What to See in Tilburg - Top Sights and Attractions

The Heuvelse kerk is a neo-Gothic Catholic church in the center of the Dutch city Tilburg. Dedicated to Saint Joseph, it is one of two major Catholic churches in the city center together with the Heikese kerk. It is located along the square Heuvel, after which it is named. A 1921 statue of the Sacred Heart is located in front of the building.

Construction of the church was divided into two phases due to financial constraints. The first part of the Heuvelse kerk was built in the period 1871–73, while the second phase took place between 1887 and 1889 and included the current front facade with its two towers. The church was consecrated in 1889 by the bishop of the Diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch. It was built in the garden of a barracks and was meant to accommodate Tilburg's increasing population. The barracks were renovated simultaneously to become a clergy house. The only major adjustment to the original building, designed by Hendrik van Tulder, was an extension of both transepts in the 1950s.

The Heuvelse kerk has the floor plan of a cruciform basilica. Its most prominent exterior feature are the two towers with their height of 72 metres (236 ft). Three portals in the front facade contain entrances, the central one being decorated with a relief showing the flight into Egypt. A copper-gilded statue of Saint Joseph sits on top of a gable between the towers. The interior is covered by a four-part rib vault and includes two organs and a winged altarpiece by Hendrik van der Geld, created between 1878 and 1881. Frescos of the Stations of the Cross were painted two decades after the church's inauguration by Georges de Geetere.

In 2019, the parish announced plans to sell the Heuvelse kerk, but the bishop has postponed those plans.^[1]

African wildlife in a drive-through park. Safaripark Beekse Bergen is the largest wildlife zoo of the Benelux region and provides a home to approximately 1,250 animals from over 150 species, varying from small mammals to large birds. It is located between the cities of Tilburg and Hilvarenbeek in the south of the Netherlands. The visitors can for instance watch zebras and giraffes on the spacious savannahs. Safaripark Beekse Bergen offers the possibility to explore the park on numerous safaris: walksafari, carsafari, bussafari and boatsafari.

The park is owned by the company Libéma Exploitatie BV, which is one of the largest leisure-related companies in the Netherlands.

What makes the park so special is that visitors can explore the park with their own car, without a fence in between the visitor and the animals. While driving through the park people can for instance encounter leopards and zebras or get their car 'washed' by a giraffe. In this way the visitor can imagine that they are really taking a safari in Africa. Visitors can also choose to follow the same route per bus. In this way they will get to know more information about the animals, since they will be joined by a Ranger.

Besides these two ways of exploring the park, the visitor can also choose to take a boat, that plies between two piers in the park. The visitors can also watch the animals by foot on the approximately 5 kilometres of roads throughout the park.

All of the above-mentioned safari possibilities can be combined. All the safaris start at the front of the park and come together at a parking side at the backside of the park, close to the Kongorestaurant.

Another feature of the park for which it is very well known is its bird show. In this show full of humour and interesting facts all sorts of birds are shown to the audience.

All animals receive a strict diet, as a result of which feeding the animals is prohibited.^[2]

The Gerardus Majellakerk is a Roman Catholic church located in southern Tilburg along the Wassenaerlaan. It is dedicated to Gerard Majella, who became a saint in 1904, and has been part of the parish De Goede Herder since its inception in 2012.

Designed by Joseph Cuypers and his son Pierre Cuypers jr. the church was built at the center of a new neighborhood and was completed in 1923. Originally, it was the parish church of its namesake parish. The consecration took place ten years later. The Gerardus Majellakerk came under the leadership of Capuchin priests in the early 1960s, and it became a place of pilgrimage for Padre Pio in 1988.

The brick-built Gerardus Majellakerk has a wooden roof covered with tiles. The church has a floor plan of a basilica with a large nave, flanked by side aisles, and a choir. Since a 1988 renovation, part of the nave is used as a meeting place and a chapel dedicated to Padre Pio. A clergy house, that was built simultaneously with the church, is located next to the church.^[3]

Palace in Tilburg, Netherlands. The City Hall of Tilburg or Palace-Council House is a former royal palace and presently a part of Tilburg city hall in the Netherlands. Construction of the palace was commissioned by King William II of the Netherlands, who placed the cornerstone on 13 August 1847. The king wanted to have a country residence in Tilburg. He never lived in the palace as he died on 17 March 1849, just 22 days before completion of the palace.

The palace was built by contractor and carpenter Adriaan Goijaerts from Tilburg. On 7 July 1847 Goijaerts accepted the commission from William II of the Netherlands for the sum of ƒ 57,000. Goijaerts completed the palace on 7 April 1849.

The palace has been rebuilt thoroughly twice, in 1865 and from 1934 to 1936, to give the palace a different purpose. The palace has been used as a school and as city hall of the municipality Tilburg. The school offered secular tuition on high school level. Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh was the school’s most famous student.

In 1931 the palace was donated to Tilburg municipality by the Dutch royal family. During World War II the palace was used as an observation post for detecting allied aeroplanes. The palace lost its main function in 1971 when a much larger and more modern building was completed. This building is connected to the palace through a sky bridge at the north side of the palace. Since then the Palace is mostly used as a location for wedding ceremonies, lectures, oath-takings and symposia.^[4]