Eindhoven

Eindhoven
City and Municipality
From top down, left to right: Skyline of Eindhoven,
Light Tower at the city centre, Evoluon conference centre,
St. Anthony Church, St. Catherine Church, Vesteda Tower,
Van Abbe Museum, Philips Stadium of PSV Eindhoven,
High Tech Campus Eindhoven

Flag
Coat of arms
Highlighted position of Eindhoven in a municipal map of North Brabant
Location in North Brabant
Coordinates: 51°26′N 5°29′E / 51.433°N 5.483°E / 51.433; 5.483Coordinates: 51°26′N 5°29′E / 51.433°N 5.483°E / 51.433; 5.483
Country Netherlands
Province North Brabant
Government[1]
 • Body Municipal council
 • Mayor Rob van Gijzel (PvdA)
Area[2]
 • Municipality 88.87 km2 (34.31 sq mi)
 • Land 87.72 km2 (33.87 sq mi)
 • Water 1.15 km2 (0.44 sq mi)
Elevation[3] 17 m (56 ft)
Population (Municipality, May 2014; Urban and Metro, May 2014; Metro region and CMSA, August 2015)[4][5][6][7]
 • Municipality 221,402
 • Density 2,524/km2 (6,540/sq mi)
 • Urban 337,487
 • Metro 419,045
 • Metro region 755,313
 • CMSA 1,944,588
Demonym(s) Eindhovenaar
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode 5600–5658
Area code 040
Website www.eindhoven.nl
Dutch Topographic map of Eindhoven (city), Sept. 2014

Eindhoven (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛi̯ntɦoːvə(n)]) is a municipality and a city located in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender streams.[8] The Gender was dammed short of the city centre in the 1950s but the Dommel still runs through the city. The city has a population of 223,220 in January 2015,[9] making it the fifth-largest municipality of the Netherlands and the largest of North Brabant.

Neighbouring cities and towns include Son en Breugel, Nuenen, Geldrop-Mierlo, Heeze-Leende, Waalre, Veldhoven, Eersel, Oirschot and Best. The agglomeration has a population of 337,487. The metropolitan area consists of 419,045 inhabitants. The city region has a population of 753,426. Also, Eindhoven is located in the Brabantse Stedenrij, a combined metropolitan area with about 2 million inhabitants.

Name

The name Eindhoven derives from the contraction of the regional words eind (meaning "last" or "end") and hove (or hoeve, a section of some 14 hectares of land). Toponymically, eind occurs commonly as a prefix and postfix in local place- and streetnames. A hoeve (surface measure) comprised a parcel of land which a local lord might lease to private persons (such as farmers). Given that a string of such parcels existed around Woensel, the name Eindhoven may have originated with the meaning "last hoves on the land of Woensel".

History

13th–15th century

The written history of Eindhoven started in 1232, when Duke Hendrik I of Brabant granted city rights to Endehoven, then a small town right on the confluence of the Dommel and Gender streams. At the time of granting of its charter, Eindhoven had approximately 170 houses enclosed by a rampart. Just outside the city walls stood a small castle. The city was also granted the right to organize a weekly market and the farmers in nearby villages were obliged to come to Eindhoven to sell their produce. Another factor in its establishment was its location on the trade route from Holland to Liège.

Around 1388, the city's fortifications were strengthened further. And between 1413 and 1420, a new castle was built within the city walls. In 1486, Eindhoven was plundered and burned by troops from Guelders.

16th–18th century

The reconstruction of Eindhoven was finished in 1502, with a stronger rampart and a new castle. However, in 1543 it fell again, its defense works having been neglected due to poverty.

A big fire in 1554 destroyed 75% of the houses but by 1560 these had been rebuilt with the help of William I of Orange. During the Dutch Revolt, Eindhoven changed hands between the Dutch and the Spanish several times during which it was burned down by renegade Spanish soldiers, until finally in 1583 it was captured once more by Spanish troops and its city walls were demolished.

Eindhoven did not become part of the Netherlands until 1629. During the French occupation, Eindhoven suffered again with many of its houses destroyed by the invading forces. Eindhoven remained a minor city after that until the start of the industrial revolution.

19th century

The industrial revolution of the 19th century provided a major growth impulse. Canals, roads and railroads were constructed. Eindhoven was connected to the major Zuid-Willemsvaart canal through the Eindhovens Kanaal branch in 1843 and was connected by rail to Tilburg, 's-Hertogenbosch, Venlo and Belgium between 1866 and 1870. Industrial activities initially centred around tobacco and textile and boomed with the rise of lighting and electronics giant Philips, which was founded as a light bulb manufacturing company in Eindhoven in 1891.

Industrialization brought population growth to Eindhoven. At the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, Eindhoven had 2,310 inhabitants.

