The best city hikes and walks around Liesbos

A monument not to be missed when walking from the station in Breda towards the city centre via Valkenberg Park. At the beginning of Stadspark you will find the Nassau-Baron Monument. The monument tells something about the history of the city of Breda, the Lords of the city from the House of Nassau and the 600-year bond that the city has with the House of Nassau. At the beginning of the 20th century, the monument was unveiled by Queen Wilhelmina. The statue commemorates the inauguration of the first Breda Nassau and his consort as Lord and Lady of Breda. Besides the coats of arms of 20 municipalities around the Barony, the Lion of Nassau is also represented on the monument.

There is also a deer meadow in the park. Always a fun place for young children

The Nassau Monument or Baronym Monument commemorates the arrival of the German Count Engelbrecht from Nassau to the Netherlands. On the three reliefs you can see how he and his wife, eleven-year-old Johanna van Polanen from Breda, were inaugurated as Lord and Lady of Breda. With their marriage, Engelbrecht and Johanna laid the foundation for the House of Orange Nassau, our Dutch Royal House. The monument was festively unveiled in 1905 by Queen Wilhelmina. The coats of arms of twenty municipalities around Breda are placed all around. The Lion of Nassau with royal crown, sword and coat of arms towers on top. The well-known Dr. P.J.H. Cuypers, architect of the Rijksmuseum and Central Station in Amsterdam, among others, designed the monument. Source: https://www.explorebreda.com/nl/locations/nassau-baroniemonument

Events regularly take place on the Castle Square in front of the military academy. History: The Kasteelplein was closely connected to Breda Castle, the former ancestral seat of the Nassaus where the Royal Military Academy is now located. Fights around the castle often took place here. In Alva's time, Castle Square was an execution site. Protestants tried by the Inquisition (the Blood Council) were martyred here and publicly burned.

Where land defenders are trained. History: Breda Castle was once the ancestral seat of the Nassaus, the ancestors of our Royal family. Due to the important international role of the Nassaus, the Castle was an important place in Europe in the 15th to 17th centuries. Long history Breda Castle has a long history. As early as 1198, there was a castle on the site of the current castle. The castle came into the hands of the Nassau in the early 15th century through the marriage of the German Count Engelbrecht of Nassau with Johanna van Polanen from Breda. Over the centuries, the castle has been demolished and built almost continuously. From Renaissance Palace to KMA In the sixteenth century, Count Henry III of Nassau had the castle rigorously converted into a Renaissance palace. For this purpose he brought Thomas Vincidor de Bologna, a student of Raphael, to Breda. With the arrival of the Royal Military Academy in 1826, the castle was again sobered and many of the Renaissance ornaments disappeared. Guided tours Because the Castle is located on military grounds, it can only be visited to a very limited extent. Gilde de Baronie regularly gives guided tours of the grounds. Interested in a tour? Click through to https://www.gildebaronie.nl/kasteelrondleiding-kasteel-van-breda/

The mausoleum of Engelbrecht II of Nassau and his wife Cimburga of Baden is located in the Prinsenkapel of the Church of Our Lady in Breda. The mausoleum, erected after 1530 by Count Henry III of Nassau, consists of a: black marble tomb with the count lying in a natural position on their death bed, the two statues of the deceased, four kneeling figures made of alabaster, cover plate with the count's equipment, also made of black. Belgian marble and alabaster. The crypt contains all of Breda's Nassaus up to William of Orange, including the first Prince of Orange, René de Chalon. William of Orange, who was murdered in Delft in 1584, had also reserved his final resting place in the Grote Kerk, but when he was shot, Breda was in Spanish hands. Willem was buried in Delft and after him almost all Oranje-Nassaus. His first wife, Anna van Buren, and their daughter are buried here in the crypt. Info about burial vault: There was a hollow space under this mausoleum. The floor was broken up in 1937 and a burial vault was (re)discovered. This cellar was known from literature and the will of William of Orange.

The Grote Kerk of Breda is an icon of the city. It is an important national monument and one of the four top monuments in Brabant. Built in the fifteenth century at the initiative of the forefathers of the Dutch Royal House, the church contains impressive sculptures, funerary monuments and vaults and murals.

The Kasteelplein was closely connected to Breda Castle, the former ancestral seat of the Nassaus where the Royal Military Academy is now housed. Fights around the castle often took place here. In Alva's time, Castle Square was an execution site. Protestants tried by the Inquisition (the Blood Council) were martyred here and publicly burned.