Breda
[key], city, North Brabant prov., S Netherlands, at the confluence of the
Mark and Aa rivers. It is an industrial and transportation center.
Manufactures include machinery, textiles, and canned foods. Breda was
founded by the 11th cent. The city was successfully besieged
(1624–25) by the Spaniards under Ambrogio Spinola; the surrender of its heroic
garrison is the subject of a famous painting by Velázquez. Points of interest
in the city include a 13th-century Gothic church (Groote Kerk) and a castle
(now a military academy).
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