In June 1672, Bredevoort once again fell into enemy hands. This time the attackers were not Spanish troops, but the army of the Prince-Bishop of Münster, Christoph Bernhard von Galen, known in the Netherlands as ‘Bommen Berend’. The capture formed part of the Dutch Disaster Year, when the Republic was attacked simultaneously by France, England, Münster and Cologne. The Münster occupation lasted almost two years, until May 1674.
A fortress in poor condition
On paper, Bredevoort was a strong fortress. The town lay amid wet ground and was surrounded by broad moats, six bastions and two ravelins. In practice, however, maintenance had fallen behind in the years before 1672. Research into the fortifications mentions dammed moats, vegetable gardens on parts of the defences, neglected magazines and rotten gun carriages. Of the roughly twenty cannon present, many were barely usable.
The contrast between the strong natural position and the poor state of maintenance would matter greatly in June 1672. Münster troops had already forced Groenlo to surrender on 9 June. Bredevoort was next. A nineteenth-century military study lists Bredevoort directly after Groenlo among the places taken by the Münster army.
The attack in June 1672
The precise day-by-day chronology is known mainly from later historical accounts. Local historiography generally dates the bombardment to the period from 13 to 18 June and the surrender to 18 June 1672. That dating fits the broader military developments of the week, but a contemporary capitulation document has not yet been checked directly for this revision. We therefore treat 18 June as a well-supported historical reconstruction rather than as a date newly verified from the original act.
Later accounts mention a garrison of about five hundred men and a Münster attacking force of around two thousand. They also describe morale inside the fortress deteriorating quickly. The artillery functioned poorly, there were doubts about supplies, and reports of the enemy’s rapid advance elsewhere in the country increased the uncertainty. Pressure also grew among the civilian population as houses were damaged by bombardment.
The town eventually capitulated without a major assault. According to later tradition, the garrison was allowed to withdraw and Bredevoort was spared plundering. In that respect, this capture differed markedly from some earlier seizures of the fortress.
Bredevoort under Münster occupation
That the Münster authorities regarded Bredevoort as a genuine conquest is also clear from diplomatic agreements made shortly afterwards. On 26 June 1672, representatives of the allies met at Biljoen Castle. Groenlo, Bredevoort, Borculo and other conquests were assigned to Prince-Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen.
The occupation was not only military. Within the lordship, administrative and religious relations also changed temporarily. During the war years 1672–1674, Bredevoort briefly had a separate urban administration of a stadtholder and regents. In the surrounding countryside, Münster rule also temporarily created more room for public Catholic worship.
The bishop wants to keep Bredevoort
When peace negotiations began in 1673 and 1674, the Bishop of Münster tried to turn his conquests into permanent territorial gains. Bredevoort played a notable part in these proposals. Christoph Bernhard claimed the Lordship of Bredevoort, including Aalten, Dinxperlo and Winterswijk, for himself. In some versions he offered to repay the value of the pledge to the Prince of Orange.
The Dutch Republic, however, did not want to cede territory. Under the peace treaty of 22 April 1674, Münster acquired no right to Bredevoort. The occupied places had to be evacuated.
The Münster troops leave
Bredevoort and Groenlo were evacuated by Münster troops on the night of 26 to 27 May 1674. Borculo was also abandoned. F. der Kinderen (1874, p. 254) reports violence by some departing soldiers, citing letters from 26–28 May 1674 and resolutions of the States General. The original correspondence has not yet been examined directly.
Bredevoort thus returned to the authority of the Dutch Republic. The events of 1672 had nevertheless shown that an imposing fortress on paper meant little if maintenance, equipment and supplies were inadequate.
After 1672: strengthening the defences again
In the decades after the Disaster Year, the defences received renewed attention. In 1704, the outer works were improved and particular attention was paid to water management around the town. Between 1727 and 1729, new fronts and counterscarps were constructed near the gates. Gatekeeper regulations from 1726 show how strictly guard duty, access to the town and supervision of the ramparts were still organised. The regulations of 11 June 1759 again specified how the gates were to be opened and closed. Article 8 expressly described the arrangement as provisional while Bredevoort had no garrison.
Even so, Bredevoort’s period as an active garrison town was drawing to a close. Historical accounts identify 1755 as a turning point in Bredevoort’s military role, but the precise meaning of the decision made that year has not yet been established from the original resolution. The fortifications subsequently disappeared gradually, at different times for different parts of the works. The longer history of the defences is described in Fortified Town Bredevoort.