Hertzogen Busch.

Title

Hertzogen Busch.

Description

Fortress plan of s'Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) in the Netherlands. Below an index with 4 dots.

ca. 1685

Artist

Riegel

Historical Description

's-Hertogenbosch (The Duke's Forest) is the capital of the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant. Duke Henry I of Brabant granted the city its town charter in 1185. The name goes back to the nearby Herzogenwald, also known as Herzogenbusch and Den Bosch. The town lies on a small sandy ridge surrounded by marshy terrain. It was therefore strategically important in the Middle Ages. The fortress of Herzogenbusch was considered almost impregnable. The town's merchants imported wine from Cologne, sandstone from Liège and fish from the Baltic countries. There was a Latin school as early as 1274, from which Erasmus and Mercator, among others, emerged. Between 1450 and 1525, the city experienced a period of economic prosperity, which came to an end in the 16th century with the Eighty Years' War. The city was conquered by the Dutch in 1629 by Frederick Henry of Orange. The citadel was then built. In 1815, the city became the provincial capital.