Eindhoven

The written history of the city ​​began in 1232, when the Duke Hendrick I of Brabant granted the rights of the city to Endehoven , a small town at the intersection of the streams of Dommel and Gender. At that time, the city consisted of approximately 170 houses surrounded by ramparts. Near the walls of the city was a small castle. The city was also given the right to conduct a weekly market, and peasants from neighboring villages were required to sell their products in this market. An important role in the development of the city was played by the fact that it was on a trade route from Holland to Liege .

Around 1388 the defenses of the city were significantly strengthened, and between 1413 and 1420 a new castle was built in the city. In 1486, Eindhoven was ravaged and burned by troops from Gelderland . By 1502, the city was rebuilt and received a new tower and more powerful fortifications. In 1543, Eindhoven was again ravaged, and the fire of 1554 destroyed three quarters of the houses. However, by 1560 the city was again able to be restored with the help of William I of Orange . During the war of independence of the Netherlands, the city ​​was successively captured by Dutch and Spanish troops. In 1583, the Spaniards captured the city and destroyed its walls. Eindhoven joined the Netherlands in 1629.

The industrial revolution of the 19th century led to the rapid growth of the city. Canals, regular and railways were built. Between 1866 and 1870, the railway connected Eindhoven with Tilburg , Hertogenbosch , Venlo and Belgium . The industry was mainly engaged in the production of tobacco and fabrics. She received a powerful impetus with the creation in 1891 of Philips , which first produced lighting lamps, and then began to manufacture a wide range of electronic products.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the city's industry was expanded with the founding of the company DAF (Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek) for the production of passenger cars and trucks . In 1920, the city was enlarged by merging with the neighboring villages of Vunsel, Tongelre, Stratum, Gestel and Strepe. The new city was first called the “Big Eindhoven” (Groot-Eindhoven), but then regained the name Eindhoven.

Large-scale bombing during World War II destroyed a significant part of the city, including almost all of the old buildings. After the war, the city was quickly restored, and many high-rise buildings were built in it. In the post-war period, electronic and other technical fields of industry developed more and more, while the traditional production of tobacco and textiles faded more and more, finally disappearing in the seventies. In the seventies, eighties and nineties, many housing was built in the northern areas of Woensel-Zuid and Woensel-Noord, and as a result, Eindhoven became the fifth most populated city in the Netherlands.

In 1891, the brothers Gerard and Anton Philips founded a small factory for the production of lighting lamps, which will then grow into one of the largest electronics companies in the world. The presence of Philips has played a decisive role in the growth of Eindhoven in the 20th century. Philips attracted many companies specializing in high technology to the city, and many such companies broke away from Philips itself. In 2005, a third of all research costs in the Netherlands were spent in and around Eindhoven. A quarter of all jobs in the region are in technology and computer science, and NXP Semiconductors, ASML , Toolex, Simac, Neways and Atos Origin can be named among well-known companies except Philips and DAF.

On June 15, 1956, the Technical University of Eindhoven was founded, while the second technical university in the country after Delft. It occupies a large campus in the city center. The university has 3,000 permanent employees, 200 post-docs and 600 graduate students. 7200 students participating in 100 student clubs study. In the 2003 report of the European Commission, the university took third place among European research universities (sharing it with Munich; the first two places were taken by Oxford and Cambridge universities). In its research, the university works closely with Philips , ASML, and DAF's most famous Eindhoven company. Each year, university employees publish about 3,000 scientific articles and books; About 140 doctoral degrees are awarded annually. The headquarters of the international food concern VION Food Group is located in the city.

PSV , one of the best professional football clubs in the Netherlands, is based in the city, hosting matches at Philips Stadium , which seats 35,000 spectators. There is also a club of the first division of FC Eindhoven .

Eindhoven houses one of the most significant Dutch museums of modern art - , named after its founder, a major industrialist, . The museum’s collection contains about 2700 works of art created from 1900 to the present time, including the largest collection of works by El Lissitzky . The museum also owns works:

In 2008, from June 22 to October 5, the city hosted an international exhibition called “Bicycle” . Since 1986, the annual Heavy Music Festival Dynamo Open Air has been held next to Eindhoven.

1.   Minsk , Republic of Belarus (since 1994)
2.   Kumi , Republic of Korea

• eindhoven.nl (nid.) - Eindhoven official site
• Internet portal of the city of Eindhoven (nid.)