Bronkhorst is a city in the municipality of Bronckhorst, Gelderland, the Netherlands and, with only 157 inhabitants (2010), one of the smallest cities in the Netherlands (after Staverden, Eembrugge and Sint Anna ter Muiden).

Early history

The early history of Bronkhorst is, as is common for Dutch towns, largely unknown. It is possible that in the 7th century farmers settled on and around the hill on which a castle would be built later. The hill formed a refuge amidst the low-lying, fertile clay in the area, which is close to the river

IJssel The IJssel (; ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediatel ...

Lords of Bronkhorst

Bronkhorst used to be a lordship. The earliest known lord of Bronkhorst was Gijsbert of Bronkhorst (1140), son of Adam of Bronkhorst, first mentioned in 1127. He and some of his descendants played an important role in the politics of the time. The last Bronkhorst, Joost, died in 1553, after which the domain fell to the widow of Georg of Limburg.

Castle

In the Middle Ages, a castle was erected on the aforementioned hill. It is first mentioned in a 14th-century document. It consisted of a

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

and associated buildings and was surrounded by a thick wall and a wide moat. It was sieged several times, most notably in 1582, when after nine months Dutch troops captured the castle, which was occupied by the Spanish during the

Eighty Years' War 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 Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

. The castle changed hands many times, until its last owner, a merchant, had it demolished in 1828.

Town

In a document dated 13 March 1482, Gijsbert VII granted

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 tradition ...

to the inhabitants of the village Bronkhorst, which was right next to the castle. Concretely this meant, among other things, that they were given limited self-government and were allowed to administer the law to some extent.

Culture

Bronkhorst is known for its picturesque buildings, and housed a museum dedicated to

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

which also contained items purchased from the former Dickens museum at Eastgate House in

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about east-southeast of London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, ...

Gallery

Image:Bronkhorst Windmill.JPG, The Bronkhorst Windmill Image:De Bronkhorster Molen.JPG, Windmill information board (in Dutch) Image:Bronkhorst 1.JPG Image:Bronkhorst 2.JPG Image:Bronkhorst 3.JPG Image:Bronkhorst 4.JPG, Onderstraat 8

References

External links

See

Sources Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

. {{Authority control Populated places in Gelderland Bronckhorst