20th century

By 1920, the population was 47,946; by 1925 it was 63,870 and in 1935 that had ballooned to 103,030.[10] The explosive growth of industry in the region and the subsequent housing needs of workers called for radical changes in administration, as the City of Eindhoven was still confined to its medieval moat city limits. In 1920, the five neighbouring municipalities of Woensel (to the north), Tongelre (northeast and east), Stratum (southeast), Gestel en Blaarthem (southwest) and Strijp (west), which already bore the brunt of the housing needs and related problems, were incorporated into the new Groot-Eindhoven ("Greater Eindhoven") municipality. The prefix "Groot-" was later dropped.

After the incorporation of 1920, the five former municipalities became districts of the Municipality of Eindhoven, with Eindhoven-Centrum (the City proper) forming the sixth. Since then, an additional seventh district has been formed by dividing the largest district, that of Woensel, into Woensel-Zuid and Woensel-Noord.

The early 20th century saw additions in technical industry with the advent of car and truck manufacturing company Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek (DAF) and the subsequent shift towards electronics and engineering, with the traditional tobacco and textile industries waning and finally disappearing in the 1970s.

People of Eindhoven (during World War II) watching Allied forces entering the city following its liberation from Axis forces on 19 September 1944.
Eindhoven, view to a street: 18 Septemberplein-Vestdijk-Stationsplein

A first air raid in World War II was flown by the RAF on 6 December 1942 targeting the Philips factory downtown. 148 civilians died, even though the attack was carried out on a Sunday by low-flying Mosquito bombers.[11][12] Large-scale air raids, including the preliminary bombing during Operation Market Garden to aid the US 101st Airborne Division paratroopers in securing the bridges in and around the town on 18 September 1944, destroyed large parts of the city. The reconstruction that followed left very little historical remains and the post-war reconstruction period saw drastic renovation plans in highrise style, some of which were implemented. At the time, there was little regard for historical heritage; in the 1960s, a new city hall was built and its neo-gothic predecessor (1867) demolished to make way for a planned arterial road that never materialised.

The 1970s, 1980s and 1990s saw large-scale housing developments in the districts of Woensel-Zuid and Woensel-Noord, making Eindhoven the fifth-largest city in the Netherlands. At the start of the 21st century, a whole new housing development called Meerhoven was constructed at the site of the old airport of Welschap, west of Eindhoven. The airport itself, now called Eindhoven Airport, had moved earlier to a new location, paving the way for much needed new houses. Meerhoven is part of the Strijp district and partially lies on lands annexed from the municipality of Veldhoven.

21st century

In the 2000s decade, Eindhoven emerged as the capital of Dutch industrial design. The Design Academy Eindhoven has produced major Dutch designers, such as Maarten Baas, Marcel Wanders, Richard Hutten, Jurgen Bey, and Hella Jongerius. The school also has a strong affiliation with droog design. In 2003, Time Magazine called the Academy, "The School of Cool." Due to the fame of the D.A.E, Eindhoven has been able to grow in the design industry with such events as the Dutch Design Week, that takes place every October. While most of Philips' industries have moved out, the Philips Design Bureau is still in Eindhoven.

Geography

Terrain map of the Eindhoven Region

The villages and city that make up modern Eindhoven were originally built on sandy elevations between the Dommel, Gender and Tongelreep streams. Beginning in the 19th century, the basins of the streams themselves have also been used as housing grounds, resulting in occasional floodings in the city centre. Partly to reduce flooding, the bed of the Gender stream, which flowed directly through the city centre, was dammed off and filled up after the War, and the course of the Dommel was regulated. New ecologial and socio-historical insights have led to parts of the Dommel's course being restored to their original states, and plans to have the Gender flow through the centre once again (link to article in Dutch).

The large-scale housing developments of the 20th century saw residential areas being built on former agricultural lands and woods, former heaths that had been turned into cultivable lands in the 19th century.

The city is currently divided into seven districts:
  1. Centrum
  2. Woensel-Noord
  3. Woensel-Zuid
  4. Tongelre
  5. Stratum
  6. Gestel
  7. Strijp

