Koning Willem II College is a school in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It was established in 1866 and is named after King Willem II. The school was founded in the former royal palace in Tilburg, the present

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, of which the construction was commissioned by King William II himself. In 1934 the school moved from the former palace to the new location a new and much bigger building at the Ringbaan Oost in Tilburg. In 1971 the school moved to its present location on the Tatraweg. The school is divided over seven buildings of varying size: * The A-building contains the school's four gyms. * The B-building is the school's main building. It has three floors and is one of the oldest buildings. * The C-building has only a few classrooms and is located on the ground floor. * The D-building like the B-building is one of the oldest buildings, but has only two floors. * The E-building (one floor) and F-building (two floors) were not part of the original school and were built later with a more modern decoration. The main subjects taught here are the sciences

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. * The G-building is the smallest of all of the buildings, and has only one big room. The school offers vmbo, havo or vwo ( atheneum and gymnasium). The school is unique in offering students two alternative streams: the ''muzische afdeling'' (musical department) or a ''top-sport afdeling'' (top-sports department) for the first three years of their education, after which they may continue at the vmbo, havo or vwo.

Vincent van Gogh

In 1866, the school welcomed of its most remarkable students and certainly its most famous:

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

. He left the school halfway during his second year, for unknown reasons. His parents still lived in

Zundert Zundert () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and town in the south of the Netherlands bordering Belgium, in the province of North Brabant. Zundert is the birthplace of Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter Vincent va ...

and Vincent lived in one of the houses at the St. Annaplein in Tilburg, not far from the school. The oldest school photograph in the files of the school, a typical class photograph, is a famous photo of Van Gogh. It is said that his art teacher, Constant Cornelis Huijsmans, has had a strong influence of Gogh's early style.

External links

School website
Educational institutions established in 1866 1866 establishments in the Netherlands Secondary schools in the Netherlands Schools in North Brabant Buildings and structures in Tilburg Organisations based in Tilburg {{Netherlands-school-stub