(Editor’s note: Heusden is about 50 kilomters north of Eindhoven, and just a few kilometers west of s’Hertogenbosch in the south of the Netherlands.)
Heusden, if you have never heard of it, is a small, picturesque, fortified town approximately 17 kilometers west of Den Bosch, Netherlands. The centuries-old town was fortified in the 1600’s to protect it from the Spanish and the grassy walled fortifications (bastions) remain to this day, now encouraging outsiders to visit rather than deterring them.
Heusden is a wonderful place to visit all year round, whether it be by car, bicycle or even boat, as it is set alongside the Bergsche Maas canal and has a small, charming harbour, complete with two windmills.
Come December the town embraces the festive season, first by hosting the arrival of Sinterklaas by boat in the harbour in mid-November and then by hosting a two evening Christmas market known as Candlelight Shopping Heusden Vesting.
Gifts, Christmas delicacies and the gezellig experience
This year, the 20th edition, the Candlelight Market will be Friday, 12 December and Saturday, 13 December, from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m. when the town centre will be filled with festive stalls, music, food and happy faces. There are stalls selling wooden charcuterie boards, sheepskin items, antique decorations, to candles, jewelery, children’s and pet’s gifts. Not only are there stalls but all the local stores will also be open, with, for example, locally made candles, local beers and liquors, books and clothing and jewelery, so you will definitely find a festive gift for your family and friends … or maybe yourself.
Food trucks selling stroopwafels, Surinamese food and burgers are located around the vesting (fortress) and the local restaurants and food stores will all be open too so there’s no excuse to go hungry or thirsty. In fact, Heusden has two award winning stores; Bakkertje Deeg, the local bakery, which has won awards from Lekkerste Brabantse Worstenbroodje and the food speciality store, Hof Van Heusden, which, for the past two years, has been in the top three Brabant Beste Foodspecialiteitenwinkel van Nederlands.
Once you have purchased all your gifts, you can take the opportunity to wander the beautifully decorated streets, warm yourself by the firepits or listen to the musical entertainment. If you are coming with children, you will probably meet Santa Claus, angels and Christmas trees wandering the streets.
A local experience
For a small town, Heusden really “pulls out all the stops” for this event and it is incredibly popular. Parking is at a premium outside the “vesting” in temporary carparks and shuttle buses are on hand to bring you into the town. You can also take the bus from s’Hertogenbosch (number 135) and get off at Demer, which is a five-minute walk into the centre.
Of course, Heusden can’t compete with the bigger Christmas markets but if a local, gezellig feeling is what you seek then the Heusden Candlelight evenings definitely have that.
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Read more about Heusden here in Dispatches’ archives.
Photographer/writer Jackie Harding was born in the United Kingdom. As a long-time expat, she lived in Boston for 12 years and in the Netherlands for the past 10 years.
Trained as a nurse in the U.K., she worked for nine years in the United States as a special education teacher’s assistant. Since moving to the Netherlands, she has discovered writing and photography.
Contributing to Dispatches since 2016, Jackie has written about her travels around Europe as well as about expat life and issues.
She also covered the Women’s March Amsterdam.
She’s married to British businessman Martin Harding and is the mother of two international adult children.
