Located in North Brabant near the Belgian border, at the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa, Breda was a strategic fortified settlement with a long and eventful history. Today, it is a major industrial centre (engineering, synthetic fibres, food industry, e.g. Mentos, Kwatta chocolate, beer) and a tourist attraction with its beautiful historical centre, which is surrounded by canals (singels). Its heart is the main square (Grote Markt), dominated by the 13tth-Century Gothic Church of Our Lady (Grote Kerk) with its 16th-Century 97-metre tower, remarkable carved choir-stalls and several interesting frescoes. The 18th-Century Town Hall (which contains a replica of Velazquez’s famous painting “The Surrender of Breda”, the original being in Madrid) and the Meat Hall complete the architectural complex of the Grote Markt. Other interesting buildings include Breda Castle, once the home of the Counts of Orange-Nassau, now housing the Dutch Royal Military Academy, the Beguinage and the museum dedicated to General Maczek and the Polish 1st Armoured Division, who defeated the Germans and liberated the town during World War II.