Editing 's-Hertogenbosch (section)

==Attractions==
[[File:De grootste kathedraal van Nederland, de Sint Janskathedraal in 's-Hertogenbosch.jpg|thumb|[[St. John's Cathedral, 's-Hertogenbosch|Saint John's Cathedral]]]]
's-Hertogenbosch was founded as a fortified city and that heritage can still be seen today. After World War II, plans were made to modernise the old city, by filling in the canals, removing or modifying some ramparts and redeveloping historic neighbourhoods. Before these plans could come to effect, the central government declared the city a protected townscape. Most historic elements have been preserved. In contrast to cities like [[Rotterdam]], 's-Hertogenbosch also survived the [[Second World War]] relatively unscathed. Much of its historic heritage remains intact, and today there are always renovations going on in the city to preserve the many old buildings, fortifications, churches and statues for later generations.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

=== City center ===
[[File:'s-Hertogenbosch Rijksmonument 21719 Stadhuis, Markt 1.JPG|left|thumb|City Hall of 's-Hertogenbosch]]
[[File:'s-Hertogenbosch Marktplein - Den Bosch Markt.jpg|thumb|Market square]]
The city center has a cosy atmosphere because of the almost continuous ramparts that still surround it. It has been molded by the multiple rivers that convene on 's-Hertogenbosch, giving the center its strange street plan so different from the usual [[grid plan]] where streets meet at right angles. The center is dominated by [[St. John's Cathedral, 's-Hertogenbosch|Saint John's Cathedral]] (''Sint-Janskathedraal'' in [[Dutch language|Dutch]]), which dates from c. 1220 and is best known for its [[Brabantine Gothic]] design and the many sculptures of craftsmen that are sitting on almost every arc and rim along the outside of the cathedral. In 2010 an extensive restoration was completed, undoing the damage of many years of wear-and-tear and [[acid rain]].

On the central square is the oldest remaining brick house of the Netherlands, 'de Moriaan',<ref>[http://www.teletijd.nl/moriaan/ Teletijd.nl: 'De Moriaan' before and after renovation]</ref> which was built at the beginning of the 13th century. In the 1960s, de Moriaan was renovated to its former glory based on a famous 16th-century Dutch painting called 'De Lakenmarkt van 's-Hertogenbosch' ('The fabric market of 's-Hertogenbosch').<ref>[https://archive.org/details/DeLakenmarktTeu2019sHertogenboschCirca1530 Painting: De Lakenmarkt van 's-Hertogenbosch]</ref> The town hall is an original 14th-century Gothic building. After the town was conquered by the Dutch Republic in 1629, it received a new facade in the style of  [[Dutch Baroque architecture]]. It showcased the authority of the new masters, just like the new town hall in Maastricht would.

Hidden below the old city is a [[canal]] network called the [[Binnendieze]], which once spanned {{Cvt|22|km|0}}. It started out as a regular river, the Dommel, running through the city in medieval times. Due to a lack of space in the city, people started building their houses and roads over the river. Later, the Binnendieze functioned as a sewer and fell into disrepair. In recent decades, the remaining sixth part of the old waterway system has been renovated, and it is possible to take several guided subterranean boat trips through it.

=== Fortifications ===
[[File:Stadsmuurdenboschnl.jpg|thumb|left|City rampart]]
[[File:'s-Hertogenbosch - Citadellaan - Vestingwerken.jpg|thumb|[[Citadel of 's-Hertogenbosch]]]]
[[File:Boze Griet.JPG|thumb|''Boze Griet'', a forged cannon from 1510 in the ''Bastionder'']]
's-Hertogenbosch has an extensive and almost complete fifteenth-to-seventeenth-century city fortification. It was made to profit from the city's strong defensive position, lying on a sandy hill in the center of a large swamp fed by many rivers. This also caused the main ramparts to be preserved, because they were crucial in keeping out the water. In 2004 the city was awarded the title ''European Fortress City of the year''. In the years that followed it restored many of the city defenses to much of their old glory.

Apart from small sections of medieval walls, the main structure of the fortification is a late-medieval (fifteenth-century) wall. The upper sections were removed when cannon became more powerful, and polygonal [[Bastion fort|bastions]] were added, some after the conquest by the republic. Most of these have not been restored to their original height, but do maintain their brick walls. The [[Citadel of 's-Hertogenbosch|citadel]] in the north west of the city does retain its original height. Around the city itself many other fortresses can still be seen.

In the north east of the old city, the hexagonal [[gunpowder magazine]], called {{lang|nl|Kruithuis}}<ref>[http://www.teletijd.nl/kruithuis/ Teletijd.nl: Kruithuis inner court]</ref> is located close to the citadel. It is one of only a handful that still exist in the Netherlands, and was built when the city was still part of the [[Spanish Netherlands]]. It is planned to become the museum of fortress 's-Hertogenbosch. One of the bastions of the fortress now houses the mini museum [[Bastionder]]. It has been dug out in a bastion of the south side. On the inside it shows a unique wrought iron cannon, and an older bastion that was walled in by the current one.

=== Nature ===
[[File:Sint-Janskathedraal, Het Bossche Broek, 's-Hertogenbosch.jpg|thumb|View on the St. Jan from Bossche Broek]]
On the south side of the city, the city center and walls still border the Bossche Broek, an old [[polder]] that could never be made dry. In 1995 the dyke of the Dommel broke and an enormous amount of water entered the polder. It also flooded and blocked the main Dutch highway A2. In order to prevent this in the future, the area was rearranged to store excess water in case of emergencies. In 2006 the area had been furnished with higher dikes and locks that allowed a controlled flooding of the polder and some adjacent areas in case of emergency.

The Bossche Broek is now a {{Convert|22|ha|adj=on}} [[nature reserve]], that stretches all the way to [[Vught]]. It is connected to the Moerputten and Vlijmens Ven, with which it forms a [[Natura 2000]] area. Rare species in the area are the [[scarce large blue]] and the [[European weather loach]]. The Moerputten sports the [[Moerputten Bridge]], a 600 metre (650 yard) long nineteenth century railway bridge and engineering feat. What is unique about the area is its close proximity to the city center.

=== Miscellaneous ===
The city is also the location of the ''[[Bolwoningen]]'' complex, an array of fifty experimental spherical houses designed by Dries Kreijkamp.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://realestate.aol.com/blog/gallery/the-worlds-ugliest-buildings/#photo-3 |title=The Worlds Ugliest Buildings – AOL Real Estate |publisher=Realestate.aol.com |access-date=2013-03-25}}</ref>

The [[Lutheran Church, 's-Hertogenbosch]] is no longer used as a church.