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Spinola cycle route in South Breda

Resistance and defence: experience the Siege of Breda through the eyes of the Breda natives and the Spanish with this cycle route of 24 kilometres.

( 2 hour) 24 km

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This unique 24-kilometre-long cycle route takes you from the rich centre of Breda through the green, varied valley of the Mark river and the Mastbos (woods) and back again. While cycling, you discover what it was like to live in front of and behind the defensive lines during the Siege of Breda. You follow in the footsteps of Spanish military troops and the army camps where they stayed. And you learn how the Breda natives resisted the Spanish with smart resistance actions. You pass by the dynamic Valkenberg Park, and cycle out of the populated area via Ginnekenweg and the Ginnekenmarkt. The built-up, urban area gradually changes into a peaceful, green area, into places where you now see squirrels and rabbits, yet where it was not so quiet and peaceful more than four hundred years ago.

Two different routes take you o…

Two different routes take you on a cycling tour in a northern or southern direction through the eventful history of Breda. You travel through the amazing historic city and cycle through the green surroundings. You learn about army camps, defensive works and resistance actions, some of which later formed the basis for the Zuiderwaterlinie (Southern Water Defence Line). Some traces are still present in the landscape here and there.

In Breda you will encounter lances in various colours. The blue lances mark contra-vallation – the part of the defensive line around Breda with which the Spanish intended to prevent the Breda natives from escaping the city. The cognac-coloured lances represent circum-vallation – the part of the line that was to keep State soldiers out of the city. The lances of the former army camps are red.

The Spanish army commander Spinola left an indelible impression behind
A country involved in a battle for independence. More than four hundred years ago, that was the case here in the Netherlands. The ‘States’ fought the Spanish for that purpose. And the Spanish fought back under the leadership of Ambrogio Spinola. They occupied various cities, but the most famous perhaps is Breda. This city was important because of its strategic location. It was a major asset for the Spanish with its city walls, canals and fortifications. Furthermore, this was the city of the Nassaus, the same family as William of Orange (the leader of the resistance). Occupying Breda therefore also felt like a moral victory.

In 1624 and 1625 the city was cut off from the outside world completely by two heavily guarded defensive lines for eleven long months. Various army camps were based around those lines, at location such as Gageldonk Castle and Ginnekenmarkt. The States attempted to break the defence from the outside. They raided transport wagons that were to provide the army camps with supplies, and they planned focused attacks on army units and defensive lines. Breda natives carried out resistance actions from the inside. A smart saboteur pretended to be someone who could repair the roof of the church near Ginnekenmarkt – a food storage facility for the Spanish – and set the church on fire.
The resistance actions were to no avail. After eleven months there was so little food in the occupied city that the Breda natives were forced to surrender. The climax, where Breda’s military governor Justinus of Nassau hands over the key to the city to the Spanish warlord Ambrogio Spinola, has been immortalised in the famous painting ‘The Surrender of Breda’ (‘La rendición de Breda’) by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez.

And the rest is history. Well, not all of it. Because a part of the mostly temporary Spanish defensive works served as a basis for the western part of the Zuiderwaterlinie some 75 years later. Thus Spinola became an inseparable component of Dutch fortress history – something that he himself certainly had not foreseen.

The Zuiderwaterlinie
The Zuiderwaterlinie is the oldest, longest and most used of all of the Dutch water defence lines. It runs from Bergen op Zoom all the way to Grave and is a unique chain of 11 Brabant fortified cities, linked through the typical Dutch use of water as a defence. Part of the Zuiderwaterlinie is built on older, existent defensive works that were used during the Siege of Breda. This caused the mostly temporary defensive works of the Spanish army commander Spinola to become permanent parts of Dutch fortified history. Check here for an overview of all cycle and hiking routes and to read more about the Zuiderwaterlinie.

Signposting

Simply follow the signs and cycle along the route from one numbered junction to the next.

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Sights on this route

Starting point:

Waypoint bike 35
Breda
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BAAI Breda

There is a beautiful terrace alongside the water at the location where the Mark river enters Breda. BAAI is the place to enjoy delicious wines and many various Breda beers. But what is most striking is how you immediately experience that wonderful holiday feeling here.

Kasteel van Breda

Breda Castle was once the ancestral home of the Nassaus, the ancestors of our royal family. Because of the important international role of the Nassaus, the Castle was an important place in Europe during the 15th to 17th centuries.

Golden Lance | Site of the Key Handover

Anyone who has ever visited the Prado Museum in Madrid may have seen the painting in real life: The Surrender of Breda (La rendición de Breda) by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez.

Van Coothplein

During the siege, there were three access gates, including one at this point.

Former River Dune Ginnekenweg/Rustlandstraat

Around the inn that stood here—‘Den Doorntuyn’—they built a high sand embankment.

Ginnekenmarkt

These days, the Ginneken Market is mainly a lively spot for food and drinks in the southern part of Breda.

Bouvigne Castle

Since 1973, the Brabantse Delta Water Authority has been the proud owner of this country estate on the southern side of Breda.

De Kogelvanger

Restaurant and bicycle café De Kogelvanger is the ideal base for exploring Breda’s luscious green environment.

Mastbos

The Mastbos was built more than 500 years ago by Hendrik III van Nassau. It is a mixed forest where beech avenues, vast heaths, dark coniferous and beautiful fens alternate.

Wooden Bridge over the Aa of Weerijs

Exactly at this point, over four hundred years ago, such a guard post was located.

Location of the Former Redoubt along the Southern Ring Road

Here, at this point, was the Biebrug. This is where the ring road and the land road from Antwerp intersected.

End point:

Waypoint bike 35
Breda
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Spinola cycle route in South Breda

Signposting

Signposting

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