Breda
For other uses see Breda (disambiguation). Dutch municipality 2 | name=Breda | province=
North Brabant | map=LocatieBreda (Netherlands).png |
area=129.15 | land=126.87 | water=2.28 |
population=167,908 | population_year=(2005) | density=1,323}}
Breda is a
municipality and a city in the southern part of the
Netherlands. The rivers
Mark and
Aa come together here.
*
Breda (population: 138,420)
**
Ginneken (
former village absorbed by city agglomeration)
**
Princenhage (
former village absorbed by city agglomeration)
**
Zandberg (
former hamlet absorbed by city agglomeration)
*
Prinsenbeek (11,420) (
added at the municipal redividing in 1997)
*
Bavel (7,050) (
added at the municipal redividing in 1997)
*
Teteringen (6,480) (
added at the municipal redividing in 1997)
*
Ulvenhout (4,680) (
added at the municipal redividing in 1997)
The hamlets listed below are very small. Their populations are included in the population of Breda:
*
De Rith *
Effen *
Eikberg*
Hoeveneind *
Kerkhoven*
Kerkeind*
Lies*
Roosberg*
StrikbergThe rest of this article deals with the city of Breda alone.History
Breda was a
fortified city of strategic significance in North Brabant. Many events transpired in the city.
In the
11th century Breda was a direct
fief of the
Holy Roman Emperor, its earliest known lord being Henry of Brunesheim (
1080 -
1125). In
1327 Breda was sold by Adelheid of Gaveren 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). Henceforth it remained in the
house of Nassau, passing ultimately to
William I of Orange (
1533 -
1584), the first
stadtholder of the Netherlands. Thus the baron of Breda was also
count of
Nassau, Germany;
Prince of Orange and
stadtholders of the
Dutch Republic (from
1572-
1650,
1672-
1702,
1747-
1795). Breda remained part of the barony Breda until it was extinguished by French revolutionary forces in
1795.
The city of Breda obtained a
municipal charter in
1252. It was fortified in
1534 by Count
Henry III of Nassau-Breda and remained an impregnable stronghold of the line of fortresses along the Meuse. In the same year (1534) however, Breda suffered a huge fire which destroyed about 1300 houses, churches and chapels along with the town hall. Only 150 houses were left after the fire along with Breda's main church, the Grote Kerk. Breda was captured by surprise by the Spaniards in
1581, but in
1590 it fell again into the hands of
Maurice of Nassau, 68 picked men contriving to get into the town concealed under the turf in a peat-boat, a daring plan of
Adriaen van Bergen. The
surrender of Breda in
1625, after a ten months siege, to the Spaniards under
Spinola was memorialized by
Diego Velasquez. In
1637 Breda was recaptured by
Frederick Henry of Orange after a four months siege, and in
1648 it was finally ceded to the Netherlands by the
Treaty of Westphalia.
The exiled Stuart pretender
Charles II of England resided in Breda during most of his exile in the ongoing 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.
Breda was the site of one of the first
panopticon prison establishments.
During the
World War II the city was under
German occupation. It was liberated following a successful outflanking manouevre planned and performed by forces of
1st Polish Armoured Division of
Gen. Maczek on
October 29,
1944.
Administration
The city has the following suburban neighbourhoods:Princenhage (former village), Ginneken (former village), de Haagse Beemden, de IJpelaar, Heuzenhout or Heusdenhout, Belcrum, and de Hoge Vucht.
Economy
Economic activities are mainly industrial. Breda traditionally was, and still is, a center of the
candy industry. Breda also has a
sugar factory, supplying the candy industry, and a brewery (
Oranjeboom) which is one of the biggest breweries in the Netherlands.
Interbrew, the owner of the brewery decided in 2002 to close down the brewery in 2004.
Sights
Breda has a city center with beautiful old buildings and
singels (
moats). The
shops and a shopping mall are located here. The city is also home to a museum devoted to General
Stanisław Maczek and the
Polish 1st Armoured Division.
Transportation
Breda has
train stations Breda and Breda-Prinsenbeek, providing connections with
Zuid-Holland (
Dordrecht -
Rotterdam -
Den Haag) and
Tilburg -
Eindhoven/
Den Bosch, and from station Breda also to
Roosendaal with connection to
Vlissingen and
Antwerp.
Miscellaneous
*The Dutch Royal Military Academy,
Koninklijke Militaire Academie, is located in Breda.
*Breda's most popular
football 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.
*
Colonel Tom Parker, the manager of
Elvis Presley, was born in Breda as Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk.
*Breda is also home to
DJ Tiesto, an international
trance music artist.
*Breda has one of the most famous Dutch all male, semi-professional boy/men choirs, the
sacramentskoor.
*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.
* http://www.sdu.nl/staatscourant/gem/gem80nb.htm
* http://www.breda.nl/
* http://stadsarchief.breda.nl/actueel/Breda_750/oktober/defaultE.htm Breda Liberated
* http://www.sacramentskoor.nl/