Climate

37.0 °C is the new temperature record in Eindhoven on 2 July 2015

Climate data for Eindhoven, Netherlands for 1981– (Source: KNMI)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 15.2
(59.4)		 18.9
(66)		 24.6
(76.3)		 29.1
(84.4)		 32.5
(90.5)		 34.4
(93.9)		 37.0
(98.6)		 36.6
(97.9)		 31.1
(88)		 27.0
(80.6)		 20.1
(68.2)		 16.2
(61.2)		 37.0
(98.6)
Average high °C (°F) 5.7
(42.3)		 6.6
(43.9)		 10.5
(50.9)		 14.5
(58.1)		 18.6
(65.5)		 21.1
(70)		 23.4
(74.1)		 23.1
(73.6)		 19.5
(67.1)		 14.9
(58.8)		 9.6
(49.3)		 6.1
(43)		 14.5
(58.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.0
(37.4)		 3.3
(37.9)		 6.3
(43.3)		 9.5
(49.1)		 13.5
(56.3)		 16.0
(60.8)		 18.2
(64.8)		 17.7
(63.9)		 14.6
(58.3)		 10.8
(51.4)		 6.6
(43.9)		 3.6
(38.5)		 10.3
(50.5)
Average low °C (°F) 0.0
(32)		 −0.1
(31.8)		 2.2
(36)		 4.1
(39.4)		 7.8
(46)		 10.5
(50.9)		 12.8
(55)		 12.2
(54)		 9.8
(49.6)		 6.7
(44.1)		 3.3
(37.9)		 0.8
(33.4)		 5.8
(42.4)
Record low °C (°F) −21.7
(−7.1)		 −21.6
(−6.9)		 −14.7
(5.5)		 −5.9
(21.4)		 −2.6
(27.3)		 0.3
(32.5)		 2.9
(37.2)		 3.6
(38.5)		 −0.4
(31.3)		 −6.4
(20.5)		 −9.6
(14.7)		 −17.4
(0.7)		 −21.7
(−7.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 63.6
(2.504)		 56.9
(2.24)		 58.2
(2.291)		 44.5
(1.752)		 54.6
(2.15)		 62.5
(2.461)		 77.2
(3.039)		 71.2
(2.803)		 62.6
(2.465)		 62.6
(2.465)		 78.8
(3.102)		 70.4
(2.772)		 750.0
(29.528)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 16 14 16 13 13 14 14 13 14 15 17 17 176
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 cm) 6 6 4 1 0 – – – – 0 2 5 24
Average relative humidity (%) 87 84 80 74 73 75 75 77 83 85 89 90 81
Mean monthly sunshine hours 61.5 84.0 120.8 170.2 202.5 191.5 204.8 188.8 141.7 115.9 65.1 48.1 1,603.6

Demographics

The (now monumental) former building of the Boerenleenbank in the Raiffeisenstraat (in the Centrum).

Population

As of 2013, the population of Eindhoven consisted of 218,433 persons (according to the Eindhoven city council, the city will reach the maximum population of 230,000 inhabitants around the year 2025). Of these, 29.5% or some 63,873 people are of foreign descent.[13] People are classified as being of foreign descent when they were born outside of the Netherlands, or when at least one of their parents was born outside of the Netherlands.

Large minority groups include:[14]

  1. Turks (10,337) (4.7%)
  2. Moroccans (5,907) (2.6%)
  3. Surinamese (3,771) (1.7%)
  4. Antilleans/Arubans (2,704) (1.2%)
  5. Indian people (2,088) (0.7%)
  6. Chinese people (3,452)
  7. Others (14,420) (6.6%)
  1. Indos (6,248) (2.9%)
  2. Germans (5,115) (2.4%)
  3. Belgians (2,651) (1.2%)
  4. British people (1,410) (0.6%)
  5. Spaniards (1,226) (0.5%)
  1. Polish people (2,956) (1.2%)
  2. Former Yugoslavia (1,386)
  3. Former Soviet Union (1,534)

The municipal agglomeration of Eindhoven (an administrative construct which includes only some of the surrounding towns and villages) has 327,245 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

The spoken language is a combination of Kempenlands (a Dutch dialect spoken in a large area east and south east of the city, including Arendonk and Lommel in Belgium) and North Meierijs (between the south of Den Bosch and into Eindhoven). Both dialects belong to the East Brabantian dialect group), which is very similar to colloquial Dutch).[15]

Districts

Of all Eindhoven districts, the historical centre is by far the smallest in size and population, numbering only 5,419 in 2006. Woensel-Noord is the largest, having been the city's main area of expansion for several decades.

Population figures for all districts, as of 1 January 2008, ranked by size:[16]

  1. Woensel-Noord (65,429)
  2. Woensel-Zuid (35,789)
  3. Stratum (31,778)
  4. Gestel (26,590)
  5. Strijp (25,402)
  6. Tongelre (19,680)
  7. Centrum (5,757)

Religion

Eindhoven is located in the southeast of the province of North Brabant. This area is historically Roman Catholic and the population of Eindhoven was similarly mostly Catholic for a very long time. However, the internationalizing influence of the university, Philips and other companies have created a more mixed population over the last few decades.

The Eindhoven agglomeration had the following religious makeup in 2003:[17]

The spiritual needs of the Eindhoven population are tended by a large number of churches (united in the Eindhoven Raad van Kerken), two mosques and one synagogue.

Crime

In research by the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad based on the police's statistical data on crime rates, Eindhoven was found to have the highest crime rate in the Netherlands for 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. In 2011, Eindhoven has slipped down the list to number six.[18]

In 2009, in the Eindhoven agglomeration, the following numbers of crimes were recorded:[19]

CategoryNumber
Total61,539
Monetary (including burglary, theft)37,266
Destruction and public disorder9,861
Violent crime5,568
Other crimes (criminal code)562
Traffic crimes6,665
Drug related1,094
(Fire)arms related343
Environmental19
Other crimes (other laws)161

Languages

Economy

Eindhoven has grown from a little town in 1232 to one of the biggest cities in the Netherlands with around 212,000 inhabitants in 2009. Much of its growth is due to Philips, DAF Trucks and Brabantia.

