Roosendaal
Encyclopedia
Roosendaal (ˈroː.zə.ˌdaːl) is both a city and a municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in the southern Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. Together with Nispen it used to form a municipality named Roosendaal en Nispen
Roosendaal en Nispen
Roosendaal en Nispen was a municipality in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It included the villages of Roosendaal and Nispen.In 1997, the municipality merged with Wouw. As the town of Roosendaal had become by far the largest in the new municipality, the name of the new municipality became...

. Since 1 January 1997 the municipalities Roosendaal en Nispen and Wouw
Wouw
Wouw is a village between the cities Roosendaal and Bergen op Zoom. It is situated in the southern Netherlands in the province of North Brabant. It is close to the border with Belgium....

 have merged into the municipality now simply known as Roosendaal.

Population centres

  • Roosendaal (population: 66,760)
  • Wouw
    Wouw
    Wouw is a village between the cities Roosendaal and Bergen op Zoom. It is situated in the southern Netherlands in the province of North Brabant. It is close to the border with Belgium....

     (4,920)
  • Heerle
    Heerle
    Heerle is a village in the municipality of Roosendaal, in the Dutch province of North Brabant....

     (1,900)
  • Nispen (1,440)
  • Wouwse Plantage (1,230)
  • Moerstraten (660)

The city of Roosendaal

Roosendaal was established in the 13th century.

The professional football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 team RBC (Roosendaal Boys Combinatie) plays in Roosendaal.

The official International ABBA Fan club has been based in Roosendaal since 1986, and since the turn of the century, the city has also played host to the annual convention of the International ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

 Fan Club where for one weekend every April, hundreds of people from all over the world attend the event.

History

The history of Roosendaal goes back to the 12th and 13th century. The name Rosendaele was first mentioned in a document of 1268. Roosendaal was always a part of North Brabant
North Brabant
North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...

. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, Roosendaal grew as a result of the turf business, but the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) put an end to the grow. Roosendaal and Wouw were suffering from the itinerant combat troops. The troops plundered and ravaged everything they came across. For decades the countryside of Roosendaal was abandoned.

Under King Louis Napoléon
Louis Bonaparte
Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Français, Comte de Saint-Leu , King of Holland , was the fifth surviving child and the fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino...

 of Holland
Kingdom of Holland
The Kingdom of Holland 1806–1810 was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands. The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country...

, Roosendaal received city rights in 1809.

Transportation

  • Railway station: Roosendaal
    Roosendaal railway station
    Roosendaal is a railway station in the city of Roosendaal, the Netherlands. The station opened on 3 July 1854 on the Antwerp–Lage Zwaluwe railway and is the beginning of the Roosendaal–Vlissingen railway. Roosendaal was the first station in North Brabant to be built...



The city is an important railway hub: the Zwolle
Zwolle
Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...

-Roosendaal Intercity service starts and ends here, the Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

-Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 International train service passes through Roosendaal, as does the express train Amsterdam-Vlissingen (Flushing) service. There is also a stopping service to Antwerp.

Medical Care

The Franciscus Ziekenhuis Roosendaal is a general hospital for the residents of Roosendaal and surrounding areas.It is the main hospital of the city of Roosendaal. Franciscus Ziekenhuis offers specialised medical care provided by a broad team of medical specialists. Special units include:
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Gynaecology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Intensive Care

Events in Roosendaal

  • Carnaval
    Carnival
    Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

  • Draai van de Kaai cycling race
  • Annual "International ABBA Day" - A weekend-long event, normally each April, operated by ABBA's official Fan Club which is based in Roosendaal.

People from Roosendaal

  • Harry Broos
    Harry Broos
    Henricus Adrianus Broos was a Dutch athlete, who competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country: in 1924 and 1928....

     (1898–1954), sprinter
  • Antoine Mazairac
    Antoine Mazairac
    Antonius "Antoine" Hendrikus Mazairac was a Dutch cyclist who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics.In 1928 he won the silver medal in the sprint competition.-External links:*...

     (1901–1966), cyclist
  • Fons Rademakers (1920–2007), filmmaker
  • Jean Defraigne
    Jean Defraigne
    Jean Pierre Marie Olivier Germain Defraigne is a Belgian liberal politician and minister for the Liberal Reformist Party ....

     (born 1929), politician
  • Theo Laseroms
    Theo Laseroms
    Matheus Wilhelmus Theodorus Laseroms was a football defender from the Netherlands, who made a name for himself when he played for Feyenoord Rotterdam. Born in Roosendaal, he has six caps for the Netherlands....

     (1940–1991), footballer
  • Ad Konings
    Ad Konings
    Ad Konings is an ichthyologist originally trained in medicine and biology. Konings is best known for his research on African rift lake cichlids. After studies in Amsterdam he has spent most of his life in Rotterdam.- Early life :Konings started keeping cichlids when he was 14 years old in 1970...

     (born 1956), ichthyologist
  • Joost Lagendijk (born 1957), politician
  • Ingrid van Lubek
    Ingrid van Lubek
    Ingrid Jeanine van Lubek is an athlete from the Netherlands. She competes in triathlon.Van Lubek competed at the first Olympic triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She took thirty-third place with a total time of 2:09:29.00.-References:*...

     (born 1971), triathlete
  • Jeroen van Damme
    Jeroen van Damme
    Jeroen van Damme is a Dutch long distance track, and road running athlete.On April 10, 2005 Van Damme finished the Rotterdam Marathon in 2:13:48, qualifying for the 2005 World Championships in Athletics where he finished in 58th position.Van Damme finished second in the St...

     (born 1972), runner
  • Bram Lomans
    Bram Lomans
    Abraham Robertus Lomans is a former Dutch field hockey player, who twice won the gold medal at the Olympics: in Atlanta Abraham ("Bram") Robertus Lomans (born on April 19, 1975 in Roosendaal) is a former Dutch field hockey player, who twice won the gold medal at the Olympics: in Atlanta Abraham...

     (born 1975), hockey player
  • Hendrick Lonck
    Hendrick Lonck
    Adm. Hendrick Corneliszoon Lonck , a Dutch naval hero, was the first Dutch sea captain to reach the New World.-Early years:...

     (born 1568), sea captain
  • Joost Prinsen (born ), actor, presentator
  • Fritz Kohle (born 1966 ), filmmaker, lecturer
  • Korbett Matthews
    Korbett Matthews
    Korbett Matthews is a documentary filmmaker and media educator based in Montreal, Canada.-History:Matthews produces international works which elude categorization...

     (born 1972 ), documentary filmmaker, teacher
  • Marie-Josee Saint-Pierre
    Marie-Josee Saint-Pierre
    Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre is a French Canadian documentary filmmaker and film animator based in Montreal, Canada.-History:...

     (born 1978), film animator
  • Luc Verkuil (born 1983), body Builder

External links

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