Beveren
Encyclopedia
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
province
Provinces of Belgium
Belgium is divided into three regions, two of them are subdivided into five provinces each.The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution...
of East Flanders
East Flanders
East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant , of Hainaut and of West Flanders...
. The municipality comprises the towns of Beveren proper, Doel
Doel
Doel is a subdivision of the municipality of Beveren in the Flemish province of Oost-Vlaanderen. It is located near the river the Scheldt, in a polder of the Waasland....
, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele
Melsele
Melsele is a small town in the municipality of Beveren located in the Belgian province of East Flanders.Melsele is sandwiched between the city proper of Beveren and the nearby town of Zwijndrecht. There is a tram line just outside the town connecting it to both Zwijndrecht and the large city of...
, Verrebroek
Verrebroek
Verrebroek is a town and deelgemeente in the municipality of Beveren in East Flanders, Belgium. Verrebroek was its own municipality until January 1, 1977 when it was merged with Beveren as part of the fusion of municipalities in Belgium...
and Vrasene.
The port of the Waasland
Waasland
The Waasland is a region in Flanders, Belgium, although without any administrative functions. It is also called the Land van Waas ; Waas most likely refers to the soggy soil of the region even though the exact etymology is unknown - one possibility is a connection to the English word 'wasteland'...
(Dutch: Waaslandhaven) is located in Beveren, on the left bank of the Schelde, facing the port of Antwerp
Port of Antwerp
The port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. Antwerp stands at the upper end of the tidal estuary of the Scheldt. The estuary is navigable by ships of more than 100,000 Gross Tons as far as 80 km inland. The inland location means that the port...
on the other side of the river.
Roman origins
In RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times, the Beveren area was at the edge of the sea and heavily influenced by the tides. The earliest inhabitants erected primitive dams, which were later reinforced and heightened by the religious communities that sprung up in the region. The invasions of the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
in the 9th century prompted the Counts of Flanders and their local vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s to defend this land even more. Among the local nobility were the lords of Beveren, whose territory was eventually ceded to Louis I of Flanders
Louis I of Flanders
Louis I was Count of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel.-History:He was the son of Louis I, Count of Nevers, and Joan, Countess of Rethel, and grandson of Robert III of Flanders. He succeeded his father as count of Nevers and his grandfather as count of Flanders in 1322...
in 1334. Beveren thus became the oldest political centre of the Waasland
Waasland
The Waasland is a region in Flanders, Belgium, although without any administrative functions. It is also called the Land van Waas ; Waas most likely refers to the soggy soil of the region even though the exact etymology is unknown - one possibility is a connection to the English word 'wasteland'...
region – the northeastern part of the historical County of Flanders – basking for more than two centuries in the glory of Flanders and Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
.
1570 to the present
In 1570, a catastrophic tide flooded the area. For strategic reasons linked to the protection of Antwerp, the local authorities decided to dismantle the remaining dams. Five years later, the rights to the territory were sold. The area closest to the ScheldtScheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
was bought by an Antwerp merchant, and the rest went to the Duke of Aarschot
Aarschot
Aarschot is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Aarschot proper and the towns of Gelrode, Langdorp and Rillaar. On January 1, 2006 Aarschot had a total population of 27,864...
. This state of affairs lasted until the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, when the territory was subdivided into the pre-merger communes. From the 17th century on, the territory had slowly been taken back from the sea, until 1846, when the last parcel of land was dammed up.
Beveren was heavily impacted by the North Sea flood of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm, that occurred on the night of Saturday 31 January 1953 and morning of 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm caused a...
a, which breached the dykes, causing again heavy damage to hundreds of houses. In the 1960s an 1970s, the expansion of the port of Antwerp
Port of Antwerp
The port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. Antwerp stands at the upper end of the tidal estuary of the Scheldt. The estuary is navigable by ships of more than 100,000 Gross Tons as far as 80 km inland. The inland location means that the port...
took place on Kallo’s territory. The village of Doel
Doel
Doel is a subdivision of the municipality of Beveren in the Flemish province of Oost-Vlaanderen. It is located near the river the Scheldt, in a polder of the Waasland....
was reduced from the 900 residents of only 10 years ago to some 250 currently because of the expansion of the port. Vast industrial settlements came in its wake, including a nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
in Doel, which allows Beveren to provide low municipal tax rates for its inhabitants. The opening of the Liefkenshoek car tunnel under the Scheldt in 1991 further improved access to the left bank. Despite all those developments, Beveren has managed to keep its green areas intact and still offers picturesque landscapes to visitors.
Sights
- Two castles remain from the feudal era: the beautifully restored, water surrounded, 15th-century Castle of Cortewalle, and the Castle Hof Ter Saksen (18th century), which evolved from a medieval inn on the road between GhentGhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and Antwerp. During the second part of the 20th century, the castle was abandoned and reduced to ruins within a park. In the last few years, extensive restorations have been performed, and in a few years this castle will be restored to its former glory. - The Haasdonk fort was built just before World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
for Antwerp’s protection. BunkerBunkerA military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s can still be seen nearby. - Beveren has kept several centuries-old houses, manors, chapels and churches.
- The village of Doel houses a 17th-century windmill, one of the oldest in Flanders.
- The polderPolderA polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
s north of Beveren offer a unique landscape, reminiscent of the southern NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. - The Freethiel
Folklore
Like many other cities in Belgium, Beveren has a collection of giant puppets who take part in most of the local festivities. The two oldest ones were baptizedBaptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
in 1954.
Famous inhabitants
- Wilfried Van MoerWilfried Van MoerWilfried van Moer is a former Belgian football player who won the Belgian Golden Shoe three times, first in 1966 while at Antwerp then in 1969 and in 1970 while at Standard Liège....
, footballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player (b. 1945) - Kathleen SmetKathleen SmetKathleen Smet is an athlete from Belgium who competes in triathlon. European Champion in both 2000 and 2002, she has been successful in both Olympic Distance and Long Distance Triathlon....
, triathlonTriathlonA triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
athlete (b. 1970) - Dominique CornuDominique CornuDominique Cornu is a Belgian road and track cyclist from Flanders, currently riding for UCI Professional Continental team . He specializes in the time trial discipline. At the 2006 World Cycling Championship he was crowned U23 Time Trial World Champion...
, roadRoad bicycle racingRoad bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
and track cyclistTrack cyclingTrack cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....
(b. 1985) - Julie GouldJulie GouldJulie Gould is a Welsh swimmer.As a member of the Wales team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, she placed 7th in the 400 m individual medley with a time of 4:51.90, and 8th in the 200 m individual medley with a time of 2:20.61.She is currently studying for her MPhys in Phyiscs at Cardiff...
, BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
swimmer (b. 1989)
External links
- Official website, in DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...