Before 1997, Heusden was a municipality in itself, that included the communities of Herpt, Heesbeen, Hedikhuizen, Doeveren, and Oudheusden.
Castle The settlement of
Heusden on the river
Maas (Meuse) started with the construction of
Heusden Castle, which replaced an earlier castle destroyed by
Henry I,
Duke of Brabant in 1202. This fortification was quickly expanded with water works and a
donjon (castle keep). The city of Heusden received
city rights in 1318. Heusden's castle had belonged to successive dukes of Brabant; in 1357 it passed into the hands of the
counts of Holland.
Ramparts and
moats were constructed, bringing the castle within the city's fortifications and resulting in the loss of its function as a stronghold. The donjon was then used as a munition depot. On 24 July 1680, a terrible
thunderstorm hit Heusden, and
lightning struck the donjon. Sixty thousand pounds of
gunpowder and other
ammunition exploded, destroying the castle. It took seven weeks to clear the rubble and debris. The castle was never fully rebuilt. However, outlines of the main features were restored in 1987.
Fortifications and restoration At the beginning of the
Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), Heusden was occupied by the Spanish. In 1577, however, following the
Pacification of Ghent, the people of Heusden allied with William,
Prince of Orange. William consolidated the town's strategic position near the river Meuse, and ordered fortification works to be constructed. Work started in 1579 with the digging of
moats and the construction of
bastions, walls, and
ravelins, and was completed in 1597. By the early nineteenth century, the defence works fell into disrepair and were dismantled. In 1968, however, extensive restoration works started, and fortifications were carefully rebuilt, based on and inspired by a 1649 map of the city of Heusden by
Johannes Blaeu, son of the famous Dutch cartographer
Willem Blaeu. In 1980, the city of Heusden received the European
Urbes Nostrae restoration prize. Heusden currently draws over 350 thousand tourists every year who visit the historic town centre and walk the walls that once made it a formidable stronghold.
Heusden Town Hall Massacre In October 1944, towards the end of
World War II, the cities of
Tilburg and
's-Hertogenbosch (
Den Bosch) were liberated by the
Allied forces. The
bridge across the river
Meuse made Heusden, then still occupied by the Germans, strategically significant. The cellars of the old
town hall, built in 1588, were a shelter for civilians during
artillery fire. The German
Wehrmacht used the building as a communication centre and hospital. A few weeks after
Operation Market Garden, the allied
Operation Pheasant started on 20 October 1944. The
First Canadian Army (advancing from Belgium) and the
2nd British Army (advancing from the east) fought to liberate central and western North Brabant. On Saturday 4 November, under heavy artillery fire, two Scottish
Highlander regiments advanced, and 170 civilians sought shelter in the town hall cellars. In the early morning of 5 November, three German army
engineers detonated explosive charges they had placed earlier in the 40-metre tower. It collapsed, killing 134 people. Heusden was decimated. One tenth of the town's population died that night in the town hall cellars. Seventy-four victims, i.e. more than half of the total number, were children aged 16 or younger. Only hours later, the 5th battalion of the
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders from the
51st Highland Division liberated Heusden. Witnesses have stated that on 4 November German soldiers carried explosives into the town hall tower, and also into two
churches, a
windmill, and
dairy factory in Heusden.
NCO (
non-commissioned officer)
Bottnick, who was probably following orders from
commander Pfühl, a
mining engineer, undermined the eastern part of the tower, ensuring that it would collapse on the town hall, not on the street. Later, these events were investigated by the British
Civil Affairs. However, this has never resulted in the trial and punishment of Pfühl, Bottnick, and their accomplices. A new town hall was erected in 1956. Designed and built in the style of the
Bossche School, it has much less splendour than its late-gothic predecessor. A memorial tablet in the forecourt still remembers the lives that were lost in the night of 4 to 5 November 1944. Its inscription: "
Wandelaar, waar gij staat vielen vijf november 1944 honderd vier en dertig burgers den oorlog ten offer." ("
Passer-by, where you are, on five November 1944 one hundred and thirty four civilians fell victim to the war.") Inscriptions on one of the larger bells in the tower "''Nabestaanden, als ik luid, weet: Uw vele, vele doden zijn niet oorlogs droeve buit, maar aan 't Gastmaal Gods genoden.
" ("Relatives, when I ring, know: Your many, many decedents are not the sad spoils of war, but the guests of God's banquet.
"), and an epitaph "5 November 1944. Hier staat in steen geschreven geen daad of droom, geen leven, maar slechts het blijvend feit van hun afwezigheid
" ("5 November 1944. Here is written in stone no act or dream, no life, but only the permanent fact of their absence''") in the building itself are also dedicated to the memory of the victims. The massacre ("Stadhuisramp") is commemorated every year. With the fusion of the municipalities of Heusden, Drunen and Vlijmen in 1997, the town hall had lost its original function. Since 2005, the building has housed a visitors centre. == Notable residents ==