Breukelen () is a town and former municipality 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 ...

, in the province of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. It is situated to the northwest of

, along the river Vecht and close to the lakes of the Loosdrechtse Plassen, an area of natural and tourist interest. It is located in an area called the

Vechtstreek The Vechtstreek (; ) is a region in the Dutch provinces of Utrecht and North Holland along the Vecht River between the towns of Utrecht and Amsterdam. Located in the economic heartland of the Netherlands, it is known for its natural environment a ...

. It is the namesake of the borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York.

History

Breukelen's history dates back to the

7th century The 7th century is the period from 601 through 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by the Islamic prophet Muhammad starting in 622 ...

, when it was a village named Attingahem. Around the year 720, the first wooden church was built in the village by

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...

. In the

8th century The 8th century is the period from 701 (represented by the Roman numerals DCCI) through 800 (DCCC) in accordance with the Julian Calendar. In the historiography of Europe the phrase the long 8th century is sometimes used to refer to the peri ...

, a Frisian nobleman named Atte established a settlement there, constructing a fortified farm named the Breukelerhof. During the 17th century, many wealthy

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

merchant families built their

mansions A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... from the Latin w ...

along the river Vecht. In the Disaster Year (1672) the village and its vicinity were severely damaged by warfare, if not looted and burned by the French. On 1 January 2011, Breukelen merged with

Loenen Loenen () is a former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It was in the '' Vechtstreek'' area. On January 1, 2011, Loenen merged with Breukelen and Maarssen to form Stichtse Vecht. Population centres The former munic ...

and

Maarssen Maarssen () is a town in the middle of the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht, along the river Vecht and the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal. The west of Maarssen is called Maarssen-broek, whereas the east is called Maarssen-Dorp. The two localitie ...

to form

Stichtse Vecht Stichtse Vecht is a list of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands and lies in the northwestern part of the Utrecht (province), province of Utrecht. The municipality has about 63,000 inhabitants and covers an area of a ...

. The

borough of

in the United States is named after Breukelen (see

History of Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Nyenrode Business University

The town is well known for the being the location of

Nyenrode Business University Nyenrode Business Universiteit (abbreviated as ''NBU''; ) is a Dutch business university and the only private higher education institution that has the university status in the Netherlands. Founded in 1946, it is located on a large estate in the ...

. Founded in 1946, Nyenrode is a university that offers business and finance-related higher education.

Transportation

Breukelen railway station Breukelen is a railway station located in Breukelen, Netherlands. The station was opened on 18 December 1843 and is on the Amsterdam–Arnhem railway. It is also the northern end of the Harmelen–Breukelen railway. A new station was opened in 20 ...

* Bus services 120, 130, 143, 524 and 526

Villages

The former municipality of Breukelen consisted of the following villages: Breukelen,

Kockengen Kockengen is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Stichtse Vecht, and lies about 11 km northeast of Woerden. The name of the village is a reference to Cockaigne, a medieval fictional land of plenty ...

, and

Nieuwer-Ter-Aa Nieuwer-Ter-Aa (Dutch: Nieuwer Ter Aa) is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht (province). It is a part of the municipality of Stichtse Vecht, and lies about 13 km northwest of Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the ...

Gallery

File:Breukelen, Nijenrode foto5 2007-03-25 09.45.JPG, Breukelen, castle/university Nijenrode File:2007-03-25 10.04 Breukelen, ophaalbrug bij de Vecht.JPG, Breukelen, drawbridge across the Vecht File:2007-04-18 18.33 Breukelen, molen foto2.JPG, Breukelen, windmill

People

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. H ...

(1944–2019), film actor