Bree, a brimming little town in the north-east of Limburg
HISTORY
The history of Bree begins in obscurity. Virtually nothing is known about this town until 1078. The only exception is one find from the Roman period. During excavation work for the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal, which crosses the town from south to north, apparently a Roman statue of Jupiter was found. The statue is now kept and exhibited in the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels. However, the exact place where if was found is still a subject of discussion. The name Bree first appears in the archives in 1078, when the countess Ermengardis left her freehold estate to the St. Bartholomew chapter in Liège. Bree was incorporated into the county of Loon expanded into a strategic town with reinforced ramparts and city gates. Ruins and traces of these can still be seen at the entrances to the town centre or on the small ring road around Bree. In 1366, the county of Loon was conquered by the prince bishop of Liège. Bree became one of the “good” towns of the prince bishop and remained so until the French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century. After Belgian independence, Bree retained its regional importance. Bree is the principal town of the district, it has the justice of the peace court and is a municipal centre with, for example, ministerial offices, almost all types of education at primary and secondary levels, a hospital, various types of senior citizens’ homes, shops representing virtually all the major chains in the food sector, shoe shops, etc.. It’s importance is also reflected by the employment it provides; companies in Bree provide more jobs than the share of the work force in the population in Bree.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
In the late Middle Ages and Early Modern period the industrial activities of Bree were confined to ceramics, brewing as pipe manufacturing. The first large companies were founded in the 19th century, with pottery again remaining an important industry, Bree’s pipes were smoked all over the world, as were cigars from Bree. The tile factory was one of the largest of its time and remained operational until well into the twentieth century. In the twentieth century, the distribution sector also grew an importance. Industry is currently concentrated in four major industrial estates: Peerderbaan, Vostert, Kanaal-Noord and Kanaal-Zuid. The tent makers, the canning factory and the metal processing industry - from trailers to aircraft tankers and industrial buildings- are famous the world over.
Over 500 traders offer a very wide range of goods to shoppers. Most of the large chains have a store in Bree, which has not meant the disappearance of the corner shop - on the contrary. Bree has even recently acquired the smallest traditional coffee-roasting house in Belgium - a shop well worth to visit just for its interior. The weekly Friday market and the annual Santaclaus Market, always held on 5 December, are the two largest trade attractions, together with the bargain evening and the fair at the beginning of July.
MONUMENTS
Bree has several buildings of historical value; St Michael’s church dating from 1452 and 1901, the Old Town Hall of 1754, the former Augustine monastery from 1657 and the baroque chapel of this monastery dating from 1714, the seventeenth- century Michael house and numerous 19th century buildings in the old style give the town a remarkable old appearance. The remains of the old city walls have already been mentioned. The four city gates and two defence towers are marked on the street plan. Two other defences towers