| Zealand | |
 | |
Location  | |
Coat of arms and flag   | |
| State | Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Capital | Middelburg |
| Surface | 2,933.89 km² |
| Inhabitants | 381.730 (2011) |
| Tourism site | |
| Institutional website | |
Zealand (Zeeland, literally "Land of the Sea") is one of the three provinces southerners gods Netherlands.
To know
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Not even many centuries ago, Zeeland was an archipelago on the surface of the water constantly at risk of floods. Few islets could count on a natural bulwark consisting of sand dunes.
Due to these morphological characteristics, Zeeland is the province that most of all has suffered repeated and tragic floods. Particularly violent were the floods of November 18, 1421 and February 17, 1953 which caused the collapse of the dams. Numerous villages were engulfed by the waters and the victims were counted in the thousands.
This precarious existence, at the mercy of meteorological factors, is well represented in the regional coat of arms: a rampant lion emerging from the waves. The Latin motto reads "Luctor et Emergo", that is to say "I have to fight to emerge". The coat of arms and the motto also have a symbolic value and refer to the long war that the Dutch provinces had to endure to free themselves from the yoke of the Habsburgs of Spain.
Thanks to w: silt Carried away by the Scheldt, Meuse and Rhine rivers, which are constantly deposited on the shallow waters of the North Sea and increasingly offshore, the soil of Zeeland is extraordinarily fertile. The fertility of the land favored the formation of a conservative peasant society that has maintained peculiar traditions and its own dialect for longer than the other Dutch provinces. Zealander is a mixture of Dutch and Flemish. Even today it is possible to see, in the most secluded villages and on special occasions, elderly people wearing traditional costumes and driving horse-drawn carriages. One of the most popular recurrences is the "ringsteken" or "ringrijde", a tournament in which galloping riders try to hit with their spear a small diameter ring suspended in the air by means of a system of ropes and poles.
Background
The region was colonized by the Romans who a Domburg they maintained a seaport from where merchant ships sailed for the shores of present-day Essex. Domburg could also have been a Roman naval base as it could be inferred from the discovery in 1647 of plaques with the acronym "C G P F" (Classis Germanica Pia Fidelis), unambiguous identifier of the Roman fleet.
Also in Domburg and again in the year 1647 the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to Nehalennia, the tutelary goddess of sailors, were found. The cult of this goddess of probable Celtic origin was widespread throughout the archipelago and other temples dedicated to her were found in Colijnsplaat (Noord-Beveland) and in other locations.
The period of splendor occurred in the 17th century. In particular Middelburg, today's capital of the province, was a prosperous port-canal on the spice route, second in importance only to that of Amsterdam.
The eighteenth century was a period of decline that also continued into the Napoleonic period. The construction in 1872 of the railway line known as "of Zealand", with the port of Flushing, favored the economic awakening in the South Beveland and Walcheren islands. In addition to goods, the railway brought the first foreign tourists in the guise of German nobles who built luxurious villas in Domburg. The other islands were excluded, however, and the transfer of goods and passengers from one to the other was still carried out on old flat-bottomed boats, such as rafts or large barges.
Due to its strategic position, right in front of the Thames estuary, Zeeland was bitterly disputed during the Second World War and suffered repeated bombardments by all the warring forces, from w: Luftwaffe as from the RAF. At the end of the conflict many cities such as Breskens, Schoondijke, Oostburg and Sluische and the same Middelburg they appeared reduced to a pile of rubble.
The post-war reconstruction was interrupted by the flood that hit Zeeland in the night between January 31 and February 1, 1953. Following the disastrous flood, the Delta plan was launched to prevent the recurrence of similar calamities. In the following decades, an astonishing system of dams and barrages was built, considered, as a whole, a masterpiece of engineering and, at the same time, a tourist attraction. The flagship of the Delta plan is the damming of the Eastern Scheldt, (Oosterscheldekering) indicated byAmerican Society of Civil Engineers as the eighth wonder of the modern world.
The Delta plan also provided for the construction of a road network that passes over wharves and barriers such as dams and artificial islands which has removed the province from its traditional isolation. After the completion of the plan, tourism has made great strides in Zeeland. Large companies have created spectacular tourist villages and water parks where tropical beaches are reproduced.
Despite the undoubted successes of the Delta plan, there are not a few who argue that returning land to the sea would be a wiser solution in the long term than waging new battles against the waters. Proponents of this thesis are based on observations of the greenhouse effect and global warming which implies the melting of the polar ice caps and an increase in the level of the oceans.
Suggested readings
Holland by Edmondo de Amicis - An example of travel literature, published in 1876 but still relevant today. Thanks to the flowing style of the author of "Heart" and his attitude of a child with eyes wide open on the world, the book devours itself in one breath. In fact, it is a bestseller and travel log that came out long before these two terms were coined. You can download it with various applications (Kindle, Google Books etc.) at a symbolic price.
Territories and tourist destinations
Zealand: full screen map.Urban centers
- Middelburg - Today's provincial capital was a canal port on the spice route second only to that of Amsterdam in terms of commercial importance.
- Borsele
- Flushing (Vlissingen) - Once the most important port for international trade in the Netherlands although it still has an important naval function. Vlissingen (sometimes called in English Flushing) is also the birthplace of Michiel de Ruyter, the most famous admiral in Dutch history.
- Goes
- Hulst
- Reimerswaal
- Sluis
- Terneuzen - Industrial city, the largest center in Zeland Flanders
- Tholen
- Veere - Pretty little town, Veere it was the seat of an admiralty between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and of the time it retains a large church built by Flemish architects.
- Zierikzee - Historic town on the Gulf of the Eastern Scheldt with a number of well-preserved monuments.
Other destinations
- 1 Domburg - Roman merchant port which during the Belle Époque became an exclusive holiday resort frequented by crowned heads, American magnates and famous painters.
- 2 Oostkapelle - Village famous for its castle and the surrounding beaches.
- 3 Renesse - Seaside resort frequented by young people, especially Germans.
- 4 Zoutelande - Village on the North Sea surrounded by long beaches, very popular in summer.
How to get
How to get around
What see
What to do
- 1 Port Zélande. Center Parcs holiday village with campsites, hotels, swimming pools and large greenhouses reproducing tropical environments.
