Breda Castle is a castle in the city of

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

, in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

History

In the 12th century, a fortress was located at

. The city of Breda came into existence near the fortress. In 1353, the Duke of Brabant sold Breda to Jan II of Polanen (Baron of Breda). He reinforced the castle with four towers and a channel. His daughter

Johanna of Polanen Johanna van Polanen (also spelled as ''Jehenne''; 10 January 1392 – 15 May 1445) was a Dutch noblewoman. She was the daughter of John III of Polanen, Lord of Breda, and his wife, Odilia of Salm. The House of Polanen was a side branch of t ...

married in 1403 the German count

Engelbert I of Nassau Engelbert I of Nassau (, in Dillenburg3 May 1442, in Breda) was a son of Count John I of Nassau-Siegen and Countess Margaret of the Mark, daughter of Count Adolph II of the Marck. Early years Engelbert of Nassau was a student in Cologne, Ge ...

. Their son John IV of Nassau enlarged the castle.

Henry III of Nassau-Breda Count Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg-Dietz (12 January 1483 – 14 September 1538), Lord (from 1530 Baron) of Breda, Lord of the Lek, of Dietz, etc. was a count of the House of Nassau. He was born in Siegen, the son of Count John V of Nassau- ...

changed the castle into a Renaissance palace in 1536. He died in 1538 and his son

René of Châlon René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

finished the castle and built a chapel in 1540. René of Châlon died without any children and the castle became property of his German cousin,

William I of Orange William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years' War (156 ...

, during his battle with the Spanish, it had a military function again (

Dutch revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 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 Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

). In 1667 the Treaty of Breda was signed by England, France and the

Republic of the Seven United Netherlands The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherland ...

. This ended the second English-Dutch war. The Stadtholder - later King

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

- built on the castle between 1686 and 1695, but he and his successors spent little time there. During the period of French occupation in the 18th century, the castle was a military barracks and military hospital.

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was King of the Netherlands and List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1815 until his abdication in 1840. Born as the son of William V, Prince of Orange, ...

placed it at the disposal of the Royal Military Academy in 1826. Thomas Vincidor built three wings and later King

William II of the Netherlands William II (; English: William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849), known as Koning Willem de Tweede or Koning Willem II in the Netherlands, was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg. Wi ...

built the fourth wing. The entrance gate is from the 16th century.

Breda Congress

Between 1746 and 1748 it was the site of the Breda Peace Talks between Britain and France during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

. The talks formed the foundation for the eventual peace settlement at Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Image:0191Stadhouderspoort, Kasteel van Breda.JPG, Stadtholder’s gate Image:147Binnenplaats Kasteel van Breda.JPG, Courtyard of Breda Castle Image:Breda Spanjaardsgat spinola.jpg, Spanjaardsgat, water gate Image:P1010172Blokhuis.JPG, Blokhuis Image:Huis van Brecht park.jpg, Castle of Breda Image:De inname van Breda door Prins Maurits op 4 maart 1590 in vier scènes - The capture of Breda by Prince Maurice in 1590 in 4 scenes.jpg, Capture of Breda castle in 1590 Image:156Huis van Brecht.JPG, House of Brecht File:10235 Kasteel van breda 3.jpg, The Front of the castle

References

*Helsdingen, H.W. van, ''Gids voor de Nederlandse kastelen en buitenplaatsen'', Amsterdam 1966

External links

Virtuele rondgang Kasteel van Breda
{{Authority control Castles in North Brabant Rijksmonuments in North Brabant Buildings and structures in Breda History of Breda Palaces in the Netherlands

History

Breda Congress

See also

References

External links