Buren, Buurmalsen, Beusichem

On 24 December 1548, Maximilian van Egmont, count of Buren, died. His only daughter with Françoise de Lannoy, Anna van Egmont, only 15 years old at the time, inherited his noble titles and all his possessions. It made the young woman countess of Buren and, with all her wealth, one of the most desirable marriage partners. On his deathbed, Maximilian arranged his daughter's marriage to William of Nassau, prince of Orange. Such an arranged marriage was common among the high nobility and offered considerable benefits to both families. William became count of Buren and Anna princess of Orange, which significantly increased their wealth. Their future children would become heirs to all their wealth and titles.

On 8 July 1551, the marriage between the two young people, both 18 years old at the time, was performed by the archbishop of Cologne, in St Lambert's church in Buren. The wedding party took place at Castle House Buren, where Anna grew up. The feast was a coming and going of European nobles. Despite the marriage being arranged by the families, the two did become fond of each other, according to correspondence between the two, which was later recovered.

The young couple settled in Breda and had three children. Eldest daughter Maria, born in 1553 died when she was just a year old. Son Philip Willem was born in 1554 and second daughter Maria in 1556, named after her deceased sister. William, who was Charles V's army commander, was often travelling. Anna rarely accompanied him there. She usually stayed behind with her children in Breda and the two wrote letters to each other whenever possible. In early 1558, Anna would go with William to Dillenburg, where William's cradle had stood. But Anna fell ill and died on 24 March 1558, aged 25.

Anna was buried in Breda's Grote Kerk, and the county of Buren was inherited by her son Philip Willem. William would marry three more times after this marriage, before he was assassinated by France's Balthasar Gerards in Delft on 10 July 1584. Son Philip Willem was kidnapped in 1568, while studying in Leuven, and imprisoned in Spain. He would stay there for 30 years and never see his father again. During that period, daughter Maria took over his duties in the county of Buren, where she settled with her husband and set up an orphanage.

This route takes you past all the places that fell under the county of Buren when it was at its largest: Buren, Asch, Erichem, Beusichem, Zoelmond, Buurmalsen and Tricht. This was not the only county owned by the van Egmont family, but it was the county where young Anna was raised. Around 1795, during French rule, counties were abolished. Funnily enough, the title count of Buren was retained, although it has a purely symbolic value. Despite no longer having any administrative or legal power over the former county, the royal family proudly uses the titles count and countess of Buren.

Old map: Gelderland Archive
Portrait Anna van Egmont: ©Koninklijke Verzamelingen, The Hague. Attributed to Gheeraerts, Marcus after Moro, Antonio

This Premium cycle route was compiled by our editor: Désirée van Uffelen.