After the resurrection of the Netherlands in 1815 and the end of the Belgian Revolution, Eindhoven was a small village of some 1250 people in an economically backward and mostly agricultural area. Cheap land, cheap labor and the existence of pre-industrial homesourcing (huisnijverheid in Dutch) made Eindhoven an attractive area for the developing industries which were being stimulated by the government of King William I. During the 19th century, Eindhoven grew into an industrial town with factories for textile weaving, cigar manufacturing, match making and hat making. Most of these industries disappeared again after World War II, though.

Philips Light Tower in 2000.

In 1891, brothers Gerard and Anton Philips founded the small light bulb factory that would grow into one of the largest electronics firms in the world. Philips' presence is probably the largest single contributing factor to the major growth of Eindhoven in the 20th century. It attracted and spun off many hi-tech companies, making Eindhoven a major technology and industrial hub. In 2005, a full third of the total amount of money spent on research in the Netherlands was spent in or around Eindhoven. A quarter of the jobs in the region are in technology and ICT, with companies such as FEI Company (once Philips Electron Optics), NXP Semiconductors (formerly Philips Semiconductors), ASML, Toolex, Simac, CIBER, Neways, Atos Origin and the aforementioned Philips and DAF.

Eindhoven has long been a centre of cooperation between research institutes and industry. This tradition started with Philips (the NatLab was a physical expression of this) and has since expanded to large cooperative networks. The Eindhoven University of Technology hosts an incubator for technology startups (called the Twinning Center) and the NatLab has developed into the High Tech Campus Eindhoven. Also, TNO has opened a branch on the university campus. This tradition has also fostered inter-industry cooperation in the region; one example of this is the announcement in September 2010 of a new research lab for high-grade packaging materials, a cooperation of IPS Packaging and Thales Cryognetics.[21]

This cooperative tradition has also developed into a different direction than the traditional technology research done at the university. Starting in 2002, the university, the Catharina hospital, Philips Medical and the University of Maastricht joined forces and started joint research into biomedical science, technology and engineering. Within Eindhoven, this research has been concentrated in a new university faculty (BioMedical Technology or BMT). This development has also made Eindhoven a biomedical technology hub within the country and its (European) region.

The Evoluon conference center.

Prime examples of industrial heritage in Eindhoven are the renovated Witte Dame ("White Lady") complex, a former Philips lamp factory; and the Admirant building (informally known as Bruine Heer or "Brown Gentleman" in reference to the Witte Dame across the street), the former Philips main offices. The Witte Dame currently houses the municipal library, the Design Academy and a selection of shops. The Admirant has been renovated into an office building for small companies. Across the street from the Witte Dame and next to the Admirant is Philips' first light bulb factory (nicknamed Roze Baby, or "Pink Baby", in reference to its pink colour and much smaller size when compared to the "White Lady" and "Brown Gentleman"). The small building now houses the "Centrum Kunstlicht in de Kunst" (centre artificial light in art)[22] and the "Philips Incandescent Lamp Factory of 1891" museum.[23]

Knowledge economy initiatives

Due to its high-tech environment, Eindhoven is part of several initiatives to develop, foster and increase a knowledge economy. Chief among these are:

As a result of these efforts, the Intelligent Community Forum named the Eindhoven metro region one of the top-21 intelligent communities in 2008 and one of the top-7 intelligent communities in 2009 and 2010.[28][29] Finally, in 2011, the ICF named Eindhoven the Intelligent Community of the Year.[30]

EIT Co-location

Eindhoven is one of the co-location centres of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).[31] It hosts two Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs): Innoenergy (Sustainable Energy) and EIT ICT Labs (Information and Communication Technology). The co-locations are on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven.

Education

Eindhoven, being a city with a 200,000+ population, is served by a large number of schools both at primary and secondary education levels. In addition, Eindhoven is a higher-education hub within the southern Netherlands, with several institutes of higher education that serve students from the extended region of North Brabant, Zeeland, Limburg and parts of the surrounding provinces.

Primary education

Primary education is provided to the children aged 4 to 12 in Eindhoven through a large number of primary schools:

