St. Anthony of Padua Cathedral, Breda

The Diocese of Breda (Latin: Dioecesis Bredana) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Breda, the Netherlands.

Breda ( BRAY-də, also UK: BREE-də, US: bray-DAH, Dutch: [breːˈdaː] ) is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from brede Aa ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has 185,072 inhabitants on 13 September 2022 and is part of the Brabantse Stedenrij; it is the ninth largest city/municipality in the country, and the third largest in North Brabant after Eindhoven and Tilburg. It is equidistant between Rotterdam and Antwerp. As a fortified city, it was of strategic military and political significance. Although a direct fiefdom of the Holy Roman Emperor, the city obtained a municipal charter; the acquisition of Breda, through marriage, by the House of Nassau ensured that Breda would be at the centre of political and social life in the Low Countries. Breda had a population of 184,126 in 2021; the metropolitan area had a population of 324,812.

The Grote Kerk or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady) is the most important monument and a landmark of Breda. The church is built in the Brabantine Gothic style. The tower of the church is 97 meters tall. The plan is in the shape of a Latin Cross.

The Stedelijk Museum Breda, formerly the Museum of the Image (MOTI), is a national museum for visual culture in Breda in the Netherlands. The museum focuses on film, design, photography, fashion, visual arts, architecture, science, and gaming. MOTI closed from 1 January 2017 with the intention of reopening the building in spring 2017 as Stedelijk Museum Breda, a merger with Breda's Museum.

The Royal Military Academy (Dutch: Koninklijke Militaire Academie or KMA) is the service academy for the Dutch Army, the Dutch Air Force and the Royal Marechaussee. Located in Breda, Southern Netherlands, the KMA has trained future officers since 1828.

The siege of Breda of 1624–25 occurred during the Eighty Years' War. The siege resulted in Breda, a Dutch fortified city, falling into the control of the Army of Flanders. Following the orders of Ambrogio Spinola, Philip IV's army laid siege to Breda in August 1624. The siege was contrary to the wishes of Philip IV's government because of the already excessive burdens of the concurrent Eighty and Thirty Years' wars. The strategically located city was heavily fortified and strongly defended by a large and well prepared garrison of 7,000 men, that the Dutch were confident would hold out long enough to wear down besiegers while awaiting a relief force to disrupt the siege. Yet despite the Spanish government's opposition to major sieges in the Low Countries and the obstacles confronting any attack on such a strongly fortified and defended city, Spinola launched his Breda campaign, rapidly blocking the city's defences and driving off a Dutch relief army under the leadership of Maurice of Nassau that had attempted to cut off the Spanish army's access to supplies. In February 1625, a second relief force, consisting of 7,000 English troops under the leadership of Horace Vere and Ernst von Mansfeld, was also driven off by Spinola. After a costly nine-month siege, Justin of Nassau surrendered Breda on 2 June 1625. Only 3,500 Dutchmen and fewer than 600 Englishmen had survived the siege.The siege of Breda is considered Spinola's greatest success and one of Spain's last major victories in the Eighty Years' War. The siege was part of a plan to isolate the Republic from its hinterland, and co-ordinated with Olivare's naval war spearheaded by the Dunkirkers, to economically choke the Dutch Republic. Although political infighting hindered Spinola's freedom of movement, Spain's efforts in the Netherlands continued thereafter. The siege of 1624 captured the attention of European princes and, along with other battles, played a part in the Spanish army regaining the formidable reputation it had held throughout the previous century. In the latter stages of the combined Eighty and Thirty Years' wars that had greatly strained Spanish resources, Breda was lost to the Dutch under Frederick Henry after a four-month siege. In the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia that ended the Thirty and Eighty Years' wars, it was ceded to the Dutch Republic.

The siege of Breda took place from 21 to 27 February 1793 in the course of the Flanders Campaign during the War of the First Coalition .

The siege of Breda took place from 19 to 22 December 1813 and was a small yet important engagement between French and allied troops in the Liberation Wars. Breda was abandoned by its garrison early in December and occupied by a Russian force. With Breda being the strategic link between the French garrisons of Gorinchem and Antwerp, and to hold control over the main road between Breda and Antwerp, the French began a counterattack. Meanwhile, Allied reinforcements were underway. After a scramble for the town and a three-day siege, the French withdrew back to Antwerp, and Breda became a distribution point for Allied troops and supplies.

Breda railway station is a railway station in Breda in North Brabant, Netherlands. It is situated on the Breda–Rotterdam railway, the Roosendaal–Breda railway and the Breda–Eindhoven railway.

The Aa of Weerijs (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌaː ʔɔf ˈʋeːrɛis]) is a river in Belgium and Netherlands, where it arises from the confluence of the Great Aa (in Wuustwezel) and the Small Aa (in Brecht). In Breda (which means the broad Aa) it is the river in the canals of this city. The name Broad Aa is a reference to its confluence with the Upper Mark. The conjoined rivers continue flowing as the Mark. The width of the Aa of Weerijs varies from 5 meters to the border with Belgium up to 15 meters in Breda. The valley is about 3 kilometers wide.

The Koepelgevangenis is a former prison in Breda, Netherlands, constructed in 1886, best known as the prison where convicted World War II collaborators and Nazi war criminals were housed.

NAC Stadion was a multi-use stadium in Breda, Netherlands. It was used mostly for football matches and hosted the home matches of NAC Breda. The stadium was able to hold 20,000 people and opened in 1940. The stadium's capacity was gradually reduced to 10,850 in the nineties, due to security reasons. The stadium was closed in 1996 when the Rat Verlegh Stadion opened.