Valkenswaard

Valkenswaard is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. The municipality had 30,871 citizens (as of December 30, 2009) and spans an area of 56,50 square kilometers (1,15 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. 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 ("court jester"). Valkenswaard's falcon-catching area has now been built over and falcons are no longer caught there.

Population centres

 * Borkel en Schaft
 * Dommelen
 * Valkenswaard

Famous people born in Valkenswaard

 * Bouke Beumer, politician
 * Caroline de Bruin, actress
 * Romé Fasol, mayor
 * Pieter van Geel, politician
 * Dominique van Hulst ("Do"), singer
 * Jan Tops, equestrian