Attention stone - Veemarkt

Cattle Market (1516-1935)

Thanks to the municipality of Waalwijk, there are 24 attention stones throughout the municipality. The selected objects in Baardwijk, Besoijen and Waalwijk played a role at the time of the redivision (1922). The stones are linked to this website and the route called "On the road in
the historical Langstraat".

Waalwijk's position was strengthened in 1303 when, in addition to city rights, it was granted the privilege of organizing annual fairs. The merchants also received ducal protection. The first fair was held on the Wednesday before Pentecost, the second on the Wednesday before Ascension and the third on the Thursday after St. Remigius (January 13). This made the annual fairs of Waalwijk among the oldest in the Meierij. These late medieval fairs were held in Waalwijk until the sixteenth century. From 1567, two large horse fairs were held annually, which were widely known and attracted many people to Waalwijk. So many people and animals came that not everyone could find accommodation and there were not enough stables for the horses. The horse fairs continued until the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Ox-grazing
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Waalwijk was the center of the ox trade. In the peak year of 1621, 730 oxen were landed in Waalwijk and 398 in Besoijen. These oxen came from far and wide. Traders went to the Elbemarkt near Hamburg to buy Danish
oxen. A herd of oxen driven to the Langstraat often consisted of 40-50 head and two or three drovers. The oxen were fattened in the fertile floodplains of the Oude Maas and sold again in the autumn.

Beestenmarkt
The oldest mention of a weekly market dates back to 1516. The Friday weekly market was famous for trading in cattle. From about 1844 to 1874, "Beestenmarkt" was the common name for the stretch of Grotestraat, at the level of the market square constructed in 1866
(the Market Square). Both in the "Cloostersteeg" (today's Stationsstraat) and in Grotestraat the weekly, well-attended horse and cattle markets were held at that time. The street manure left behind at the cattle market was stored in the (still unbuilt) Putsteeg, behind the gasworks. This was sold in the mayor's name, the proceeds going to the municipal treasury. The Cloostersteeg was a dirt road to the south, and of great importance to the Waalwijk economy. On market days, sometimes hundreds of carts per day passed through the Cloostersteeg. Traders indicated that they would move to Baardwijk for their trade in horses and other livestock. It was said to be too filthy in Waalwijk. They saw their argument "vuylichheit van de straeten" lapsed in the sixteenth century with the construction of the "'s Heeren Straete" (current Grotestraat) as a paved street road. Emperor Charles V granted Waalwijk permission in 1526 and 1530 to build 600 rods of street road from Besoijen to Baardwijk. Cobblestones were used as the material. In 1879 the
the Cloostersteeg to the railroad line was paved with basalt paving stones. Around 1900 it went downhill with the cattle markets, in the 30s the curtain fell gradually.