The fabric market on Tuesday is a household name in Eindhoven and the surrounding area. Longer than many people think: the market has existed for almost eight 800 years, making it as old as the city of Eindhoven itself.
“I came here with my mother as a young girl”, an older lady, who walks around the stalls of the Tuesday market in a good mood, says. But that the market is so old that her great-great-great-grandmother could have walked around here too – she hadn’t expected that.
City rights
According to historians, the market started in 1235, the year that Eindhoven received city rights. “In addition to city rights, Eindhoven also received market rights. That meant that residents were allowed to hold a market, and that farmers in the area were obliged to sell their goods there”, amateur historian of Van Abbe Foundation member, Bauke Hüsken, says. “At that time there was already a road from Den Bosch to Maastricht and one to Cologne. Eindhoven was at the crossroads. People came to the market there”, Jan Spoorenberg, a former archive employee in the region, explains.
Centuries ago, wool, flax and linen were the commodity on the market. “And we don’t know for sure, but that fabric market has been on Tuesdays for a long time”, Hüsken says.
In 2032 the city will be 800 years old. A party at the fabric market would not be out of place. “That’s a pretty good idea”, Spoorenberg notes.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
Here you can find an overview of markets in Eindhoven.
