Rijen is the largest place in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

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 ...

Gilze en Rijen Gilze en Rijen () is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. The municipality contains four villages: Rijen, Gilze, Hulten and Molenschot. It is home to the Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Rijen grew in the 19th century due to its leather factories. P ...

. The

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

is located here. Rijen is situated north of the A58, between

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

and

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

. Surrounding places are: Dorst,

Dongen Dongen () is a municipality and a village in the southern Netherlands. In the past it was home to a profitable leather industry, to which a few old shoe factories in the town's older sections still testify. The town is formed near a small river ca ...

and Oosterhout.

History

Rijen has been a hamlet of

Gilze Gilze en Rijen () is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. The municipality contains four villages: Rijen, Gilze, Hulten and Molenschot. It is home to the Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Rijen grew in the 19th century due to its leather factories. P ...

for years, which belonged to the Barony of

. In 1464 a chapel was added to this hamlet and was raised to an independent

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. Rijen stayed smaller than Gilze for a long time. In the period of 1831-1838, during the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

, many Dutch soldiers were encamped at Rijen. A few years later, in 1863, the Gilze-Rijen station was opened. This gave the opportunity for the industry to grow. Especially the leather industry grew very fast and the town with it. During

the second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the existing town hall in Gilze was destroyed and rebuilt in the now bigger Rijen.

Public transport

Gilze-Rijen railway station Gilze-Rijen is a railway station located in Rijen, Netherlands in the municipality Gilze en Rijen. Although the railway station is located in Rijen, it's called Gilze-Rijen because of the Gilze-Rijen Air Base, just south of Rijen. The station was ...

is located at the south of Rijen, trains in the directions of Breda, Tilburg,

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

and

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

leave here. Train services are done by

Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and the ...

. Busses leave from this station as well to:

Oosterhout Oosterhout (; from ''ooster'', "eastern", and ''hout'', "woods") is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. The municipality had a population of in . Population centers The municipality of Oosterhout includes the following pla ...

and

. Bus services are operated by

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Jeroen Blijlevens Jeroen Johannes Hendrikus Blijlevens (born 29 December 1971) is a retired road bicycle racer from the Netherlands, who was a professional rider from 1994 to 2004. He most recently worked as a directeur sportif for UCI Women's WorldTeam , and has ...

(b. 1971), retired road bicycle racer *

Jacques Theeuwes Jacobus A.M. (Jacques) Theeuwes (born 17 April 1944) is a Dutch economist, accountant, consultant and Emeritus Professor of Business economics at the Eindhoven University of Technology, known for his contributions to the fields of Management Account ...

(b. 1944), Emeritus Professor of Business economics *

Janus Theeuwes Adrianus "Janus" Cornelis Theeuwes (4 April 1886 – 7 August 1975) was an archer from the Netherlands. He owned a leather factory (Theeuwes Van de Maade) and was father of seven daughters and one son. His son, Huub, succeeded him. He wa ...

(1886 – 1975), archer from the Netherlands *

Willy van de Wiel Willy van de Wiel (born 15 April 1982) is a Dutch former professional darts player. BDO career Van de Wiel won the 2008 Norway Open, beating Dave Chisnall, Stephen Bunting and John Henderson, before beating Paul Hanvidge in the final. He also ...

(b. 1982), Dutch darts player

Gallery

File:516967 Julianalaan 118.jpg, House in Rijen File:P1020244copyDe Lavarije.jpg, Shopping street File:Pastoor Gillesstraat Rijen schoorsteen G vd Steen.jpg, Chimney File:P1020249 copyMaria-Magdalenakerk.jpg, Maria Magdelena Church

References

{{Commons category, position=left Populated places in North Brabant Gilze en Rijen