Bergen op Zoom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bergen op Zoom | |
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| Country | Netherlands |
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| Province | North Brabant |
| Area (2006) | |
| - Total | 93.13 km² (36 sq mi) |
| - Land | 80.76 km² (31.2 sq mi) |
| - Water | 12.38 km² (4.8 sq mi) |
| Population (1 January 2007) | |
| - Total | 65,454 |
| - Density | 810/km² (2,097.9/sq mi) |
| Source: CBS, Statline. | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Bergen op Zoom (pronunciation ) is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands.
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[edit] History
Bergen op Zoom was granted city status probably in 1266. In 1287 the city and its surroundings became a lordship as it was separated from the lordship of Breda. The lordship was elevated to a margraviate in 1559. Several families ruled Bergen op Zoom in succession until 1795, although the title was only nominal since at least the seventeenth century.
During the early modern period, Bergen op Zoom was a very strong fortress and one of the main armories and arsenals of the United Provinces. It had a remarkable natural defensive site, surrounded as it was by marshes and easily-floodable polders. Furthermore, it could receive reinforcements and supplies by sea, if the besieging army did not have a fleet to blockade its port.
Due to these features, the city was one of the strategic points held by the revolted Dutch in the Eighty Years War. It was at that time besieged by Alessandro Farnese first in 1587, and by Ambrosio Spinola a second time in 1622. Both sieges were unsuccessful.
In 1747, during the War of the Austrian Succession, the French army laid siege to it again. At that time, Bergen op Zoom had fortifications built in the beginning of the 17th Century by Menno van Coehoorn, with three forts surrounding the city and a canalized sprout of the Escaut acting as a ditch around its walls. However, it had no second line of fortifications, nor any fortress. After seventy days of siege, the city was taken and thoroughly sacked ; the garrison was slaughtered. Due to this battle, the name of the city can be seen on one of the arches on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
[edit] Population centres
- Bergen op Zoom (population: 65,691, July 2006)
- Heimolen
- Halsteren (11,410)
- Lepelstraat (2,070)
- Kladde
[edit] The city of Bergen op Zoom
The Markiezenhof Palace, built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, houses a cultural centre and a museum with a picturesque courtyard, paintings, period rooms, and temporary exhibitions.
GE Plastics operates a major manufacturing facility at its European headquarters in Bergen op Zoom.
Another major plant/employer in the city is Philip Morris.
[edit] Places to Visit
- City Center (Centrum)
- Gevangenenpoort (or Onze Lieve Vrouwepoort)
- Grote Markt
- Hotel & Residence de Draak
- Kaai (the old harbour)
- Lievevrouwenstraat
- Markiezenhof
- Ravelijn (or de Vest)
- Sint-Gertrudiskerk (or Grote Kerk)
- Synagogue
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
[edit] Culture
Bergen op Zoom has always housed many artists. Some of them are, in chronological order: Jacob Obrecht (1457-1505, composer), Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536, humanist, filosopher, author), Lowijs Porquin (1511-1573, author), Samuel de Swaef (1597-1636, printer, writer), Gerrit Houckgeest (1600-1661, painter), Marcus Zuerius Boxhorn (1612-1653, historian, author), Bernardus Bosch (1746-1803, politician, publisher, author), Lodewijk van Deijssel (1864-1952, critic, novelist), Margo Scharten-Antink (1868-1957, novelist), Willem van Dort (1875-1922, painter), A.M. de Jong (1888-1943, politician, novelist), Anton van Duinkerken (1903-1968, poet, critic), Jan Wessendorp(º1940, painter, designer), Marja Brouwers(º1948, novelist), Bert Bevers (º1954, poet, text writer, graphic artist) and Albert Hagenaars (º1955, painter, poet, novelist).
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
[edit] Further reading
- A Ballad on the Taking of Bergen-Op Zoom. London: M. Cooper, 1747.
- Bot, Marie-Louise, and Gouke J. Bonsel. The Bergen Op Zoom-Quality of Life Survey: A Dutch Contribution to the Collaborative Study of the European Common Core Group. Rotterdam: Dept. of Public Health and Social Medicine/Institute for Medical Technology Assessment, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 1989. ISBN 9072245458
- Edler, Florence. Attendance at the Fairs of Bergen-Op-Zoom 1538-1544. Bergen op Zoom: [s.n.], 1936.
- Smyth, James Carmichael. Plans of the Attacks Upon Antwerp, Bergen-Op-Zoom, Cambray, Peronne, Maubeuge, Landrecy, Marienbourg, Philippeville and Rocroy, By the British and Prussian Armies in the Campaigns of 1814 and of 1815. 1817.
- 1939-1945 The War Dead of the Commonwealth: The Register of the Names of Those Who Fell and Are Buried in Cemeteries in the Netherlands : Bergen Op Zoom Canadian War Cemetery. Maidenhead: Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 1994.
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Detailed Falkplan map covering the whole municipality
- Detailed Citoplan map covering the town
- Citoplan map covering the whole municipality, at a smaller scale
- Art project in the public space of Bergen op Zoom, at Erasmuspc, international network for cities and culture
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