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

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, 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 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. Voorne-Putten consists of the two former islands Voorne (the larger, western part) and Pu ...

, 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 Vierpolders is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Voorne aan Zee, and lies about 5 km north of Hellevoetsluis. The name of the village, literally "four polders", refers to the municipality, t ...

and

Zwartewaal Zwartewaal is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland, The Netherlands. It is a part of the municipality of Voorne aan Zee and lies about 5 km south of Maassluis. History The village was first mentioned in the middle of the 13t ...

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

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 traditio ...

in 1306. The city was for a long time the seat of the Count of Voorne, until this

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...

was added to Holland in 1371. It had its own harbour and traded with the countries around the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. 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 countries, Nordic c ...

. 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 Ref ...

between the Netherlands and Spain, the

Capture of Brielle The Capture of Brielle by the ''Geuzen, Watergeuzen'', on 1 April 1572 marked a turning point in the uprising of the Seventeen Provinces, Low Countries against Spain in the Eighty Years' War. Militarily the success was minor as the port of Briell ...

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 y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba (29 October 150711 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba (, pt, Grão Duque de Alba) in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke ( or shortly 'Alva') in the Netherlands, was a S ...

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 April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

: 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 Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...

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 The Martyrs of Gorkum ( nl, Martelaren van Gorcum) were a group of 19 Dutch Catholic clerics, secular and religious, who were hanged on 9 July 1572 in the town of Brielle by militant Dutch Calvinists during the 16th-century religious wars—sp ...

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 The Treaty of Nonsuch was signed on 10 August 1585 by Elizabeth I of England and the Dutch rebels fighting against Spanish rule. It was the first international treaty signed by what would become the Dutch Republic. It was signed at Nonsuch Pala ...

when

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

received it as security of payment for 5000 soldiers (led by the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creatio ...

) and used by the Dutch in their struggle against the Spanish. The first English governor of Brielle was

Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, KG (5 May 1542 – 8 February 1623), known as Lord Burghley from 1598 to 1605, was an English politician, courtier and soldier. Family Thomas Cecil was the elder son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, b ...

, succeeded by

Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway PC (1564 – 3 January 1631) was an English soldier and statesman. Notable among his descendants are Queen Elizabeth II and Barack Obama. He was the son and heir of Sir John Conway of Arrow, and his wife Ellen ...

who named his daughter Brilliana in honour of the city. English garrisons were stationed here and at

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushin ...

Garrett Mattingly Garrett Mattingly (May 6, 1900 – December 18, 1962) was a professor of European history at Columbia University who specialized in early modern diplomatic history. In 1960 he won a Pulitzer Prize for '' The Defeat of the Spanish Armada''. Ear ...

(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 with:

Notable people

Anneke Esaiasdochter Anneke Esaiasdochter (also ''Anna Jansz'', ''Anneken Jans'' or ''Anneke van Rotterdam''; 1509–1539), was a Dutch Anabaptist executed as a heretic and at the time regarded as a Protestant martyr. Life Anna Jansz was born in Brielle on the Dutch i ...

(1509 in Brielle – 1539), a Dutch

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the 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-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

executed as a heretic, a Protestant martyr. *

Willem Bloys van Treslong Willem Bloys van Treslong (1529 – 17 July 1594) was a nobleman from the Southern Netherlands and military leader during the Dutch war of Independence. He was best known as one of the leaders of the Sea Beggars who captured Den Briel on 1 April ...

(1529–1594), a nobleman, lead the

Sea Beggars Geuzen (; ; french: Les Gueux) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen (; ; frenc ...

and the

in 1572. *

Maarten Tromp Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (also written as ''Maerten Tromp''; 23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was a Dutch army general and admiral in the Dutch navy. Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, including being capture ...

(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 ch ...

(1599 in Hoogendijk – 1658), a Dutch naval officer 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 Ref ...

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 art and ...

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 Lieutenant admiral () is a senior naval military rank in the Royal Netherlands Navy. The rank is a four-star rank, senior to a vice-admiral () and equivalent to admiral in most foreign navies. It is used whenever the Dutch Chief of Defence is fro ...

* Constantijn van Daalen (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 o ...

Toon Tellegen Antonius Otto Hermannus (Toon) Tellegen (born 18 November 1941) is a Dutch writer, poet, and physician, known for children's books, especially those featuring anthropomorphised animals, particularly those about an ant and a squirrel. His writin ...

(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