Welcome to Tilburg. It was here that 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 about 18,500 inhabitants. The Tilburg-Breda railway line and the station are just three years old and the most common occupations are weaver and factory worker. In the immediate vicinity of Tilburg lies 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, watchtower De Nieuwe Herdgang and Moerenburg-Koningshoeven Landscape Park.

Stroll 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 15 September 1866, the brand-new Hogere Burger School Koning Willem II welcomed him as one of the most remarkable pupils, with an excellent list of grades from his primary school in Zevenbergen in his pocket. Vincent found a boarding house with the Hannik family at Korvel 57, now Sint Annaplein 18-19. Here, a commemorative plaque and a special Van Gogh bench commemorate Vincent's time in Tilburg. Vincent has a feel for languages and performs well. In the former palace of King William II, the current Palace Town Hall of Tilburg, he received 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 art teacher. Later, however, Vincent did not 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 the 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 take a look at 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 published with this Van Gogh NP walking route. This is available through our webshop.

About this route
This route has been set out via the Brabant walking junction system. Easily walk from one numbered junction to another. Arrows show you the way between the nodes. Is there something wrong with the signposting of the route? Please let us know via visitbrabant.com/meldpunt. You can also call 0800-4050050 (free of charge).

Hiking through Van Gogh National Park
Discover Van Gogh National Park. Enjoy the Brabant landscape full of meandering streams, vast nature reserves, farmland, country estates and greenery right into the heart of the villages and towns. Here we work together on a beautiful, healthy and green living environment. With Vincent van Gogh as his 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 allow you to experience the places that played a special role in his life. It's like walking into a painting! View all Van Gogh walking routes here and share your experience with us through #VanGoghNP and #routesinbrabant.