Roosendaal is a City in the province North Brabant. It is also, since 1997, a municipality which encompasses the area of Wouw, Roosendaal and Nispen into the new municipality, simply called Roosendaal. The city of Roosendaal has a population of about 67,000.
History of Roosendaal
Although not heard of before the 13th century, Roosendaal has since an interesting past. Roosendaal was first mentioned in a document in the year 1268. But in the centuries after this time Roosendaal turned into a prosperous and thriving town that was doing very well, both in trade generally and also, particularly in the peat business. Also known as turf, the peat was cut in the spring and stacked to dry out through the summer. After it had dried out and somewhat shrunk to about half its size, due to the amount of water that turf held, it was ready to be used as a fuel for household heating and cooking.
Since Roosendaal had a port, they could trade peat and other goods up and down the coast of Holland as well as going to other countries such as Belgium and France. In these centuries life in the town was relatively peaceful and prosperous. All of this ended in 1568, when the 80 years war started. Although not always directly involved with the conflict itself, the town was, throughout the time, subject to a lot of theft, looting and destruction of property by the soldiers involved in the hostilities. This meant that a lot of trade and agriculture was virtually abandoned at this time.
However after the war had finished and things returned to normal, the area once again became fairly well off. In the first part of the 19th century the town was occupied by the army of Napoleon. Strangely the town, at least in one way, benefited from this as they managed to argue their case, successfully, with the French that the town should be, due to its size and wealth made into a city, which contributed to Roosendaal having even better trade links and a subsequent increase in wealth.
In the mid 19th century, the modern era really began for the city, with the introduction of the new bill creating municipalities. Although this took some time to make a difference to the area, in 1854 a Belgium railway company built a track from Antwerp to Roosendaal, with trains also going to Rotterdam and Vlissingen. The area became a busy junction for both the railway and the trade that went with it. New steam powered factories also arrived in the city and added greatly to both the manufacturing capability and the wealth of the area. At the beginning of the 20th century a new station was built to cope with the extra trade and passenger services. Through the rest of the 20th century Roosendaal grew and prospered from the presence of large companies, such as Phillips, Vero and Wenneker moving into the city.
Transport To And Around Roosendaal
There is an excellent train service to and from most parts of The Netherlands. There are 12 trains daily to Rotterdam, Antwerp, and The Hague. There are also trains at approximately every half hour to Almere, Lelystad, The Hague, Dorsecht, Vlissingen, Amsterdam, Zwolle Schiphol, Arnhem, Deventer, Nijmegen, Breda and Hertogenbosch.There is also an hourly train to Antwerp and Mechelen, every hour at the weekend that also goes to Brussels Airport.
If you are flying into Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, there is a train every half hour straight from the train station at the airport. There is an excellent bus service in and around Roosendaal. If you are planning to use the buses, you should get an ov-chipcaart from the station. This is a small plastic card that you can load credit onto, that will automatically deduct the right amount whenever you make a journey. If you would like to book a taxi, you can call, Taxi Service Roosendaal, +31 165 559 273, or, Regiotaxi, +31 165 511 211.
Tourism In Roosendaal
Museum Tongerlohuys is housed in a converted, former church called St Jan’s. The museum’s collection is mostly based around artefacts from the local area and contains items reflecting local agriculture and the lives of the town dwelling people. Also the history of industry in the area and the effect of the growth of the railway on both the local populous and commercial interests. The Museum also host’s temporary exhibitions on Modern art. Indoor Skydive Roosendaal is a great to get an experience of what skydiving is like. A massive fan blows upward so much that you can ride on the cushion of air, as if you were skydiving.
Shopping And Eating
Rosada Outlet Shopping Center is a great place to save money and buy many high street brands at anything up to 70% off of the usual selling price. They have many of the most popular brands, such as Levi’s, Nike, etc. Although you will not always find the latest designs there, you should find some good things at very low prices. The Passage Shopping centre has many interesting shops. A lot of them are small boutiques and specialist stores. It is very interestingly fitted out with some very ornate architecture and stained glass. There is a very good cafe in the middle of the mall.
Het hooihuis is a good, friendly restaurant that serves well cooked Dutch food. The decor and furniture are well chosen and comfortable and the food, though not overly expensive is always of good quality. Irodion is a Greek restaurant in the Raadhuisstraat. They have good helpful staff and fine food, such as that the restaurant can get very busy.
Roosendaal is a nice town with plenty to do, especially if you are just having a day trip from Belgium. It only takes half an hour on the train and there is lots to do as well as some good shops and restaurants.
