Breda ( ) is a municipality and a city in the southern part of
the Netherlands
. The name Breda derived from
brede
Aa ('broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers
Mark and
Aa. As a
fortified
city, the city was a strategic military and political
significance. Although a direct
Fiefdom of
the
Holy Roman Emperor, the city
obtained a
municipal
charter; the acquisition of Breda, through marriage by the
house of Nassau insured that
Breda would be at the center of political and social life in the
Lowlands.
Breda's urban area is home to an estimated 200,000 people
(2008).
History
In the
11th century, Breda was a direct
fief of the
Holy Roman Emperor, its earliest known
lord being Henry of Brunesheim (1080–1125). The city of Breda
obtained a municipal charter in 1252. After that Breda had the
rights to build fortifications. The city constructed brick walls
and Roman-style gates.
In 1327 Adelheid of Gaveren Breda sold Breda to
John III, Duke of Brabant. In
1350, the fief was resold to John II of Wassenaar (d. 1377). In
1403 the heiress of his line, Johanna of Polanen (1392–1445),
married
Engelbert I of Nassau
(1370–1442).
Through her, the city came into the
possession of the house of
Nassau, where it remained until 1795, passing to William I of Orange (1533–1584), stadtholder of Holland
, Zeeland
and Utrecht
and leader of the Dutch
revolt. Thus the baron of Breda was also
count of
Nassau,
Germany,
Prince of Orange and
stadtholder of the
Dutch Republic (from 1572–1650, 1672–1702,
1747–1795). Breda remained part of the barony Breda until it was
taken by
French revolutionary
forces in 1795.
Residence city
The acquisition of the city by the House of Orange-Nassau marked
its emergence as a
residenzstadt (residence city). The
presence of the Orange-Nassau family attracted other of nobles, who
built palatial residences in the old quarters of the city. The most
impressive one, built by the Italian architect
Thomas Vincidor de Bologna for the first
Dutch prince, was the first
renaissance style built palace
north of the Alps. In the 15th century the city's physical,
economic and strategic importance expanded rapidly. A great church
was built in Brabantine
Gothic
style with a gallant high tower, called
Grote Kerk (main
church) or also
Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kerk (Church of Our
Lady). In 1534 the modest medieval fortifications were impressively
rebuilt by
Henry III of
Nassau-Breda.
Haultpenne's soldiers vent their fury
on the citizens of Breda. in 1581.
In 1534, a fire destroyed over 90 percent of the city, close to
1300 houses, churches and chapels and the town hall. Only 150
houses and the main church remained.
In 1581, during the
Eighty Years' War Breda
was captured by surprise by Spanish and Flemish
troops under the command of Claude de Berlaymont
, also known as Haultpenne. Although the city
had surrendered upon the condition that it would not be plundered,
the troops vented their fury on the inhabitants; in the resulting
mayhem, known as
Haultpenne's Fury, over 500 citizens were
killed.
In
1590 it fell again into the hands of Maurice of Nassau, as
68 hand-picked men, concealed under the turf in a peat-boat ,
contriving to enter the town
, a daring plan devised by Adriaen van Bergen. The so-called
Spaniards Hole marks the spot where the peat-boat
allegedly lay, although this is not historically proven.
After a ten-month siege in 1624–25, the city
surrendered to the Spaniards under
Spinola was
inmortalized by
Diego
Velázquez. In 1637 Breda was recaptured by
Frederick Henry of Orange
after a four-month siege, and in 1648 it was finally ceded to the
Dutch Republic by the
Treaty of Westphalia.
Stuart exiles
The exiled Stuart pretender
Charles II of England resided in Breda
during most of his exile during the
Cromwellian Commonwealth and
Protectorate, thanks to the proximity of
Charles's sister
Mary, Princess
Royal, the widow of
Prince William II of
Orange.
Based mostly on suggestions by Parliamentarian General
George Monck, Charles
II's
Declaration of Breda
(1660) made known the conditions of his acceptance of the crown of
England which he was to accept/resume later in the same year.
The
Treaty of Breda was
signed in the city, July 31, 1667, bringing to an end the
Second Anglo-Dutch War in which the
Dutch faced the same Charles II who had been their guest. Between
1746 and 1748 it was the site of the
Congress of Breda a series of talks
between Britain and France aimed at bringing an end to the
War of the Austrian
Succession, which ultimately led to the signing of the
Treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle.
'Freed by the Poles', poster printed
after liberation of Breda.
World War II
During the
World War II the city was under German
occupation. It was liberated following a successful
outflanking manoeuvre planned and performed by forces of
1st Polish Armoured Division
of
Gen. Maczek on October 29, 1944. Each year
during
Liberation Day festivities,
Breda is visited by a large Polish contingent and the city of Breda
reserves a special portion of the festivities for the fallen Polish
soldiers. A museum and a monument honoring General
Stanisław Maczek and the
Polish 1st Armoured Division
stands at the city center. General Maczek and soldiers of his
division are buried in a nearby
Polish military cemetery.
Breda was the site of one of the first
panopticon prison establishments. This prison
housed the only German war criminals ever to be imprisoned in the
Netherlands for their
war crimes during
the Second World War. They were known
as the 'Breda Four (and later three)'. They were
Willy Paul Franz Lages who was released in 1966
due to serious illness, Joseph Johann Kotälla who died in prison in
1979, Ferdinand Hugo aus der Fünten and Franz Fischer who both were
released in 1989...
Administration
- Breda (city) (~170,000)
- Ginneken (former village absorbed
by city agglomeration)
- Princenhage
(former village absorbed by city
agglomeration)
- Prinsenbeek
(~11,500) (added at the municipal
reorganization in 1997)
- Bavel
(~7,000) (added at the municipal reorganization
in 1997)
- Teteringen
(~6,500) (added at the municipal reorganization
in 1997)
- Ulvenhout
(~4,700) (added at the municipal reorganization
in 1997)
Administration
The
city of
Breda is divided in 7 city
sectors:
- Breda Centrum (Centre)
- Breda West (West)
- Breda Noord-West (Haagse Beemden) (Northwest)
- Breda Noord ( North)
- Breda Oost (East)
- Breda Zuid-Oost (Southeast)
- Breda Zuid (South)
Economy
Economic activities were mainly industrial. Breda was a center of
the food- and drinking industry. Companies like Hero (lemonade),
Van Melle (
Mentos), De Faam (liquorice) and Kwatta (chocolate)
are famous throughout
Western Europe.
Breda also had a
sugar factory, supplying its
best-known products. BREDA beer is a world renowned drink that is
made in this region.
Breda formerly housed the largest brewery in the Netherlands
(
Oranjeboom).
Interbrew, the Belgian owner of the brewery,
closed the brewery in 2004. The decline of industrial activity did
not harm the city's economy. The main economic activities now are
business and trade. When the new Central Station is built circa
2011, Breda will be connected by
high-speed trains to the main European
cities.
After 2009, a high-speed shuttle connects
Breda to Rotterdam - The
Hague
/ Amsterdam and Antwerp - Brussels
, on the HSL-Zuid
line.
Transportation
Breda has
two railway
stations
, Breda and Breda-Prinsenbeek
, providing connections with Zuid-Holland
(Dordrecht
- Rotterdam
- Den
Haag) and Tilburg
- Eindhoven
, and from station Breda also to Roosendaal
with connection to Vlissingen
and Antwerp
. In addition, trains also head north from
Breda to Amsterdam
and east to Den Bosch
- Nijmegen
.
Chassé Theater (Chassé Theatre)
Breda.
Culture
The city center contains beautiful old buildings and portions of
the
singels (
moats). The
shops and a
shopping mall are located here.
Various historic
buildings, especially the Beguinage
and the Chasse Theater, offer examples of
Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Breda's popular
soccer club,
NAC
Breda, plays in the highest Dutch league, the
Eredivisie. Breda's
athletics club,
A.V.
Sprint, is the largest club of its kind
in the Netherlands.
Museums
Breda hosts the following museums:
Red Hair festival
Redheadday is a festival that takes place
each first weekend of September. The two-day festival is a
gathering of people with natural red hair, but is also focused on
art related to the colour red. Activities during the festival are
lectures, workshops and demonstrations. The festival attracts
attendance from 20 countries and is free due to sponsorship of the
local government.
Miscellaneous
- "Colonel" Thomas Parker, the
manager of Elvis Presley, was born in
Breda as Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk.
- Breda is also home to Tiësto, an
international trance music artist.
- Breda has one of the most famous Dutch choirs, the Sacramentskoor. It is a male
choir (boys and men), semi-professional.
- Breda is the birthplace of former Olympic swimmer Karin Brienesse and former field hockey player Remco van Wijk, who twice won the gold medal
at the Summer Olympics with the
Dutch National Team: 1996 and 2000.
- Breda is the city where the Dutch composers Daan Manneke and Kristoffer Zegers live.
- The Dutch soccer international Pierre van Hooijdonk played in Breda.
Other formerly international Dutch football players from NAC Breda
were Antoon (Rat) Verlegh, Kees
Rijvers, Kees Kuijs, Leo Canjels, Daan Schrijvers, Frans
Bouwmeester, Nico Rijnders, Ad Brouwers, Bertus Quaars, Martin
Vreysen and Ton Lokhoff.
- BREDA beer is a world renowned drink that is made in this
region.
- Peter Stuyvesant, (New
Amsterdam), married Judith Bayard in the Walloon church in
Breda on August 13, 1645
International relations
Twin towns - sister cities
Breda is
twinned with:
References
- The Prince of Orange and subsequently
King or Queen of the Netherlands
continued to use the title; today Queen Beatrix claims the title
Baron of Breda.
- CBS 2008 Wijkinformatie Breda
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