Brielle

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 grew into a town of prestige in the 14th century. In 1330, Gerard van Voorne, independent Lord of Voorne and Viscount of Zeeland, granted town rights to Brielle. This gave the town governmental and jurisdictional powers and certain trading rights, such as the right to trade fish and collect port taxes. The town was for a long time the seat of the Lords of Voorne, until this fiefdom was added to the County of 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 town 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 de bril. Op April zes verloor Alva zijn fles | On April 1st, Alva lost his glasses On April 6th Alva lost his bottle |} In Dutch, "de bril" is the word for "the glasses," and closely rhymes with Den Briel; as does "Fles" which stands for the town of…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Coot

  Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  36,192
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  28,806
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  28,656
• Common Chiffchaff

  Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  26,941
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  26,570
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  25,856
• Graylag Goose

  Anser anser (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  25,768
• Eurasian Oystercatcher

  Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  25,572

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2008-10-11
  19 km WNW of Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands