Brielle
Encyclopedia
- This article is about a city in the Netherlands. There is also a Brielle, New JerseyBrielle, New JerseyBrielle is a Borough located in southern Monmouth County, New Jersey along the Manasquan River. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 4,774....
, in the United States of America. - For the song by Sky SailingSky SailingSky Sailing is an acoustic musical project by Adam Young of Owl City. It is largely acoustic and recorded on piano and acoustic guitar.-History:...
, see Brielle (song).
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, in the province of South Holland
South Holland
South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...
, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten
Voorne-Putten
thumb|225px|right|Satellite image of the [[Rhine]]-[[Meuse river|Meuse]] [[river delta|delta]], showing the island of Voorne-Putten Voorne-Putten is an island between the North Sea, the Brielse meer and the rivers Oude Maas, Spui and Haringvliet in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands...
, at the mouth of the New Maas. The municipality covers an area of 31.12 km² (12.02 mile²) of which 3.63 km² (1.40 mile²) is water. In 2004 its population was 15,948.
The municipality of Brielle also includes the communities Vierpolders
Vierpolders
Vierpolders is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Brielle, and lies about 5 km north of Hellevoetsluis.In 2001, the village of Vierpolders had 993 inhabitants...
, and Zwartewaal
Zwartewaal
Zwartewaal is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Brielle, and lies about 5 km south of Maassluis.In 2001, the town of Zwartewaal had 1666 inhabitants...
.
Brielle is twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Queenborough
Queenborough
Queenborough is a small town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England.Queenborough is two miles south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to The Swale where it joins the River Medway...
, England, since 1967 Havlíčkův Brod
Havlíckuv Brod
Havlíčkův Brod , Německý Brod until 1945 is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It is also the capital of the Havlíčkův Brod district. It is located on the Sázava River in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and has a population of 24,321 as of 2003...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, since 1985
History
Brielle is a very old, fortified town. 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-PuttenVoorne-Putten
thumb|225px|right|Satellite image of the [[Rhine]]-[[Meuse river|Meuse]] [[river delta|delta]], showing the island of Voorne-Putten Voorne-Putten is an island between the North Sea, the Brielse meer and the rivers Oude Maas, Spui and Haringvliet in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands...
Island. It received city rights
City rights in the Netherlands
City rights are a medieval phenomenon in the history of the Low Countries. A liegelord, usually a count, duke or similar member of high nobility, granted a settlement he owned certain town privileges that settlements without city rights did not have....
in 1306. The city was for a long time the seat of the Count of Voorne, until this fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
was added to Holland in 1371. It had its own harbour and traded with the countries around the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. Brielle even had its own trading colony in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
During the Eighty Years' War between the Netherlands and Spain, the Capture of Brielle
Capture of Brielle
The Capture of Brielle by the Sea Beggars, or Watergeuzen, on 1 April 1572 marked a turning point in the uprising of the Low Countries against Spain in the Eighty Years' War. Militarily the success was minor, as Brielle was not being defended at the time...
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
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba was a Spanish general and governor of the Spanish Netherlands , nicknamed "the Iron Duke" in the Low Countries because of his harsh and cruel rule there and his role in the execution of his political opponents and the massacre of several...
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:
- "Op 1 april verloor AlvaFernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of AlbaDon Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba was a Spanish general and governor of the Spanish Netherlands , nicknamed "the Iron Duke" in the Low Countries because of his harsh and cruel rule there and his role in the execution of his political opponents and the massacre of several...
zijn bril" translating into "On April 1st, Alva lost his glasses",
("bril" is the Dutch word for "glasses". The same rhyme continues with the line "Op April zes verloor Alva zijn fles" "On April 6th Alva lost his bottle" in which the word "Fles" stands for the town of Vlissingen, which was the next town to be caught by the Dutch rebels.)
During this battle the Protestant rebels killed the catholic Martyrs of Gorkum
Martyrs of Gorkum
The Martyrs of Gorkum were a group of 19 Dutch Catholic clergy and friars who suffered martyrdom in the sixteenth century for their faith in the town of Gorinchem .-Events:...
and Brielle has become a pilgrimage location since then.
In August 1585, Brielle was one of the four Dutch towns that became an English possession by the Treaty of Nonsuch
Treaty of Nonsuch
The Treaty of Nonsuch was signed by Elizabeth I of England and the Netherlands on 10 August 1585 at Nonsuch Palace in Surrey.-Background:The treaty was provoked by the signing of the Treaty of Joinville in 1584 between Philip II of Spain and the Catholic League in France in which Philip II promised...
when Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
received it as security of payment for 5000 soldiers used by the Dutch in their struggle against the Spanish. In 1617, these cities returned to the Netherlands.
Chalking is nowadays considered illegal. What started as painting text on windows with liquid chalk, later evolved into real paint. While some police officers will turn a blind eye when they catch you with liquid chalk, most of them will give you a fine. And when caught before, you can end up with an official record. Fines for underage people are half the price compared to adults, where the general price is €90,-. Between 6pm on the 31st of March till 8am on the 1st of April it's considered illegal to have any chalk/paint/brushes/etc with you.
External links
- Official Website (some pages in English)
- http://www.plattegronden.nl/gemeentebrielle
- http://www.catharijnekerk.nl Website of St Catharijnekerk