Zevenbergen is a Dutch city which is a part of the municipality of Moerdijk. Zevenbergen is located in the northwest of the province of

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

near

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

History

Zevenbergen (literal translation: Seven Mountains) is presumably named after the hills that formed a natural barrier of protection during the time of the Roman Empire. The actual number of hills is debatable however and was most likely not seven. Archeological excavations in 1964 and 1965 revealed that two of the hills were already present during the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. From the mid-nineteenth century until the end of the twentieth century, Zevenbergen was most famous for its sugar production comprising three sugar factories. As a result of the sugar transport requirement, Zevenbergen got its railways, as well as the harbour located at the end of the "Mark" canal. Zevenbergen was a separate municipality until 1997, when it merged with Fijnaart en Heijningen, Klundert, Standdaarbuiten and

Willemstad Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...

. The name of the new municipality was originally "Zevenbergen", but was changed to "Moerdijk" in 1998.

Public transport

The Zevenbergen railway station has, together with nearby Oudenbosch, one of the oldest station buildings still existing in the Netherlands. The only older station building is the Valkenburg railway station.

Notable people

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 ...

, the famous Dutch painter, lived in Zevenbergen for part of his life. * Leo Riemens (1910–1985) from Zevenbergen was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist, co-author of ''Großes Sängerlexikon''.

Gallery

File:Zevenbergen Watertoren 5958.JPG, Water tower File:Markt Zevenbergen P1540247.jpg, Market with St Catharina Church File:Markt Zevenbergen P1280042.jpg, Pubs on the market File:Prins Hendrikstraat Zevenbergen 3.jpg, Industry in Zevenbergen

References

{{Authority control Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1998 Populated places in North Brabant Former municipalities of North Brabant Moerdijk