's-Hertogenbosch

Located where the rivers Aa and Dommel meet, the city of 's-Hertogenbosch became a city in 1184. It is one of the foremost cities of the historic Duchy of Brabant (1183 - 1794), which roughly consisted of the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant and large pieces of Flanders. Being one of the first cities founded in the Low Countries during the Mediaeval period, the charter which granted Den Bosch its city rights was subsequently used and adapted by a lot of other newly founded cities throughout the Low Countries.

's-Hertogenbosch lends its name to the very Duchy it was once located in, meaning "The Duke's forest". Its shorter name, Den Bosch, is an abbreviation of said name. In other languages of mainland Europe, the name of the city is often translated (German: Herzogenbusch, French: Bois-le-Duc), which is fairly unique with Dutch cities.

The city holds significance for the Netherlands as a whole due to its siege of 1629 being a turning point for the Dutch revolution and the independence war that formed from said revolution. The city until that point had been considered to be impossible to successfully besiege, earning it the nickname De Moerasdraak (The Swamp Dragon). The capitulation of the city after a siege of half a year, gave stadtholder Frederik Hendrik the highest victory of his military career with him thus forth being known as De Stedendwinger (The subjugator of cities), but also led to an exodus of many Catholic citizens and clergy, as a reparation for the siege.

The population of Den Bosch is approximately 151,000 and with that it is reaching its limits, because almost all the ground available for building has been used. This does not mean that the whole area is one big city, as there are several (big) parks. Likewise, the southern edge of the city is totally green as this is a protected natural reserve.

Den Bosch can be seen in 9 regions (note: these regions are built up of several neighborhoods):

By plane:

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS IATA), the largest airport in the Netherlands and of Europe's most important intercontinental hubs, is roughly 1½ hr away from Den Bosch by train. The cost is €17.80 for the complete journey. There are multiple times an hour allowing such connections. Consult e.g. 9292.nl for the most convenient option.

Eindhoven Airport (EIN IATA), the country's second largest, is in Brabant and is mainly served by low-fare carriers from many European cities, with special emphasis on Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. Getting to Den Bosch from Eindhoven is as simple as taking one of the many trains shuttling every hour between the cities, taking less than 20 minutes to connect them, but you must get a bus ride from the airport to Eindhoven station first, adding another 20 minutes to the travel time. With some walking and waiting factored it, the total journey time should not be over 50 minutes and will only cost you €6.30 in total.

Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM IATA) is a smaller, business-focused airport in the city of Rotterdam, which can be used as an alternative to Schiphol from some destinations. The airport also does not have a direct train connection - you need to take the bus to Rotterdam Centraal (20 min) and then a direct Intercity train to 's Hertogenbosch. Total journey time is under two hours and cost is less than €18.

By train:

Den Bosch has a good location within the railway system of the "Nederlandse Spoorwegen" (Dutch Railroads) and almost every city has a direct connection or with a single stopover. Trains depart from Den Bosch main station in city center, which is located at the 'Stationsweg', towards Utrecht-Amsterdam-Haarlem and Utrecht-Schiphol in the north, in the direction of Nijmegen-Arnhem-Zwolle in the east, towards Eindhoven-Maastricht in the south and Tilburg-Breda-Roosendaal in the west.

By car: