Editing Tilburg (section)

=== King William II ===
[[William II of the Netherlands|King William&nbsp;II]] (1792–1849) was fond of Tilburg. "Here I can breathe freely and I feel happy", he once said about the town. King William&nbsp;II always supported Tilburg—he provided money to improve the sheep breeding, built new farms and founded a [[cavalry]] barracks on St.&nbsp;Joseph Street, now a monumental building of the City Archives. Although the King was always made welcome by the manufacturers he had befriended, he needed his own residence in Tilburg, and commissioned the construction of a [[City Hall of Tilburg|palace]], which would function as his country residence. Construction started in 1847 and was completed just days before William II died, in 1849. It is now part of [[City Hall of Tilburg|Tilburg City Hall]]. In 1987 an [[obelisk]] was erected nearby, in memory of King William&nbsp;II. It replaced the old "needle" dating from 1874, which was removed from the street in 1968. After its restoration, William&nbsp;II's statue has got a place again in the heart of the city, where he felt happy among its inhabitants. The local football club [[Willem&nbsp;II Tilburg]] was named after the king.