Tilburg, city in the southern Netherlands, in Noord-Brabant (North Brabant) Province. It is an industrial center linked to the Rhine and Maas rivers by the Wilhelmina Canal. Major manufactures include textiles, machinery, leather goods, and dyes. Tilburg is the site of Tilburg University (1927); the Academy of Architecture at Tilburg; and a town hall that served as a residence of William II of the Netherlands during the first half of the 19th century. The main industrial growth of Tilburg began about 1860. Population (2000) 193,238.