Imagine yourself in Rome, right in the heart of West Brabant. With its imposing basilica, remarkable monuments and rich history, Oudenbosch is a village full of surprises. Discover the themed trail: the 9 Wonders of Oudenbosch and let yourself be guided along the way past impressive heritage sites, hidden stories and unique places that make the village so special.
Experience the 9 Wonders now with Augmented Reality!
From now on, you can experience this special route for free in a completely new way: with Augmented Reality! Via your own phone, you see extra images, animations and sounds while walking past all the special places in Oudenbosch. So with Augmented Reality, you literally step back in time and follow in Willem Hellemons' footsteps!
He is already eager to show you around Oudenbosch!
Set off on an adventure through Oudenbosch and discover the village in a completely different way. Solve puzzles, carry out tasks and work together to complete the ultimate mission within 90 minutes.
Will your team manage to reach the Basilica?
It cannot be missed, the immense basilica. Its dome resembles that of the famous St Peter's. The front is inspired by the façade of St John of Lateran, another famous church in Rome. If you look at the Basilica of Oudenbosch, you are looking at Rome. This one here is as much as 16 times smaller than the world-famous St Peter's.
Oudenbosch owes its origins to peat cutting. Here, peat traders transferred their production from peat barges to larger ships. These brought it further away. The modest peat harbour, built in 1300 by the Cistercians of Bernardus Abbey, suddenly became much more important in the Middle Ages.
The French era - from the end of the 18th century - is an important moment for equality between religions in the Netherlands. Catholics were given - step by step - more space to live their faith and allow church life to flourish, and they regained their old churches in many places. In the predominantly Catholic south
The enterprising Willem Hellemons and father Vincentius (J. Huijbrechts) founded Institute Saint Louis in 1840. With the aim of educating and training male youth.
Opposite the Arboretum is the cemetery of the Brothers of Saint Louis. The first friars were still buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery, but soon they wanted their own cemetery.
In the cemetery of St Anna, you can see a beautiful reflection of life in a congregation (monastic community). All sisters rest under equal grave crosses.
Life in schools and boarding schools was more than work and study. Plenty of space was also made for being outdoors, sports and relaxation in parks and gardens. This created a wealth of greenery in many places in Oudenbosch. And sometimes, of course, that greenery could help in teaching about living nature. Greenery was also plentiful
A Latin college was founded on the Markt around 1830. In 1839, the college was taken over by the vicariate of Breda (mission area not yet granted diocesan status). It became a minor seminary, which is the preliminary training for the actual priesthood. The neo-classical building on the Markt became the professors' house. In 1878, the Jesuit Fathers moved into the
Education and vocational training was mainly a matter for boys in the nineteenth century. Until the year 1837. Then Willem Hellemons asked the Franciscanesses, a congregation (monastic community) from Roosendaal, to also come to Oudenbosch. The idea was to establish a school for girls and a home for poor children here. The sisters were asked to establish these
Travelling at the beginning of the nineteenth century was still an arduous undertaking. Time-consuming, full of risks and difficulties. Until the railways came along. Oudenbosch got a train connection and a station early on (1854). It is, apart from one, the oldest railway station in the Netherlands. As such, it is very strategically located between Rotterdam and Antwerp.
Look around carefully and you will see more than just a cemetery. Here - on the highest spot in Oudenbosch - once stood the church of St Agatha. This medieval church was demolished in 1882. Demolishing such an ancient monument would be unthinkable now. But back then, people simply thought it was too old, and especially too small for the large parish. Monument conservation still existed
On the site of Jan Gielenplein stood the old vicarage of Oudenbosch until about 1965. This presbytery was built in the early 17th century. In 1963, there were redevelopment plans for the centre. This included building a new presbytery on the east side of the basilica. On the site of the old presbytery came a town hall. This was demolished
In 1858, the Catholic world experienced a miracle. In a grotto in Lourdes, Mary appeared to a young girl. This miracle caused a huge influx of pilgrims to Lourdes.
As a religious centre, Oudenbosch was well known in the Netherlands. As teachers, the friars of Saint Louis laid the foundation for what is called 'vivid education' in pedagogy. That meant: not just offering theory from textbooks, but letting pupils come face to face with objects from all over the world. This was a progressive form of education.
Even at war for the popes' territory in Italy, Oudenbosch came to the rescue. Once again, parish priest Hellemons stood up for Rome. He called on Catholic men to serve as soldiers to defend the Papal state against Garibaldi's Italian nationalists. They came up for battle from all over the Netherlands via Oudenbosch. Together they formed the army of Papal Zouaves.
On Jesuit Square stands the carnival monument of 'ut Puitenol'. That is the name of Oudenbosch with carnival. Puit is a West Brabant word for frog. It was placed at the 44th anniversary of the Oudenbosch Carnival Foundation in 1995. This fulfilled a deeply cherished wish.
EN 
NL 
DE 
