| Alphen | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Native Name Lang: | nl |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands North Brabant#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | North Brabant |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Alphen-Chaam |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 24 |
| Area Total Km2: | 39.92 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 4,305 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 5130 & 5131 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 013 |
| Coordinates: | 51.4808°N 4.9561°W |
Alphen is a village in the municipality of Alphen-Chaam, in the Netherlands. It is located about 12 km southwest of Tilburg.
Alphen was first mentioned in 709,[3] when a nobleman named Engelbrecht sold "Alfheim" to Saint Willibrord. In 739, it was sold on to the Abbey of Echternach. Alphen was originally a collection of hamlets which started to concentrate around the church.[4]
The Catholic St Willibrord Church was built in 1954 to replace a church from 1909-1910 which was destroyed in 1944. The earliest church dated from the 16th century and had a tower which was built around 1559. The emergency church, which was built in 1945, is still located next to the St Willibrord Church.[4]
In 1542, Alphen was burned to the ground by the army of Guelders under Maarten van Rossum, and in 1944, it suffered from destruction and looting as well.[5]
Alphen includes the hamlets of 't Zand, Alphen-Oosterwijk, Druisdijk, Looneind, Boslust, Hondseind, Het Sas, Terover, Boshoven and Kwaalburg.[6]
Alphen was home to 431 people in 1840. Until 1997, Alphen was the main village of the municipality of Alphen en Riel.[6]