'S HERTOGENBOSCH

also called Den Bosch, French Bois-le-duc, capital, Noord-Brabant provincie, south-central Netherlands. It is situated where the Dommel and Aa rivers join to form the Dieze and lies along the Zuid-Willemsvaart (canal). Chartered in 1185 by Henry I, duke of Brabant, who had a hunting lodge nearby (hence the name, meaning the duke's wood), it was an important medieval wool centre and became a bishopric in 1559. The town saw many sieges owing to its strategic position on the Catholic-Protestant line of division; it was unsuccessfully assaulted by Maurice of Nassau (1601, 1603) during the Dutch revolt against Spain and was captured by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange in 1629. Falling to the French in 1794, it was the chief town of the French dpartement of Bouches-du-Rhin until 1814. Historic landmarks include the town hall (1671) and the Flamboyant Gothic St. John's Cathedral (rebuilt 14191520 on Romanesque foundations), the largest Roman Catholic church in The Netherlands. Opposite the town hall is a statue of the painter Hieronymus Bosch, who was born in 's Hertogenbosch. 'S Hertogenbosch is now a rail junction and a major cattle market. It has food-processing industries and manufactures metal goods, shoes, and cigars. Pop. (1992 est.) city, 93,171; metropolitan area, 199,924.