofHelvoirt and surroundings had been transferred from the former municipality ofHaaren to Vught in 2021, the eastern part of theLoonse en Drunense Duinen national park became part of the municipality.
Ewald Marggraff was a well-to-do nobleman who lived in Vught. Ahermit, 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.[11]
Vught has a railway station with connections toAmsterdam/Utrecht via's-Hertogenbosch,Maastricht viaEindhoven,Tilburg andNijmegen. Highway 2 /E25 and Highway 65 /N93 intersect at Vught. Also twoArriva buslines connecting Vught to the Jeroen Bosch Hospital, school district and central station, all located in neighbouringDen Bosch.
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Bagira Systems and Van Halteren Defence have jointly been awarded a contract by the Netherlands Ministry of Defence for the simulator for its national chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) training centre at Bredero barracks in Vught.
Places adjacent to Vught | |
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