Area GestelStratumStrijpTongelreWoensel
Schools
  • SALTO school De Hobbitstee
  • SKPO school De Kameleon
  • SKPO school De Springplank
  • SALTO school De Trinoom
  • SKPO school De Troubadour
  • SALTO school Hanevoet
  • SKPO school Karel de Grote
  • The Regional international school
  • SKPO school 't Startblok
  • SKPO school Beppino Sarto
  • SALTO school De Hasselbraam
  • SALTO school De Klimboom
  • VSEZ school De Regenboog
  • SKPO school De Talisman
  • SKPO school De Wilakkers
  • SALTO school De Zevensprong
  • SALTO school basisschool Floralaan
  • SALTO school De Bergen
  • SKPO school De Schakel
  • SALTO school De Startbaan
  • SALTO school Drents Dorp
  • SKPO school 't Slingertouw
  • SKPO school Theresia
  • SKPO school Trudo
  • SKPO school De Boog
  • SALTO school De Driesprong
  • SALTO school Nutsschool Reigerlaan
  • SKPO school BoschAkker
  • SALTO school 't Karregat
  • SKPO school Atalanta
  • SALTO school Cornelis Jetses
  • SKPO school De Bijenkorf
  • SKPO school De Boschuil
  • SALTO school De Driestam
  • SKPO school De Handreiking
  • SALTO school De Klapwiek
  • SKPO school De Korenaar
  • SALTO school De Ontmoeting
  • SALTO school De Opbouw
  • SKPO school De Schelp
  • SALTO school De Tempel
  • SALTO school De Vuurvlinder
  • SEOO school Evangelische Basisschool Online
  • SKPO school Fellenoord
  • SKPO school Gunterslaer
  • SKPO school Klimwijs
  • SALTO school Louis Buelens
  • SKPO school Onder de Wieken
  • SKPO school Rapenland
  • SKPO school St. Antonius Abt
  • SKPO school 't Palet
  • Islamic school Tarieq Ibnoe Ziyad
  • SKPO school Tweelingen
  • VSB school Vrije School Brabant
  • SKPO school Wethouder van Eupen

Secondary education

Secondary education is provided to the children aged 12 to 18 in Eindhoven through several highschools:

Area GestelStratumStrijpTongelreWoensel
Schools
  • Christiaan Huygens College
  • Aloysius/De Roosten
  • Van Maerlant Lyceum
  • Heliconopleidingen "Groenschool"
  • Sint Lucas Eindhoven
  • Montessori College ROC Eindhoven
  • Lorentz Casimir Lyceum

Special needs secondary education:

Higher and adult education

Eindhoven hosts four different public institutions for higher and adult education, as well as a number of private institutions offering courses and trainings. The public institutions hosted in Eindhoven are:

The Open University also has a study center in Eindhoven.

Among the private institutions is the Centrum voor Kunsten Eindhoven, which offers art-related courses to adults (including a DJ-education).

Politics

Municipal council

The municipal council is the legislative council at the municipal level in Eindhoven; its existence is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands. The Eindhoven city council consists of 45 elected representatives from the Eindhoven municipality. These are elected during municipal elections from candidates running in Eindhoven. Eindhoven politics consists of local branches of the national political parties and purely local parties with strictly local interests. The city council reflects this mix in its makeup.

The last three municipal elections were held on 7 March 2006, 3 March 2010 and 19 March 2014. The division of the 45 seats in the Eindhoven city council after these elections is shown below:[32]

PartyPercentage in 2006Seats in 2006Percentage in 2010Seats in 2010Percentage in 2014Seats in 2014
PvdA26.99%1420.56%1015.9%8
CDA14.60%711.50%68.0%4
SP12.87%68.70%414.6%7
VVD11.78%615.65%813.5%6
GreenLeft7.07%38.88%47.6%4
Livable Eindhoven8.88%43.22%14.0%2
Senior Appeal Eindhoven4.88%26.23%39.7%5
D663.33%112.19%614.7%7
City Party2.44%11.40%0--
Pim Fortuyn List2.27%14.57%23.7%1
ChristianUnion2.22%11.81%02.0%1
Eindhovense Lijst Studenten1.69%0----
Partij van de Toekomst (PvdT)1.05%00.8%00.6%0
Nieuw Rechts0.98%0----
Liberaal Eindhoven0.90%0----
Trots op Nederland/Lijst Rita Verdonk--2.84%1--
Eindhoven Nu--1.16%0--
Lijst J.C.W.M. Vlemmix--0.80%0--
Partij voor Mens en Spirit--0.49%0--
Blanco lijst, 1e kand. M. Leenders----1.5%0
Samen Eindhoven----1.1%0
De Groenen----0.1%0
Eenheid Partij----0.7%0
TELEURGESTELDE BURGERS----1.5%0
OPA Eindhoven----0.7%0
Election results (percentages) 2010

Municipal executive

Aldermen

The executive council in Dutch municipalities is called the College of the Mayor and Aldermen (Dutch: College van Burgemeester en Wethouders or College van B&W for short). The mayor is appointed by the monarch, but the council of aldermen is composed as a result of the formation of a local coalition government. This coalition is formed in such a way as to be able to rely on a majority of the votes in the city council.

In May 2014, a coalition was formed between PvdA, D66, SP and GroenLinks. Together they have 26 seats in the city council. The council of aldermen consists of the following people:[33]

Mayor

The mayors of the Netherlands are not elected but appointed by the crown. Nevertheless, there has been a movement over the last few years to give the municipalities more say in who will be their mayor, which has resulted in consultative referenda being held in the larger cities to "suggest" a candidate for the post. This was also tried in Eindhoven and as a result the current mayor is Rob van Gijzel (PvdA).

