History

Ostend, the largest city on the Flemish Coast, started as a small village built on an island called Testerep. Around 1265, the village gained city status when the inhabitants were allowed to build a hall in which to hold their market.  The major source of income for the inhabitants was, not surprisingly, fishing. In 1395, to secure their settlement, the inhabitants decided to build a new Ostend behind large dikes, further away from the ever-threatening sea.

In 1722, the Dutch closed off the entrance to the harbour of Antwerp and Ostend rose to prominence. In 1838, a railway connection with Brussels was constructed and Ostend became a transit point to England a few years later when the first ferry sailed to Dover. Ostend grew in stature during the reigns of the Belgian Kings Leopold I and Leopold II, who both liked to spend their vacations in the city. Important monuments and villas were built for the Royal Family and the rest of aristocratic Belgium soon followed, leading to Ostend being called "The Queen of the Belgian sea-side resorts".

Similarly, Wenduine, started as a small fishing village, gaining independent parish status in 1180, but for various reasons - and unlike Ostend - the settlement went into decline in the 16th century and only regained prominence in the late 19th century when it became a popular with day trippers from nearby Blankenberge.

Zeebrugge, another important port on the Belgian Coast, is not nearly as old as Ostend. Originally a small fishing village, it was only at the very end of the 19th century that Leopold II decided to develop a harbour there in order to revive the fortunes of nearby Bruges, which had been an important port until the Middle Ages. Today, the port is one of the most modern in Europe, while the fish market is one of the largest in Europe.

Nieuwpoort, as the name implies, is another port, but these days more noted as a yacht marina than a commercial harbour. Nieuwpoort gained city rights in 1163 and was the site of a famous battle between Dutch and Spanish troops in 1600. It has been subjected to 13 sieges throughout its history, but has never once capitulated, not even when the Germans laid siege to it for four years during World War I. Twice during that war, the inhabitants opened the sluice gates on the mouth of the river Ijzer twice in order to flood the low-lying land in an attempt to halt the German advance. Today, the old city centre of Nieuwpoort is located about 3km from the coast, with a new tourist centre having developed along the waterfront.

De Haan is a purpose-built beach resort, which opened for tourism on 22nd July 1888 when the Hotel du Coq was opened. In subsequent years, holiday villas in cottage style with gardens around them were created, which give the resort its 'Belle Epoque' image, with touches of Art Nouveau and Art Deco style. De Panne developed as a beach resort around the same time as De Haan, though it does have a little more history, having been the first piece of Belgian land that Leopold I touched when he returned from exile to create an independent country in 1830. Knokke-Heist, like many of the resorts on the coast, is even more recent, having been established in 1929/30.

more Flanders history»