Ginneken

Updated April 15, 2024

Ginneken District – Explore Breda

# Ginneken (Breda, Netherlands): a practical, fact-first guide to the district and its key sights

## Quick facts (from your dataset + public sources)
– Place name: Ginneken
– City/municipality: Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands
– Coordinates provided: 51.5686639, 4.7915294 (use as an approximate reference point for the district)
– What it is: a former village that is now a district (stadswijk) of Breda, in the southern part of the city
– Local nickname (dialect): “’t Ginneke”

## Where Ginneken sits in Breda
Ginneken is described as a district in southern Breda, historically a separate village. It lies between IJpelaar and Ruitersbos (as referenced in Dutch-language place descriptions) and is repeatedly linked with two nearby green areas: Markdal (the Mark valley) and the Mastbos forest.

### A note on dates (flagging a mismatch)
Multiple local-history sources state that on 1 January 1942 the municipality Ginneken en Bavel ceased to exist, and the village core of Ginneken was annexed by Breda.
However, one tourism page about Ginnekenmarkt contains a different statement (“since 1948”); treat that as a secondary-source discrepancy and defer to the 1942 documentation above for the annexation date.

## Ginnekenmarkt: the historic square
If you want one “center of gravity” in Ginneken, start at Ginnekenmarkt—a square repeatedly described as a long-standing focal point of the former village. A regional tourism source describes it historically as both a rest stop and marketplace, where travelers and traders would stay, exchange horses, and trade, and points out the presence of historic buildings around the square.

Today, the same source frames Ginnekenmarkt primarily as a place for food and drink in the southern part of Breda.

### The hardstone village pump (rijksmonument)
In the middle of (or directly associated with) Ginnekenmarkt is a protected hardstone pump listed as a rijksmonument (national monument). The register description calls it a “hardstenen pomp uit 1790”, placed on the market square and surrounded by four tall linden trees that strongly shape the atmosphere of the small square.

Because local reporting sometimes debates details like inscriptions versus exact dating, the safest factual phrasing is: the Rijksmonumentenregister description identifies it as a hardstone pump from 1790.

## Sint-Laurentiuskerk (Ginneken): architecture you can verify on-site
One of the most documented landmarks in the district is the Sint-Laurentiuskerk at Ginnekenweg 333, 4835 ND Breda.

What can be stated confidently from multiple sources:
– It is a Roman Catholic church in Ginneken (southern Breda).
– It was designed by Joseph Cuypers and Jan Stuyt and built in 1901–1902.
– It is a rijksmonument with monument number 10146 (as listed by national monument aggregations referencing the official register).

### Another “outdated/mismatched” flag (designation year)
Some sources cite a specific year for when it became a rijksmonument (for example, Wikipedia states “since 1978”), while a parish page mentions a different year. Because these differ, the only fully safe claim is that it has rijksmonument status and is listed under monument number 10146.

## Mastbos and Markdal: the nature edge of Breda
If your goal is to combine neighborhood streets with real green space, the Mastbos is the key named area that repeatedly appears in official tourism descriptions tied to Ginneken.

What’s supported by published sources:
– The Mastbos is described as the “back garden/backyard of Breda” and explicitly said to connect to (or be reachable from) Ginneken.
– It’s described as being established more than 500 years ago by Hendrik III of Nassau.
– A Brabant tourism route page places the Mastbos on the southern edge of Breda, in the Ginneken district, and calls it one of the oldest coniferous forests in the Netherlands.

### Accessibility and family-friendly details you can rely on
Explore Breda’s Mastbos information includes a practical detail: some lanes are suitable for wheelchair users (with the caveat about entrance gate width), and a boardwalk was constructed in the southern part of the forest in connection with the 500th anniversary.
The same Mastbos coverage highlights Playforest de Boeverijen (on Bouvignedreef) as a place where children can climb, build huts, and play with sand and water.

### Markdal + Castle Bouvigne (as part of a documented walk)
A published walking route description for the area states that the route goes along the river Mark in the Mark valley (Markdal) and passes the 15th-century Castle Bouvigne, while also noting the Mastbos’ location in the Ginneken district.

## A simple, source-backed way to structure a visit (no guesswork)
If you want a low-effort plan that stays inside what’s documented:

1. Begin at Ginnekenmarkt to see the square and the rijksmonument pump that the register explicitly describes (including its four linden trees).
2. Add the Sint-Laurentiuskerk (Ginnekenweg 333) if you’re interested in early-20th-century Dutch church architecture by Cuypers/Stuyt and rijksmonument-listed buildings.
3. Transition into nature via the Mastbos, which multiple Breda sources frame as directly connected to Ginneken, and use the published route information if you want a pre-defined walk that includes Markdal and Castle Bouvigne.

## What to double-check on the day (because it changes)
Even in a district with stable landmarks, some details are time-sensitive:
– Event calendars, markets, and festival schedules around squares like Ginnekenmarkt can change year to year. (No fixed recurring schedule is reliably stated across the sources above.)
– Opening times for churches and any “open church” programs are typically published by the relevant congregation and can change; verify via the institution before planning around it.

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### Location metadata (for your CMS fields)
– post_title: Ginneken
– post_name: ginneken
– location: Ginneken
– city: Breda
– coordinates: 51.5686639, 4.7915294 (as provided)
– location_type: Breda, Netherlands

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