On 23 January 2008, a referendum to elect a mayor was held in Eindhoven. This referendum, the second of its kind in the Netherlands, was attended by 24.6% of the inhabitants. This was less than the required 30% needed to make a referendum binding. Nevertheless, the city council would choose the winner of the referendum as the preferred candidate. The main reason for the low attendance was that the candidates, Leen Verbeek and Rob van Gijzel, were from the same party. Rob van Gijzel won the referendum with 61.8% of the votes and was appointed the city's new mayor.

The mayor is the chairman of the Council of B&W. He also has responsibility for a number of specific posts (like the aldermen). In the current council, mayor Van Gijzel holds responsibility for the following posts:[33]

If unavailable, the mayor is temporarily replaced by one of the aldermen.

Culture and recreation

Culturally and recreationally, Eindhoven was formed by two forces:

Eindhoven is also known as the City of Light, due to the Company Philips originating there and because of the several projects involving lighting up buildings of the city. During Carnival, Eindhoven is rechristened Lampegat (Hamlet of Lamps, although for the ironic purposes of carnival the translation Hole in the ground with lamps is closer to the mark); this refers again to the important role of Philips in the Eindhoven community.

Cultural institutions

There are several cultural institutions in and around the city.

Museums

Eindhoven was home to the Evoluon science museum, sponsored by Philips. The Evoluon building has evolved into a conference centre.

Open-air art

The Eindhoven public space contains many forms of artistic expression (a book published by the Eindhoven tourist board records 550 as of 2001 and more have been added since), with high "concentrations" of them in the parks. The Stadswandelpark for instance, contains over 30 works of modern art. There are also several other works of art on permanent display throughout the city, such as Flying Pins (by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, who considered the location on the southern stretch of the John F. Kennedylaan to be like a bowling alley) and Swing (a construct on the Karel de Grotelaan, which morphs into different geometric shapes as you move around it). There are also a number of statues of famous city inhabitants, such as Jan van Hooff (by Auke Hettema, 1992) and Frits Philips (by Kees Verkade) on the Market Square. There is a statue of Anton Philips in front of the central railway station.

Piazza Centre as seen from Demer

Eindhoven is also, to some degree, open to forms of impromptu and alternative art. For example, the Berenkuil is a freezone for graffiti artists in the city.

Music and theatre

The Effenaar music venue.

The Effenaar is a popular music venue and cultural center in Eindhoven, and is located at the Dommelstraat.[35]

In 1992, the Muziekcentrum Frits Philips was opened as a stage for classical and popular music in Eindhoven, reviewed by critics as a concert hall with acoustics that rival the best halls in Europe. Before that, Philips sponsored the POC.

Parktheater Eindhoven is Eindhoven's stage for opera, cabaret, ballet etc. Opened in 1964, it has received over 250,000 visitors every year. With its 1,000 m2 it has one of the largest stages in the Netherlands. With a major renovation ending in 2007, the new Parktheater will receive an estimated 300,000 visitors a year.

Eindhoven's Plaza Futura is now a cinema featuring cultural movies, lectures and special cultural events.

Especially for students, Studium Generale Eindhoven organizes "socially, culturally and intellectually formative events".[36] From within the student body, two Tunas provide entertainment from time to time at university and city events: Tuna Ciudad de Luz (Tuna of the City of Light) and the ladies tuna La Tuniña.[37][38]

The general music and theatre scene in Eindhoven (in the broadest sense) is supported by a foundation called PopEi.[39] The purpose of this foundation is to support artistic groups with facilities, especially rehearsal stages and areas (housed in the old Philips location of Strijp-S) but also storage facilities. PopEi also provides a working environment for groups (through cafeteria facilities in Strijp-S, so groups can have real working days) and provides some logistical support for organizing events.

Recreation

Eindhoven has a lively recreational scene. For going out, there are numerous bars on the Market square, Stratumseind (Stratum's End), Dommelstraat, Wilhelmina square and throughout the rest of the city. In addition to the more culturally oriented Plaza Futura, there are two cinemas in the centre of town ("Servicebioscoop Zien" and the Pathé Eindhoven, which offers THX sound, IMAX screens and 3D movie viewing).

Eindhoven also hosts a large number of cultural and entertainment-oriented festivals. The biggest festivals in Eindhoven are:

Parks

Eindhoven contains several parks and a lot of open, green space. Of the five largest cities in the Netherlands, it has the highest percentage of green area (encompassing about ⅓ of all public space). It is also the greenest of the five largest cities in North Brabant. The green area per house is about 100 m².[45]

Some of the major parks in Eindhoven are the Stadswandelpark, Genneper Parken, the Philips van Lenneppark, Philips de Jongh Wandelpark and the Henri Dunantpark. There is also a green area surrounding the Karpendonkse Plas (a water area). The combination of park area, water and general atmosphere got the Ooievaarsnest neighborhood elected the "Best large-city neighborhood of the Netherlands" by the NRC Handelsblad in 1997.[46]

Sport

Philips Stadion.

