Bree

Bree was one of the good towns of the County of Loon, its privileges setting the walled town apart from the surrounding countryside. Its court of aldermen also served neighbouring communities, applying town law within the walls and comital law beyond them. Loon passed to the prince-bishop of Liège in 1366, and Bree was burned during a revolt against the new ruler in 1376. After the Liège Wars, Bree rebuilt its defences between 1503 and 1510. The walls helped the town withstand an assault by Maarten van Rossum in 1542, though the countryside suffered plunder. During the wars of the seventeenth century, Bree endured sieges, occupation and the burden of quartering troops.