The industrial town of Tilburg, on the Wilhelminakanaal, is the largest economic and cultural center of the southern Netherlands after Eindhoven, though it did not receive its municipal charter until 1809. It is the country's principal Roman Catholic center, with a Catholic University. The town also has colleges of economics
, teachers' training, architecture and music.
Tilburg's traditional woolen industry still plays a predominant part in the town's economy, producing some 60 per cent of the total output of woolen goods in the Netherlands. In recent years metalworking and other branches of industry have been established in the town to avoid the risks of undue dependence on a single industry.