Steenbergen

Steenbergen
Municipality
Aerial view of Steenbergen
Flag Coat of arms
Location in North Brabant
Coordinates: 51°35′N 4°19′E / 51.583°N 4.317°ECoordinates: 51°35′N 4°19′E / 51.583°N 4.317°E
Country	Netherlands
Province	North Brabant
Government[1]
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Joseph Vos (acting) (CDA)
Area[2]
• Total	159.14 km^2 (61.44 sq mi)
• Land	146.66 km^2 (56.63 sq mi)
• Water	12.48 km^2 (4.82 sq mi)
Elevation[3]	1 m (3 ft)
Population (May 2014)[4]
• Total	23,717
• Density	162/km^2 (420/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Steenbergenaar
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode	4650–4655, 4670–4671, 4680–4681, 4756
Area code	0167
Website	gemeente-steenbergen.nl

Steenbergen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈsteːnbɛrɣə(n)]) is a municipality and a town in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The municipality had a population of 23,717 in 2014 and covers an area of 159.14 km² (61.44 sq mi) of which 12.48 km² (4.82 sq mi) is water. The municipality is mainly agricultural including a strongly growing greenhouse sector, but Steenbergen and the nearby town of Dinteloord also contain some light industry. A new stretch of A4 motorway under construction is expected to further increase the municipality's attractiveness, allowing easy connections with the large cities of Rotterdam to the north and the Belgian city of Antwerp to the south. The connection with the nearby city of Bergen op Zoom will also be improved as a result.

Population centres

Dutch Topographic map of Steenbergen, June 2015

• Steenbergen (population: 12,440)
• Dinteloord (5,680)
• Nieuw-Vossemeer (2,400)
• Kruisland (2,340)
• Welberg (1,118)
• De Heen (440)

It also includes the hamlet of t'Haantje.

The city of Steenbergen

Steenbergen received city rights in 1272.

Graves of Guy Gibson and Jim Warwick

Graves of RAF Wing Commanders Guy Gibson and Jim Warwick

Guy Gibson, Wing Commander and the first CO of the RAF's 617 Squadron which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid in 1943, crashed with his Mosquito aircraft in this municipality. Having returned to operational duties in 1944 after pestering Bomber Command, 26-year-old Gibson was killed along with his navigator, Sqn Ldr Jim Warwick, on a bombing raid on Rheydt (nowadays a borough of Mönchengladbach) operating as a Pathfinder Master Bomber based at RAF Coningsby, when his de Havilland Mosquito XX, KB267, crashed near Steenbergen on 19 September 1944. It was assumed for years that he had been shot down, but following the discovery of the wreckage it was found that a fault with the fuel tank selector possibly meant the aircraft simply ran out of fuel.^[5] An eye-witness account detailed how his aircraft circled Steenbergen and heard its engines 'splutter and stop'.^[6] In 2011 it was revealed the Mosquito may also have been shot down in a friendly fire incident.^[7] The graves are in the RC cemetery of Steenbergen. Streets have been named for both Gibson and Warwick, and one of the aircraft's propellers is located in the city park as a memorial.

Gallery

• 

  Steenbergen, church: St. Gummaruskerk

• 

  Steenbergen, watertower

References

1. "Vos, Joseph" (in Dutch). Gemeente Steenbergen. Retrieved 5 June 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 4652GA". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
4. "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
5. "RAF - Page not found". mod.uk.
6. Bomber Barons, Chaz Bowyer (1983) page 165
7. After The Battle no. 155 (2012), page 47,

External links

• Media related to Steenbergen at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website