Van Gogh NP walking route Tilburg

Welcome to Tilburg. Here the young Van Gogh received his first drawing lessons from master Huijsmans in 1866. When Van Gogh arrived in the city at the age of 13, Tilburg had approximately 18,500 inhabitants. The Tilburg-Breda railway line and the station are just three years old and the most common professions are weaver and factory worker. In the immediate vicinity of Tilburg, there is still the stream landscape of the Leij and the Voorste Stroom, with its small fields and characteristic pollard willows. Walk out of the city, into the greenery and discover the cozy Piushaven, De Nieuwe Herdgang lookout tower and Moerenburg-Koningshoeven Landscape Park.

Walk through Vincent's place of family life and inspiration

Tilburg is the place where Van Gogh received his very first drawing lessons at the age of 13. On September 15, 1866, the brand new Higher Citizen School King Willem II welcomed him as one of its most remarkable students, with an excellent grade list from his primary school in Zevenbergen. Vincent finds a boarding house with the Hannik family at Korvel 57, the current Sint Annaplein 18-19. Here a memorial plaque and a special Van Gogh bench remind us of Vincent's time in Tilburg. Vincent has a feel for languages and performs well. In the former palace of King Willem II, the current Town Hall Palace of Tilburg, he receives drawing lessons from the painter Constant Cornelis Huijsmans (1810-1886). Huismans pays a lot of attention to drawing depth and is known as an excellent drawing teacher. Yet Vincent later doesn't say a word about the drawing lessons. Despite an excellent transition report to the second grade, Vincent is taken out of school in the second year and returns to his parental home in Zundert. The reason is unknown.

Vincent lived in Tilburg for about 1.5 years. In his time, the Wilhelmina Canal had not yet been dug and the landscape was dominated by streams, small fields and pollard willows. So characteristic of his later work.

Would you like to know more about Vincent's Tilburg period? Then visit www.vangoghbrabant.com/tilburg . Here you will also find an interesting walk through the Korvel and the city center.

Roadmap

A handy paper walking map has been released for this Van Gogh NP walking route. This is available via our webshop .

About this route

This route has been plotted via the Brabant walking junction system. Simply walk from one numbered junction to another. Arrows show you the way between the nodes. Is something wrong with the route signage? Please let us know via visitbrabant.com/meldpunt . You can also call 0800-4050050 (free).

Walking through Van Gogh National Park

Discover Van Gogh National Park . Enjoy the Brabant landscape full of winding streams, vast nature reserves, farmland, estates and greenery right in the heart of the villages and towns. Here we work together to create a beautiful, healthy and green living environment. With Vincent van Gogh as guide. He grew up in this area and was inspired by nature and the people of Brabant who worked the land. The Van Gogh walking routes let you experience the places that played a special role in his life. Like walking into a painting! View all Van Gogh walking routes here and share your experience with us via #VanGoghNP and #routesinbrabant.