Loon op Zand () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and a village in the southern

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It had a population of in . The western part of national park the

Loonse en Drunense Duinen De Loonse en Drunense Duinen National Park ''(duinen = dunes)'' is a national park situated in the south of the Netherlands, between the cities of Tilburg, Waalwijk and 's-Hertogenbosch. It has been designated as a national park since 2002. It is ...

is located in the municipality of Loon op Zand.

Population centres

Topography

''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Loon op Zand, June 2015.''

Kaatsheuvel

Kaatsheuvel is the location of the

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Efteling Efteling () is a fantasy-themed amusement park in Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands. The attractions reflect elements from ancient myths and legends, fairy tales, fables, and folklore. The park was opened on May 31, 1952. It evolved from a nature ...

Loon op Zand

Loon op Zand is the oldest village of the municipality. Somewhere around the year 1000, this village was founded in a very wet and swampy area. There was also a lot of drift-sand whose origin, according to geological experts, dates back to the last ice age. As of this moment, Loon op Zand has the biggest driftsand area in all of western Europe. The presence of this driftsand explains the name of Loon op Zand. It means Village build on sand. Historically, the presence of this driftsand has caused the relocation of the village on several times. Hinerland farmers build many sandy embankments or levies to protect their land against the ceaseless drifting sand. For 200 years, Loon op Zand and Kaatsheuvel were the centre of the leather tanning and shoe manufacturing industry of the region. There were a lot of factories; most of these were in people's backyards. There were some big shoe manufacturers like Van Lier. This world-famous shoe brand originated in Loon op Zand. Just prior to the new millennium, Van Lier abandoned their factory in Loon op Zand and moved to a bigger factory in Breda.

Notable people

Paul Litjens Paul Litjens (born 11 September 1947, Loon op Zand) is a former field hockey player for the Netherlands. He played 177 matches with the Dutch national team, scoring 268 goals, an international record he held from 1982 to 2004.Ton Masseurs Ton Masseurs (born 7 December 1947, in Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands) is a Dutch guitarist noted as one of the first pedal steel guitar players in Europe. He was the lead guitar/steel guitar player, and a founding member, of the Dutch Country and ...

(born 1947 in Kaatsheuvel) a Dutch

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

player *

Ben Knapen Hubertus Petrus Maria "Ben" Knapen (born 6 January 1951) is a Dutch historian and politician serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 24 September 2021 to 10 January 2022. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he previously was S ...

(born 1951 in Kaatsheuvel) a Dutch politician, the CDA parliamentary leader in the Senate *

Mark van Loosdrecht Mark van Loosdrecht (born 1959) is a Dutch professor in environmental biotechnology at Delft University of Technology. He was the creator of Nereda, a wastewater treatment technology developed by a cooperation between the Delft University of Techn ...

(born 1959 in Loon op Zand) an academic and inventor of

Nereda Nereda is a wastewater treatment technology invented by Mark van Loosdrecht of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The technology is based on aerobic granulation and is a modification of the activated sludge process. Aerobic g ...

, a wastewater treatment technology *

Ilse Broeders Ilse Broeders (born 4 July 1977 in Loon op Zand) is a Dutch bobsledder who competed from 1999 to 2006. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she earned her best finish of tenth in the two-woman event at Salt Lake City in 2002. She drove in the two- ...

(born 1977 in Loon op Zand) a Dutch bobsledder, competed in the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Jacqueline Govaert Jacqueline Govaert (; born 20 April 1982) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, and pianist. She is best known as the leader of Dutch band Krezip. After Krezip disbanded in 2009, Govaert started a solo music career. She released her debut album ''Good ...

(born 1982 in Kaatsheuvel) a Dutch singer, songwriter, and pianist IMDb Database
retrieved 26 November 2019

Gallery

File:515255 Kasteel Loon op Zand.jpg, Loon op Zand Castle File:Nationaalpark Loonse en Drunense Duinen.jpg, Nationaalpark Loonse en Drunense Duinen File:Kaatsheuvel - Raadhuisstraat.jpg, Kaatsheuvel - Raadhuisstraat File:Fietspad P1360176.jpg, Fietspad

Notes

References

External links

* Municipalities of North Brabant Populated places in North Brabant {{NorthBrabant-geo-stub