Successful commemoration year in corona time

Money raised

Projects started

Network built

Lasting result

The power of stories

The Brooklyn 375 Memorial Year started on May 21, 2021. Because 375 years earlier, on May 21, 1646, the inhabitants of the village of Nieuw-Breuckelen elected their first two directors. That marked the beginning of the current New York borough of Brooklyn, named after the Dutch Breukelen. A special and unbreakable connection.

Featured story

Kick-off with signature

The start of the commemorative year #Brooklyn375 was the signing of an agreement by Mayor Ap Reinders of Stichtse Vecht (the merged municipality to which Breukelen now belongs) and borough president Eric Adams of Brooklyn.


Due to the COVID measures, the introduction between the two government chiefs had to take place online and the ceremony was by video, with a contribution by Herman Quarles van Ufford, Consul General in New York.


The start of #Brooklyn375 was accessible online and can be seen directly at RTV Stichtse Vecht, among others.


Featured story

Exhibition

Nearly four centuries of relationship between Breukelen and Brooklyn was presented in the exhibition 'Headed for Brooklyn with a Packed Suitcase' at the Regional Historic Center at the Schepersweg in Breukelen.

Featured story

Cycle route

The Brooklyn Bridge Breukelen Foundation has developed a bicycle route along all kinds of places along the Vecht that have Dutch-American interfaces. The 18-kilometre tour takes in 14 destinations. "The stops all have a story with several images," says compiler Juliëtte Jonker-Duynstee. "If you download the app and you come close to a route point, the text will start to flow automatically. The route can be used online for free via app, website and QR code and is provided with an audio tour, background stories and an English translation."


The tour takes the visitor past special places on the Vecht that have ties with America. During the audio tour, hear the stories behind the estates of directors of the West India Company and the origin of exotic trees in the parks on the Vecht. Learn about the post-war help of 'Aunt Marguerite' to Breukelen inhabitants, or how paintings by art dealer Goudstikker from Nyenrode Castle ended up in America. This special Brooklyn375 Cycle Route was financially made possible by the Cultuurfonds Stichtse Vecht.

Share by: