Valkenswaard
| Valkenswaard | |||
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| Municipality | |||
Church in Valkenswaard
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.svg) Location in North Brabant |
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| Coordinates: 51°21′N 5°28′E / 51.350°N 5.467°ECoordinates: 51°21′N 5°28′E / 51.350°N 5.467°E | |||
| Country | Netherlands | ||
| Province | North Brabant | ||
| Government | |||
| • Body | Municipal council | ||
| • Mayor | Anton Ederveen (CDA) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 56.49 km2 (21.81 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 55.01 km2 (21.24 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 1.48 km2 (0.57 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 25 m (82 ft) | ||
| Population (February 2017) | |||
| • Total | 30,336 | ||
| • Density | 551/km2 (1,430/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | Valkenswaarder / Valkenswaardenaar | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postcode | 5550–5556 | ||
| Area code | 040 | ||
| Website | www |
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Valkenswaard (
pronunciation ) is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. The municipality had a population of 30,336 in 2017 and spans an area of 56.49 km2 (21.81 sq mi) of which 1.48 km2 (0.57 sq mi) 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. Valkenswaard's falcon-catching area has now been built over and falcons are no longer caught there.
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.
The spoken language is Kempenlands (an East Brabantian dialect, which is very similar to colloquial Dutch).
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Wikipedia