Brielle

This article is about the city and municipality in the Netherlands. For the borough in New Jersey, see Brielle, New Jersey. For the song by Sky Sailing, see Brielle (song).
Brill
Brielle
Municipality

Historic city centre

Flag
Coat of arms
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; 4.167Coordinates: 51°54′N 4°10′E / 51.900°N 4.167°E / 51.900; 4.167
Country Netherlands
Province South Holland
Government[1]
 • Body Municipal council
 • Mayor Gregor Rensen (PvdA)
Area[2]
 • Total 31.14 km2 (12.02 sq mi)
 • Land 27.56 km2 (10.64 sq mi)
 • Water 3.58 km2 (1.38 sq mi)
Elevation[3] 2 m (7 ft)
Population (May 2014)[4]
 • Total 16,350
 • Density 593/km2 (1,540/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Briellenaar
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode 3230–3232
Area code 0181
Website www.brielle.nl
Dutch Topographic map of Brielle, June 2015

Brielle ( pronunciation ), also called Den Briel (Brill in English) is a town, municipality 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 municipality covers an area of 31.14 km2 (12.02 sq mi) of which 3.58 km2 (1.38 sq mi) is water. In 2014 its population was 16,350.

The municipality of Brielle also includes the communities Vierpolders and Zwartewaal.

History

Brielle is a very old, fortified town. 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.

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 zijn bril" translating into "On April 1st, Alva lost his glasses",

("bril" is the Dutch word for "glasses" and it closely rhymes with Briel. The same rhyme continues with the line "Op April zes verloor Alva zijn fles" "On April 6th Alva lost his bottle" in which the word "Fles" stands for the town of Vlissingen, which was the next town to be caught 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 four 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, succeed by Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway who named his daughter Brilliana in honour of the city. English garrisons were stationed here and at Flushing.[5] In 1617, these cities returned to the Netherlands.

Twin cities

Brielle is twinned with:

References

  1. ↑ "College van B & W" [Board of mayor and aldermen]. Bestuur, organisatie en beleid (in Dutch). Gemeente Brielle. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten" [Key figures for neighbourhoods]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Postcodetool for 3231AP". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Garrett Mattingly (1959), The Armada, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Ch. V, "Plans of Operations", p. 44.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Brielle.
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