The Braakman was a large tidal inlet in the middle of the Dutch

Netherlands

The 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...

 region of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen

Zeeuws-Vlaanderen

Zeelandic Flanders is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates the region from the remainder of Zeeland to the north...

, on the south bank of the Westerschelde west of Terneuzen

Terneuzen

Terneuzen is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With over 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland.-Population centres :...

.

It was created by a succession of storm surges in the 14th and 15th centuries, including the St. Elizabeth's flood (1404)

St. Elizabeth's flood (1404)

The St. Elizabeth's flood of 1404 occurred on or around November 19, 1404, the namesake day of St. Elizabeth. The floods were especially catastrophic in Flanders, Zeeland and Holland.The area in Zeeland and Flanders had been flooded 29 years earlier, on October 8, 1375. As a result of the floods,...

 and the St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)

St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)

The St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421 was a flooding of an area in what is now the Netherlands. It takes its name from the feast day of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary which was formerly November 19....

 For a long time the Braakman was a natural barrier between east and west Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, and also access to the ports of Boekhoute, Philippine

Philippine (Netherlands)

Philippine is a town in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Terneuzen, and lies about 23 km southeast of Vlissingen. It is located close to the border with Belgium, 5 km southwest of the city of Terneuzen. It received city rights in 1506.Philippine has...

, Axel

Axel (Netherlands)

Axel is a town in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Terneuzen, and lies about 31 km southeast of Vlissingen. It received city rights in 1213.In 2001, the town of Axel had 7421 inhabitants...

 and Sas van Gent. Over the centuries it steadily spread

Waterwolf

The word waterwolf is a Dutch word for the tendency of lakes in low-lying peaty land to enlarge by flooding and eroding their shores, aided sometimes by men digging peat for fuel. See Haarlemmermeer and Braakman....

, drowning at least 15 villages between 1200 and 1601. Then, people fought back. Successive empolderings

Polder

A 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...

 shrank the Braakman to a remnant, which was finally closed off from the sea in 1952. During 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...

, this dam proved its worth: it resisted the flood and prevented flooding in the hinterland

Hinterland

The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...

.

The remaining body of water

Body of water

A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water, usually covering the Earth or another planet. The term body of water most often refers to large accumulations of water, such as oceans, seas, and lakes, but it may also include smaller pools of water such as ponds, puddles or...

 is used for recreation, and part of its seaward end was made into the Braakmanhaven port area.