The village was first mentioned in 1275 as "silvam que vocatur Barlebosche", and means "old forest". The forest was cultivated from 1275 onwards by the monks of the
Cistercian abbey of St Bernard near Antwerp. Oudenbosch was located at an intersection of land and waterways which stimulated its development. In 1837, the monastery boarding school St Anna was founded, and Oudenbosch became a Catholic centre. In 1862, the first sugar factory was built in Oudenbosch, and it became a centre of the sugar industry. Oudenbosch was a separate municipality until 1997, when it became part of the new municipality of
Halderberge. ==Transportation==