Bree, Kessenich and Lark

Visit the city that is also called "the pearl of the Kempen": Bree. The town obtained city rights in the thirteenth century and had been one of the Good Cities since 1366. That title was given to cities in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, which were the most distinguished. The city had to be walled for this and in the fourteenth century Bree was protected not only by a wall, but also by a seven-meter-wide moat. The defensive towers on the edge of the city are a reminder of Bree's medieval past.

The picturesque town has been threatened a number of times: in 1367 the then Prince Bishop of Liège set Bree on fire, Bree suffered greatly from the Gelderland Wars in the sixteenth century and in 1572 the troops of William of Orange threatened it on their way to Roermond. place too. Furthermore, Bree managed to repel the Spaniards, but also the Croats. It was only in the second half of the eighteenth century that things became calmer, although the Bokkenrijders went on a rampage in the countryside. Fifteen of the alleged gang members were eventually hanged in Bree, two were strangled.