Brezonde

Brezonde (Arabic: مثقب زند Burzand, Barzuna: Barzona) is a town in Cape Cross Parish and the oldest continually inhabited settlement in Brunant. They have one football club competing the the AFC 1st league, Brezonde 1920 F.C.

Early history
In 534 the Byzantines took control of the islands of Brunant from the Vandals after the Battle of Brontium. In 540 they began the foundations of what would become Brezonde. A few houses and farms were built by early settlers. By 760 the St. Nicholas Church was built by the Byzantines. When the Arabs conquered Brunant in the early 800's, they settled Brezonde and turned it from a small community into a town. By the year 900 there were about 5000 residents and Brezond was the largest of eight towns in the region. The Arabs contributed much to the town by way of architecture; both Brezonde Castle and Burzand Mosque are among the finest buildings in Brunant. The disparity in the origins of most of Brunant's Arab population led to the development of a language (together with input from other romance languages) called Barzuna. In 1244 Aragon began a month-long siege of Brezonde Castle which resulted in their conquest of the islands. The Aragonese had control over the area until the late 14th century, when the Venetians came to rule the area.

Independence
When Brunant declared its independence the people of Brezonde were not major supporters of it. During the War of independence Brezondians were known for taking up arms against the pro-independence militias and businessmen like Antonio Abreu even financed armed groups to counter them. Rudolf Boskerck the Younger was sent to subdue the town with 350 soldiers in 1428, but Brezonde quickly surrendered in order to prevent damage to the city.

Tourism
Brezonde, as the oldest inabited settlement in the country, is famous for its touristic sites. Here there are nine buildings that were made before the year 1000; the majority of Brezonde's buildingss were torn down throught the ages and replaced with newer ones. As such, you can find the 1100 year-old Burzand Mosque besides an 18th century Victorian library.

Map

 * *1 - Aragon Straat (Rua Aragon)
 * *2 - Brunantstraat (Rua Brunant)
 * *3 - Venicestraat (Rua Veniza)

Notable Brezondians

 * Philip Henneman, founding father
 * Stefan Malphy, artist
 * Annette Howards, actress
 * Martina Belmont, Miss Brunant
 * Carlinhos, footballer