North Brabant · Langstraat · Netherlands
Visit Waalwijk
Waalwijk is a municipality in North Brabant with 51,635 residents on 1 January 2026 (CBS), spread across the villages of Waalwijk, Sprang-Capelle and Waspik. The town grew big on leather and shoes in De Langstraat, the historic leather-working strip of villages. Today it also runs on logistics, with large business parks, an inland port and the Schoenenkwartier shoe museum.
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01
Why is Waalwijk a business town?
On 1 January 2026 Waalwijk had exactly 7,060 business locations. Big names such as De Mandemakers Groep, Van Mossel Automotive Group and Bol have a head office or a large logistics site here. On Haven 8, between the A59 and the Bergsche Maas, the municipality wants to build a new insteekhaven (a port basin cut into the riverbank).
Waalwijk in numbers
How big is Waalwijk?
On 1 January 2026 the municipality of Waalwijk had 51,635 residents on 67.65 km², spread over Waalwijk, Sprang-Capelle and Waspik (CBS). Every figure below comes from two sources.
What that feels like
- Calculation: 51,635 residents / 67.65 km² = 763.3
- Calculation: 22,783 homes (1 Jan 2025) / 51,635 residents (1 Jan 2026) x 100 = 44.1
- Calculation: 7,060 locations / 51,635 residents x 100 = 13.7
The three villages of the municipality
Pick a village on the map.
Waspik
Waspik holds its market on Wednesday morning on the Dorpsplein (Source: Gemeente Waalwijk). Between Waspik and Waalwijk lies the Westelijke Langstraat, a Natura 2000 area with a working duck decoy (Source: Gemeente Waalwijk).
Sprang-Capelle
The Dye Sprancke windmill still grinds grain and pancake flour here (Source: Gemeente Waalwijk). The market is on Thursday morning on the Raadhuisplein, and the village has a marina (Source: Bezoek de Langstraat).
Waalwijk
The largest village, with the town centre around the Raadhuisplein and the old town hall. The weekly market runs on Wednesday from 13:00 to 17:00 (Source: Gemeente Waalwijk).
The eight key figures
51,635residents
residents in the municipality
CBS StatLine 70072ned and 37230ned · Organisaties.overheid.nl, profile of Gemeente Waalwijk
67.65km²
area of land and water
CBS StatLine 70072ned · Allecijfers.nl (derived from CBS, 6,765 ha)
3villages
villages: Waalwijk, Sprang-Capelle and Waspik
Organisaties.overheid.nl, profile of Gemeente Waalwijk · Gemeente Waalwijk, page De markt
7,060business locations
business locations
CBS StatLine 70072ned · Allecijfers.nl (derived from CBS)
22,783homes
homes in the municipality
CBS StatLine 70072ned · Allecijfers.nl (derived from CBS)
7,186seats
spectators in the Mandemakers Stadion
RKC Waalwijk, Over het Mandemakers Stadion · Wikipedia, Mandemakers Stadion
1,932year built
year Kropholler's town hall was built
Rijksmonumentenregister (national monuments register), monument 521817 · Dezeen, 4 September 2022 (built in phases in the 1930s)
1954
opening of the first shoe museum
Schoenenkwartier, Geschiedenis · Wikipedia, Schoenenkwartier
From town hall to today
1932
Year Kropholler's town hall was built.
National monuments register
1954
The first shoe museum opens on the Kloosterwerf.
Schoenenkwartier, Wikipedia
2022
The museum moves to the Kropholler complex on the Raadhuisplein as the Schoenenkwartier.
Schoenenkwartier, Wikipedia
1 Jan 2026
The municipality has 51,635 residents.
CBS
What do the numbers mean?
The Mandemakers Stadion holds roughly 1 in 7 residents.
Show the calculation
51,635 residents / 7,186 seats = 7.2
On average 2.3 people live in a home in Waalwijk.
Show the calculation
51,635 residents (1 Jan 2026) / 22,783 homes (1 Jan 2025) = 2.3
The town hall was built 94 years ago. The first shoe museum opened 22 years later.
Show the calculation
2026 - 1932 = 94; 1954 - 1932 = 22
Explore the town
What is Waalwijk known for?
Business and port
Over 7,000 business locations, including De Mandemakers Groep, Van Mossel and Bol. On Haven 8 the municipality plans a new inland harbour basin.
Read more →
Shoes and leather
The Langstraat has tanned leather for centuries. The Schoenenkwartier on the Raadhuisplein holds 20,000 objects.
Read more →
Sport
RKC Waalwijk plays the 2026-2027 season in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, at home in the Mandemakers Stadion.
Read more →
Sustainable Waalwijk
The municipality aims to be energy neutral by 2043. The Waalwijk CO₂ vrij foundation helps businesses get there.
Read more →
Interiors and shopping
The furniture boulevard on the Professor Zeemanweg, and a market in the centre every Wednesday afternoon.
Read more →
Walking and cycling
The drift sands of the Loonse en Drunense Duinen to the south, the wet polders of the Westelijke Langstraat to the west.
Read more →
Events 2026-2027
What is on in Waalwijk?
Pick a month in the year wheel. Dates the organiser has not confirmed yet are shown as “date to be announced”.
Waalwijk Moments
Got a photo of your best moment in Waalwijk? Share it with other visitors. After a quick check it goes into the gallery with your name.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
How many residents does Waalwijk have?
On 1 January 2026 the municipality of Waalwijk had 51,635 residents, according to CBS and the government register of organisations. Growth is continuing. The provisional monthly CBS figures reach 51,913 residents at the end of August 2026, spread across Waalwijk, Sprang-Capelle and Waspik. A year earlier the count stood at 51,241.
Which villages belong to the municipality of Waalwijk?
Three villages belong to the municipality, namely Waalwijk, Sprang-Capelle and Waspik. That is how the government register lists them, and the municipality uses the same division for its weekly markets, with each village having its own market day and its own square. The town centre and the Raadhuisplein (town hall square) with the old town hall are in the village of Waalwijk.
Which day is market day in Waalwijk?
The weekly market in the centre of Waalwijk is on Wednesday, from 13.00 to 17.00, on the Grotestraat, the Stationsstraat and the Raadhuisplein. Waspik has a market on Wednesday morning on the Dorpsplein. In Sprang-Capelle the market is held on Thursday morning on the Raadhuisplein. The source is the municipality of Waalwijk.
Why is Waalwijk called the shoe town?
Waalwijk lies in De Langstraat, an area between Geertruidenberg and 's-Hertogenbosch that has made leather and shoes for centuries. The Schoenenkwartier museum itself calls Waalwijk "the shoe town of the Netherlands". On the front steps of the 1932 town hall stand an ox and a cow, a nod to the cattle market and the leather industry.
Where do RKC Waalwijk play?
At the Mandemakers Stadion on Akkerlaan 2. According to the club, it holds 7,186 spectators. The current stadium has stood there since 1996 and has been called the Mandemakers Stadion since 1999. Before that, the same ground was home to Sportpark Olympia, known locally as De Fietsenstalling (the bike shed).
How do you get to Waalwijk by public transport?
Waalwijk has no railway station; the old Langstraat railway line was taken up decades ago. You travel by bus. According to the Schoenenkwartier, lines 300 and 301, among others, run to the Vredesplein bus station, a ten-minute walk from the centre and the Raadhuisplein. Plan your journey in advance with a journey planner.