Adult-orientated entertainment

The centre of town features two casinos (one branch of Holland Casino and the independent Casino4Events). At the A67 a Jack's casino is located.

There is a red light district on the Baekelandplein, as well as four brothels throughout the city. There is also a blue movie theater.

Media

Eindhoven features several print media. The local newspaper, called the Eindhovens Dagblad, is a daily newspaper with over 110,000 subscribers in the Samenwerkingsverband Regio Eindhoven region.[47] It has a national and international section, as well as a section dedicated to regional news; the editorial department is located in Eindhoven.

In addition to the newspaper, Eindhoven is served by a number of weekly door-to-door publications. Chief among these is Groot Eindhoven (which carries publications of the city council, as well as other articles and advertisements). Other than that there are de Trompetter, dé Weekendkrant and the ZondagsNieuws. The first two are delivered midweek, the last two are weekend publications.

There are several regional and municipal radio stations. The local radio station is Studio040, whereas Omroep Brabant and RoyaalFM provide regional radio.

Local television is provided by Studio040. Omroep Brabant broadcasts regionally from its television studio in Son.

Internet, television and telephone connectivity is available via cable television, optic fiber and ADSL.

Transport

Eindhoven Airport

The Eindhoven Airport is the closest airport, located approximately 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the town centre. The airport serves as a military air base and a civilian commercial airport. Eindhoven Airport is the second busiest in the Netherlands (after Schiphol). There are flights with Air France-KLM to London City. Ryanair serves London Stansted airport, Dublin, Rome, Milan, Pisa, Bordeaux, Marseille, Glasgow, Madrid, Valencia, Stockholm, Kaunas, Malta and Barcelona. Wizz air serves Belgrade, Brno, Bucharest-Baneasa, Budapest, Cluj-Napoca, Debrecen, Gdańsk, Katowice, Prague, Riga, Sofia, Timișoara, Vilnius, Wrocław. In the summer season, Reykjavík is served with 2 weekly flights operated by Iceland Express. Transavia services Alicante, Antalya, Bodrum, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Gran Canaria, Innsbruck, Málaga, Majorca, Munich, Prague Rhodos and Salzburg, although not all destinations during the whole year. Eindhoven Airport served more than 4.6 million Passengers in 2015.

Eindhoven is a rail transport hub. The main station has connections in the directions of:

Eindhoven's central railway station is served by both intercity and local services while the smaller station, Eindhoven Strijp-S is only served by local trains.

Up until World War II, a train service connected Amsterdam to Liège via Eindhoven and Valkenswaard, but the service was discontinued and the line broken up. Recently, talks have resumed to have a service to Neerpelt, Belgium via Weert.

The A2/E25 motorway from Amsterdam to Luxembourg passes Eindhoven to the west and south of the city. The A2 connects to the highway A58 to Tilburg and Breda just north of the city. Just south of Eindhoven, the A2 connects to the A67 / E34 between Antwerp and Duisburg. In 2006, the A50 was completed connecting Eindhoven to Nijmegen and Zwolle.

The public transport of Eindhoven consists of almost 25 city bus lines, which also serve neighbouring cities like Veldhoven, Geldrop and Nuenen. Two of these buslines (401 and 402) are high quality public transport and the buses on these lines are so-called Phileas vehicles, a combination of tram and bus. The Phileas does not use the magnetic guidance anymore for some years due to the regional urban transport authority (SRE). Apart from the city lines there are some 30 regional and rush-hour lines.

Like all large Dutch cities, Eindhoven has an extensive network of bicycle paths. Since 2012, the Eindhoven bicycle path network has incorporated the Hovenring.

Medical care

Eindhoven has two hospitals in three locations: the Catharina Hospital and the Máxima Medisch Centrum, which has a branch in Woensel-Zuid (the old Diaconessenhuis) and one in Veldhoven (the old Sint Joseph Hospital). These three have an extensive cooperation and have divided specialties among each other. Emergency medicine, for example, is concentrated in the MMC Veldhoven branch and the Catharina Hospital, the MMC Eindhoven branch has no emergency department. Cardiac procedures are done in the Catharina.

Catharina is also an academic and research hospital and participates in a shared research program with Philips Medical, the Eindhoven University of Technology and the Maastricht University into biomedical science, technology and engineering.

