400 years since the Siege of Breda

In the summer of 1624, Breda became the stage for a significant episode in the Eighty Years' War. After an nine-month siege led by Spanish commander Ambrogio Spinola, the city surrendered on June 2, 1625. Four centuries later, the museum commemorates this historic event with a special mini-exhibition, presented within the permanent exhibition The Nassaus of Breda.

The spectacle in Breda

After twelve years of truce, the Eighty Years' War flares up again. While Prince Maurice is fighting elsewhere with his army, Spanish commander Ambrogio Spinola seizes the opportunity. In the summer of 1624, his troops advance on Breda. They surround the city with miles of fortifications: no one can enter or leave. Breda holds out for nine months, but on June 2, 1625, Justinus of Nassau hands over the keys to the city gates to Ambrogio Spinola.

The recapture of Breda is a major military victory for the Spanish. Spanish court painter Diego Velázquez captures the symbolic moment in a large painting that is displayed in the palace of King Philip IV in Madrid. It later becomes one of the masterpieces of the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid. In 1903, Kees Maks spent eight months creating the copy now on display at the Stedelijk Museum Breda.

Rapier from Poland

The centerpiece of the mini-exhibition is a rapier from Poland, featuring portraits of Frederick Henry of Orange and the Polish Crown Prince Władysław IV Vasa. Władysław was present at the Siege of Breda as a guest of Spinola. When Frederick Henry later returns to recapture Breda, Władysław sends a nobleman from his entourage to learn from the siege, just as he himself had done. Although Breda initially divided the two, the city later united them. This is reflected in the rapier: on one hand, the portraits face each other, yet on the other, they adorn the same weapon.