Breda << bray DAH >> (pop. 179,623) is a Dutch city about 27 miles (43 kilometers) southeast of Rotterdam. The ancestors of the House of Orange-Nassau, the Dutch royal family, lived in Breda for centuries. The Royal Military Academy is in the city.
Landmarks in Breda include the Grote Kerk, a church completed in the 1550’s; Bouvigne and Breda castles; and Grote Markt, the city’s main square. The Breda area has a number of parks and other natural areas. Breda was once a center of Dutch beverage production. Today, service industries—including trade, health care, and education—employ most workers. Thousands of students study at universities in the city.
Breda became a city in 1252, when it received a municipal charter. Defensive fortifications were built around the city during the 1300’s. Between 1577 and 1637, Breda was the object of many battles between the Dutch and the Spanish. In 1667, the Treaty of Breda brought to an end the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Under this treaty, the Netherlands officially recognized British control of New Netherland, a region in America that included parts of what are now Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. In return, the Dutch gained control of present-day Suriname, in South America.