Notable residents

Statue of Frits Philips in Eindhoven

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Eindhoven is twinned with:

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "Rob van Gijzel" (in Dutch). Gemeente Eindhoven. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten" [Key figures for neighbourhoods]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Postcodetool for 5611EM". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline; Metro region (in Dutch). CBS. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline; CMSA (in Dutch). CBS. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Schippers, Hans (2009), "Stadsrechten en een stadswapen, 1232: het vroege Eindhoven", in Lintsen, Harry; et al., De canon van Eindhoven (in Dutch), 's-Hertogenbosch: Heijnen, pp. 29–34, ISBN 9789086801275
  9. ↑ http://eindhoven.buurtmonitor.nl/quickstep/QsReportAdvanced.aspx?report=fact_2_01
  10. ↑ (Dutch) Groei van Eindhoven
  11. ↑ Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary – Campaign Diary December 1942
  12. ↑ World War II Today – Low level daylight attack on the Philips plant, Holland
  13. ↑ Eindhoven Population Central Bureau of Statistics. Accessed 29 August 2010 (Dutch)
  14. ↑ http://eindhoven.buurtmonitor.nl/report/fact_2_2_eindhovenaren_naar_herkomst.pdf
  15. ↑ Jos & Cor Swanenberg: Taal in stad en land: Oost-Brabants, ISBN 9012090105
  16. ↑ eindhoven.buurtmonitor.nl bij "bevolking->stand bevolking"
  17. ↑ (Dutch)
  18. ↑ "Rotterdam onveiligste gemeente" (in Dutch).
  19. ↑ "Gereg.criminaliteit; misdrijven naar soort misdrijf en politieregio" (in Dutch). CBS Statline. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  20. 1 2 "Dè is toch wè?! Wim Daniëls maakt Brabants theaterstuk 'Een ons komma's' | Hallo 040". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  21. ↑ Wenstedt, Joop (25 September 2010). "Nieuw testlab voor hoogwaardige verpakkingen" [New testing lab for high-grade packaging materials]. Technisch Weekblad (in Dutch). The Hague, Netherlands: Uitgeverij Bèta Publishers. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  22. ↑ "Centrum kunstlicht in de kunst te Eindhoven. Museum voor lichtkunst en lichteffecten" (in Dutch). Kunstlichtkunst.nl. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  23. ↑ "Philips gloeilampenfabriekje anno 1891". Philipsfabriek1891.nl. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  24. ↑ (Dutch)Brainport Top Technology Region website
  25. ↑ Brainport Development website
  26. ↑ (Dutch)SRE website
  27. ↑ ELAt.org The ELAt website
  28. ↑ "Intelligent Community Forum Announces Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2011". Intelligent Community Forum. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  29. ↑ Postma, Renée. "Brabantse techniek terug in de wereld" [Brabant technology back in the world]. NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). p. 13. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  30. ↑ "ICF Names Eindhoven Region of the Netherlands as its Intelligent Community of the Year 2011". Intelligent Community Forum. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  31. ↑ "European Institute of Innovation and Technology: Home". Eit.europa.eu. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
  32. ↑ (Dutch) The Dutch database of election results, including all election results since 1848
  33. 1 2 "College van B&W 2014–2018" (in Dutch). Gemeente Eindhoven. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  34. ↑ "LIGHT ART MUSEUM CLOSES BY THE END OF 2010". Centrum Kunstlicht in de Kunst. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  35. ↑ Evenement. "Effenaar". Effenaar.nl. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  36. ↑ (Dutch) Studium Generale (English page available on site)
  37. ↑ "Tuna Ciudad de Luz". Tuna Ciudad de Luz. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  38. ↑ "La Tuniña". La Tuniña. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  39. ↑ (Dutch) PopEi official website
  40. ↑ "ABlive gratis festival Eindhoven 23 Augustus 2008". Ablive.nl. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  41. ↑ "Muziek op de Dommel gratis toegankelijk klassiek muziek festival". muziekopdedommel.nl. Retrieved 2013-08-04.
  42. ↑ "Stichting Virus – Startpagina". Virus.nl. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  43. ↑ "Glow Eindhoven". Glow Eindhoven. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  44. ↑ "STRP Festival". Strp.nl. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  45. ↑ Eindhoven de Gruunste!, eindhoven.nl
  46. ↑ "Profiel: Buurten in Nederland" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. 18 September 1997. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  47. ↑ (Dutch) Circulation and area, eindhovensdagblad.nl
  48. 1 2 http://www.ns.nl/vertrekstaten/ehv4.pdf
  49. 1 2 http://www.ns.nl/vertrekstaten/ehv2.pdf
  50. ↑ http://www.ns.nl/vertrekstaten/ehv3.pdf
  51. ↑ "Twin towns and Sister cities of Minsk [via WaybackMachine.com]" (in Russian). The department of protocol and international relations of Minsk City Executive Committee. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  52. ↑ Korolczuk, Dariusz (12 Jan 2010). "Foreign cooperation – Partner Cities". Białystok City Council. City Office in Białystok. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  53. ↑ "National Commission for Decentralised cooperation". Délégation pour l’Action Extérieure des Collectivités Territoriales (Ministère des Affaires étrangères) (in French). Retrieved 2013-12-26.

External links

 Oirschot Best, Son en Breugel
Eersel Nuenen c.a.
Geldrop-Mierlo
   Eindhoven  
Veldhoven Waalre Heeze-Leende
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.