Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town, municipality and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New Maas. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. In its population was . The municipality of Brielle also includes the communities Vierpolders and Zwartewaal.

History

Brielle is a very old, fortified city. Its name is derived from the Celtic word ''brogilo'' (meaning "closed area" or "hunting grounds"). The oldest writings about Brielle indicate that the current location is the "new" Brielle. ''Den ouden Briel'' (Old Brill) must have been situated somewhere else on the Voorne-Putten Island. It received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1306. The city was for a long time the seat of the Count of Voorne, until this fiefdom was added to Holland in 1371. It had its own harbour and traded with the countries around the Baltic Sea. Brielle even had its own trading colony in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. During the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

between the Netherlands and Spain, the Capture of Brielle on April 1, 1572, by Protestant rebels, the Watergeuzen, marked a turning point in the conflict, as many towns in Holland then began to support William of Orange against the Spanish Duke Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba who was sent to pacify The Netherlands. This event is still celebrated each year on April 1 and the night before (known as Chalk Night (kalknacht) when the city is defaced with chalk - and now also white paint). Dutch students are taught a short rhyme to remember this fact, which rhyme refers to April Fools' Day: In Dutch, "de bril" is the word for "the glasses," and closely rhymes with Den Briel; as does "Fles" which stands for the town of Vlissingen or Flushing, the next town to be captured by the Dutch rebels. After the capture of Brielle the Protestant rebels tortured and murdered the Catholic Martyrs of Gorkum and Brielle has become a pilgrimage location since then. In August 1585, Brielle was one of the three Dutch towns that became an English possession by the Treaty of Nonsuch when Queen Elizabeth I received it as security of payment for 5000 soldiers (led by the Earl of Leicester) and used by the Dutch in their struggle against the Spanish. The first English governor of Brielle was Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, succeeded by Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway who named his daughter Brilliana in honour of the city. English garrisons were stationed here and at Flushing. Garrett Mattingly (1959), '' The Armada'', Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Ch. V, "Plans of Operations", p. 44. In 1617, these cities returned to the Netherlands.

Twin cities

Brielle is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with:

Notable people

* Anneke Esaiasdochter (1509 in Brielle – 1539), a Dutch

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

executed as a heretic, a Protestant martyr. * Willem Bloys van Treslong (1529–1594), a nobleman, lead the Sea Beggars and the Capture of Brielle in 1572. * Maarten Tromp (1598 in Brielle – 1653), a Dutch army general and admiral in the Dutch navy *

Witte de With Witte Corneliszoon de With (28 March 1599 – 8 November 1658) was a Dutch naval officer. He is noted for planning and participating in a number of naval battles during the Eighty Years War and the First Anglo-Dutch war. Early life and chil ...

(1599 in Hoogendijk – 1658), a Dutch naval officer during the Eighty Years War and the First Anglo-Dutch war * Ludowyk Smits (1635 in Zwartewaal – 1707), a

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

painter *

Philips van Almonde Philips van Almonde (29 December 1644 – 6 January 1711) was a Dutch Lieutenant Admiral, who served in his nation’s maritime conflicts of the 17th and early 18th centuries. Philips was born in Den Briel, the son of Pieter Jansz van Almond ...

(1644 in Den Briel – 1711), a Dutch Lieutenant Admiral *

Constantijn van Daalen Constantijn van Daalen (7 April 1884 in Brielle – 5 September 1931 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch gymnast who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908 ...

(1884 in Brielle – 1931), a Dutch gymnast who competed in the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

* Toon Tellegen (born 1941 in Brielle), a Dutch writer and poet, known for children's books and a physician

Gallery

Image:Brielle, Sint Catharijnekerk positie2 foto1 2011-06-26 14.21.JPG, Brielle, church: de Sint Catharijne kerk Image:Brielle, het Wellerondom foto5 2011-06-26 14.04.JPG, Brielle, monumental houses at the Wellerondom File:Briele 9-10-2004 - panoramio.jpg, Brielle - panoramio Image:Brielle, voormalig weeshuis in monumentaal pand RM10647 foto3 2011-06-26 14.16.JPG, Brielle, former orphanage Image:Brielle, monumentaal panden aan de Vischstraat 21 en 23 2011-06-26 13.07.JPG, Brielle, monumental houses Vischstraat

References

External links