Breda, Etten-Leur, Zundert

The youngest National Park in the Netherlands can be found in Brabant. On 15 October 2024, an area of around 100,000 hectares between ’s-Hertogenbosch, Tilburg, Eindhoven, Helmond and Breda officially became a National Park. It includes nature reserves, farmland, estates, villages, cities, stream valleys, forests, sand dunes and heathland. Together they form a stunning mosaic of landscapes.

The park is named after the famous painter Vincent van Gogh. This is the region where he grew up, lived and worked. The varied landscape was a huge source of inspiration for his artworks, just like the everyday life of hard-working farmers.

To protect this historic natural area and keep the culture, heritage and story of Van Gogh alive, the park was given official status.

It’s not just nature organisations that look after the park, but also local councils, businesses and residents. More than 80 partners in Brabant are involved.

Today you’ll explore just a small part of this enormous park, but it’s the part where Van Gogh spent much of his youth. From his birthplace Zundert to his later home in Etten-Leur, and from the romantic Markdal near Breda to the picturesque Oude Buisse Heide.