Drunen

Drunen is a town with a population of 17,783 (1 January 2008) in the municipality of Heusden in the southern Netherlands. Drunen is part of a region called the Langstraat ('long road') which is historically known for its leather and shoe industry. Since 1813, Drunen has been a separate municipality, consisting of the towns Drunen, Elshout, and Giersbergen.

The center of Drunen is a plaza surrounded by the Sint-Lambertuskerk and city hall. Furthermore, there are some pubs and stores in the middle of town. Drunen was heavily shelled by British Forces in late 1944 in the days prior to liberation and its main buildings were heavily damaged or destroyed outright. In consequence, there are few historic buildings. Recently the downtown area, including the plaza, has been modernized.

On 01, it was incorporated along with the municipalities of Heusden and Vlijmen into the new, enlarged municipality of Heusden, containing the towns Drunen, Elshout, Giersbergen, Heesbeen, Doeveren, Hedikhuizen, Herpt, Oud-Heusden, Heusden, Vlijmen, Nieuwkuijk and Haarsteeg. Some argued that this enlarged municipality should have been called the municipality of Drunen, being the biggest of the three towns. However due to the historical importance of Heusden, and possibly to avoid ill will in the almost equally large town of Vlijmen, the municipal was named after Heusden.