Brielle

Brielle
Brill
City
Historic city centre
Historic city centre
Flag of Brielle
Coat of arms of Brielle
Highlighted position of Brielle in a municipal map of South Holland
Location in South Holland
Coordinates: 51°54′N 4°10′E / 51.900°N 4.167°E / 51.900; 4.167
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceSouth Holland
MunicipalityVoorne aan Zee
Area
[1]
 • Total31.14 km2 (12.02 sq mi)
 • Land27.55 km2 (10.64 sq mi)
 • Water3.59 km2 (1.39 sq mi)
Elevation
[2]
2 m (7 ft)
Population
 (January 2021)[3]
 • Total17,439
 • Density633/km2 (1,640/sq mi)
DemonymBriellenaar
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
3230–3232
Area code0181
Websitewww.brielle.nl
Dutch Topographic map of Brielle, June 2015

Brielle (pronounced [ˈbrilə] ), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New Maas. The former municipality covered an area of 31.14 km2 (12.02 sq mi) of which 3.59 km2 (1.39 sq mi) was water. In 2021 its population was 17,439.

The former municipality of Brielle also included the communities of Vierpolders and Zwartewaal.

On 1 January 2023, the municipality of Brielle merged with Hellevoetsluis and Westvoorne into the new municipality of Voorne aan Zee.

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 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.

Historic parade in Den Briel to celebrate the 540th anniversary of the Capture of Brielle on April 1st, 2012. The leaders of the sea beggars, William II de La Marck, Lord Lumey (middle), Willem Bloys van Treslong (left) and Lenaert Jansz de Graeff (right).

During the Eighty Years' War 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:

Op 1 april verloor Alva de bril.
Op April zes verloor Alva zijn fles

On April 1st, Alva lost his glasses
On April 6th Alva lost his bottle

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.[4] In 1617, these cities returned to the Netherlands.

Twin cities

Brielle is twinned with:

Notable people

Witte Cornelisz de With

See also

Gallery

References

  1. ^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Postcodetool for 3231AP". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  4. ^ Garrett Mattingly (1959), The Armada, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Ch. V, "Plans of Operations", p. 44.

External links

  • Official website (some pages in English)
  • http://www.catharijnekerk.nl Website of St Catharijnekerk
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