Eindhoven is one of the largest Dutch cities outside the so-called Randstad area. The city started as a village at the place where the rivers Dommel and Gender confluenced. In 1232, Count Hendrik I of Brabant granted city rights to Eindhoven, and at that time there were 170 houses in the city. With new privileges Eindhoevn got the right to hold a weekly market and this attracted trade. At the same time, Eindhoven was on the important trade route from the Netherlands to Liège, and this contributed to growth.

From the end of the 15th century to the 16th century, the city was destroyed several times during attacks and fires, but Eindhoven was rebuilt and in 1629 it became part of the united Netherlands. The industrialization of the 19th century gave Eindhoven a big boom. Canals were dug and roads and railways built, and the textile and tobacco industries drove further growth. Later, other industries such as the company Philips added to the development of Eindhoven.

Today you can enjoy some nice walks in the center of Eindhoven, which is dominated by modern architecture due to destruction during the Second World War. The Markt square is the center of the city, and from here you have access to Eindhoven’s narrow streets and many shopping opportunities. It is also a neighborhood where you can explore modern building design, which in several places stands next to older architecture as contrasts.

A good example is De Blob, which was designed by Italian Massimiliano Fuksas. De Blob is a 25 meter high building with round shapes covered in glass and steel. Opposite De Blob you can see the Lichttoren building, a white heptagonal tower that was built in functionalist style with cubist expressionist details in the years 1909-1921. Philips occupied the Lichttoren, where light bulbs were tested, and the name Lichttoren, meaning Light Tower, emerged from these tests.

Another of Eindhoven’s most characteristic buildings is located a little west of the city centre. Here you will find Evoluon, which was built by Philips in 1966 as a science museum in a futuristic and UFO-like design. Today, Evoluon is used as a conference center. In the city, you can visit the Philips Museum as well, which depicts Philips’ history and products, and it is housed in the company’s first light bulb factory.

You can see the Philips Gloeilampenfabriekje anno 1891 too, which shows how carbon filament lamps were made at the end of the 19th century. You can explore more industrial history at the city’s DAF Museum, which tells the story of the Dutch car and truck manufacturer. DAF was founded in Eindhoven in 1928 and is thus one of the city’s well-known industrial brands.

In the center of Eindhoven you can see Sint Catharinakerk, which is a Catholic church dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria, who was a Christian saint and martyr. The church is not the first on this site, but a construction that was completed in Neo-Gothic style in 1867 following a need for a larger church than the previous one. Sint Catharinakerk was designed by Pierre Cuypers, who designed the 73 meter high towers, the David Tower and the Maria Tower and installed a beautiful rose window in the church.

South of the church you can see Eindhoven’s modern town hall square, Stadhuisplein, and south of this you can visit the Van Abbemuseum, an interesting museum of contemporary art. Further south is the Eindhoven Museum, which is an open-air museum with a focus on Brabant in the Iron Age and the Middle Ages.