Uden (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈydə(n)] ) is a town and former municipality in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands. Since 2022 it has been part of the new municipality of Maashorst.

Uden
Town and former municipality
Top left: Church of St. Peter, top right: Former town hall
Bottom left: Bedaf Dunes, bottom right: Volkel Air Base
Flag of Uden
Coat of arms of Uden
Uden is located in North Brabant
Uden
Uden
Location in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands
Uden is located in Netherlands
Uden
Uden
Uden (Netherlands)
Coordinates: 51°39′N 5°37′E / 51.650°N 5.617°E / 51.650; 5.617
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceNorth Brabant
MunicipalityMaashorst
Area
 • Town36.57 km2 (14.12 sq mi)
Elevation16 m (52 ft)
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • Town36,805
 • Density1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
5400–5406[1]
Area code0413
Websitewww.uden.nl
Map of Uden (town), 2014.

History edit

Uden was first recorded around 1190 as "Uthen". However, earlier settlements have been found in the areas of modern-day Moleneind, Vorstenburg and Bitswijk and evidence of Ice Age settlements has been found near the hamlet of Slabroek. From 1324 Uden was ruled by the Valkenburg house and became a part of the Land van Ravenstein [nl]. After 1397 it became a part of the German duchy of Cleves.

Uden was hardly affected by the Eighty Years' War and gained religious freedom in 1631. A result of this was the establishment in the municipality of the Crosiers, who fled from Protestant Dutch oppression in 's-Hertogenbosch in 1638. After the peace of Munster in 1648, Uden remained outside the Dutch republic and was a haven of religious tolerance and Catholics from the nearby towns of Veghel, Nistelrode and Erp were able to build churches at the municipality's boundaries. The period of 1648–1795 saw an increase in prosperity due to the weekly markets, however, the town was almost destroyed by a fire in 1746. The Dutch folk-hero Kobus van der Schlossen was locally active at this time.

In 1795, Uden was taken by French troops and incorporated into the Dutch republic and has been a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1810. After that time Uden's wealth diminished, mainly due to competition from the neighbouring Brabant towns, resulting in immigration to the Midwestern United States.

In 1848 The Dominican Catholic missionary Father Theodore J. van den Broek led a group of Dutch Catholics from Uden to Little Chute, Wisconsin, beginning a pattern of immigration to northeast Wisconsin that would last until the early twentieth century. That region of Wisconsin remains largely populated by descendants of Dutch Catholic immigrants from the Uden area. The Midwest was selected for its fairly similar landscape, which allowed the East Dutch immigrants, who were primarily farmers, to continue the same agricultural practices in the United States.

On 12 June 1840, a meteorite weighing approximately 720 grams fell into a field just outside Uden. It narrowly missed a group of laborers digging for peat nearby.[3]

In 1855 the village of Volkel founded its own parish.

Uden began to specialise in the growth of cherries from 1860 onwards and in 1886 the old Petrus-church was demolished by fire and replaced by a new larger one.

During World War I (in which the Netherlands stayed neutral) North Brabant was inundated by Belgian refugees. A refugee camp was erected at Vluchtoord in Uden, which housed several thousand Flemish refugees until 1918.

In the 1920s people started to cultivate the extensive heathlands in the eastern part of the municipality, called "De Peel". In 1922 a new village was built, called Terraveen and later renamed Odiliapeel.

After Uden was struck by a devastating cyclone in 1925, it was visited by Wilhelmina, queen of the Netherlands.

Since the 1950s Uden has become a regional centre of development, providing much needed economic growth. Due to its growth, very little is left of the old town's character.

 
Church of Sint-Petrus

Population centres edit

Places of interest edit

  • Brigitinesse abbey of Mary's Refuge
  • Church of Saint Peter's Chair
  • Chapel of the Crosiers
  • Mill of Jettens
  • Monastery of the Crosiers
  • Monastery of the Ursulines
  • Volkel Air Base
  • World War II cemetery

Notable people edit

 
Gerrit Braks, 1984
 
Wilma and Riet van den Berg, 1970

Sport edit

 
Laura de Vaan, 2016


People from Uden

U.S. international football player Earnie Stewart was raised in Uden. His father was a U.S. Air Force airman stationed at Volkel Air Base. Fashion designer Addy van den Krommenacker was also born and raised in Uden. Producer Cilia van Dijk was born in Uden in 1941 and raised there. She won an Oscar in 1985 for producing the short animated movie Anna and Bella. The dancing pair Erik van Lieshout (born 1970) and Angelique Bisschops (born 1972) became Dutch Champion in Latin and Ballroom Dancing seven times and Champion of the Benelux four times. One of the more famous inhabitants is 'Sjoerd Snor' or 'Den Poalling', a regular at the bar of one of the more popular cafés in the center of Uden.

International relations edit

Uden is twinned with

See also edit

Gallery edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2021". Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Postcodetool for 5401EJ". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  3. ^ Humphrys, Julian (June 2010). "BBC History magazine". BBC World Histories. Bristol Magazines Ltd. ISSN 1469-8552.
  4. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 17 March 2020
  5. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 17 March 2020
  6. ^ Bekende Buren. "Nikkie de Jager ofwel NikkieTutorials koopt voor prikkie vet landhuis in het Brabantse Uden. Zie foto's". Bekende Buren (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 August 2020.

External links edit