Valkenswaard
Valkenswaard is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant. The municipality had a population of in, with an area of of which is water.
The name Valkenswaard stems from its history of falconers, who caught wild falcons there; valk is Dutch for "falcon". It lay on a route where falcons migrated south each year. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, Valkenswaardian falconers were active at many European courts, in which falconing was a beloved pastime. Valkenswaard's falcon-catching area has now been built over and falcons are no longer caught there.
In the 19th and 20th century, a number of large cigar factories were founded in Valkenswaard, the two most renowned of which being Willem II and Hofnar.
A Second World War cemetery containing 220 British soldiers was created near Valkenswaard in October 1944. It is now maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The spoken language is Kempenlands.
The Eurocircuit Valkenswaard is a motorsport racetrack that has hosted the European Rallycross Championship and the FIM Motocross World Championship.
WWW valkenswaard.nl𝕏 _ValkenswaardFB GemeenteValkenswaardYT gemeentevalkenswaardIG gemeentevalkenswaardIN gemeente-valkenswaardR/ valkenswaard
Economy
Companies, that are headquartered in Valkenswaard include Brabantia, a residential use product manufacturer, and VDL Bus & Coach, a vehicle manufacturer specializing in constructing buses.Population centres
- Borkel en Schaft
- Dommelen
- Valkenswaard
Topography
''Map of the municipality of Valkenswaard, June 2015''
Notable people born in Valkenswaard
- Henk van den Breemen a Dutch military officer
- Pieter van Geel a retired Dutch politician
- Linda Williams a Dutch singer, participated in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest
- Ine Gevers a Dutch curator of contemporary art, writer and activist
- Jeroen Mettes a Dutch poet, essayist and blogger
- Dominique van Hulst, singer, known by her stage name ''Do''
Sport
- Jan Tops an equestrian, gold medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Jens van Son a Dutch professional footballer with over 250 club caps
- Lidewij Welten a Dutch field hockey player
- Daniëlle van de Donk a Dutch professional footballer