Zuid-Beveland
Encyclopedia
Zuid-Beveland is a part of the province of Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...

 in the Netherlands
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...

 north of the Westerschelde and south of the Oosterschelde
Oosterschelde
The Oosterschelde is an estuary in Zeeland, Netherlands, between Schouwen-Duiveland and Tholen on the north and Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland on the south.During the Roman Era it was the major mouth of the Scheldt River. Before the St...

. It is a former island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

, now peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

, crossed by the Canal through Zuid-Beveland
Canal through Zuid-Beveland
The Canal through Zuid-Beveland in the Netherlands is the western of the two canals crossing Zuid-Beveland. It connects the Westerschelde and the Oosterschelde....

 on the west and the Scheldt-Rhine Canal
Scheldt-Rhine Canal
The Scheldt-Rhine Canal in Belgium and the Netherlands connects Antwerp with the Volkerak, and thereby the Scheldt with the Rhine...

 on the east.

It consists of four municipalities:
  • Borsele
    Borsele
    Borsele is a municipality in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland.The name of the municipality is spelled with a single s; the name of the eponymous village is Borssele, spelled with double s....

  • Goes
    Goes
    Goes is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands in Zuid-Beveland, in the province Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents.-History of Goes:...

  • Kapelle
    Kapelle
    Kapelle is a municipality and a town in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland.-Transport:Railway station: Kapelle-Biezelinge.-Famous people:*Annie M.G. Schmidt - famous writer was born in Kapelle...

  • Reimerswaal
    Reimerswaal (municipality)
    Reimerswall is a municipality in the province of Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland, named after the lost city. The municipality had 20,966 inhabitants in 2004, and has a surface area of 243.70 km² . The central town Yerseke is known for trade in mussels and oysters...



It is a former island which was joined (together with Walcheren
Walcheren
thumb|right|250px|Campveer Tower in Veere, built in 1500Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus...

) to the mainland by a railway embankment
Embankment (transportation)
To keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...

 in 1903. North Beveland was joined to South Beveland by the Delta Works
Delta Works
The Delta Works is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta from the sea. The works consist of dams, sluices, locks, dikes, levees, and storm surge barriers...

. A shipping canal connecting the Belgian port of Antwerp with the Rhine River traverses South Beveland.

Agriculture and livestock breeding are the economic mainstays. Dairy production and the cultivation of sugar beets are the principal activities on North Beveland, which also has factories for sugar extraction. South Beveland specializes in the growing of wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, and fruits and is also known for its fisheries and oyster culture.
Every ascension weekend Ovezande
Ovezande
Ovezande is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Borsele, and lies about 16 km east of Middelburg.Ovezande was a separate municipality until 1970, when it was merged with Borsele....

 is the cultural center of Zuid-Beveland. Vereniging de Klomp organizes Klomppop and Straatsfestival. Bløf
Bløf
BLØF is an award-winning four-piece Dutch rock band from Vlissingen, Zeeland, the Netherlands, which has become popular regionally and internationally for its music, its frequent collaborations with bands from other parts of the world, willingness to incorporate other genres into their "sound", and...

 and Racoon were seen here in their early years. Surrender and Du Driefstang are bands from Zuid-Beveland and perform in local Zuid-Bevelands dialect.

Wissenkerke
Wissenkerke
Wissenkerke is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Noord-Beveland, and lies about 20 km northeast of Middelburg.Wissenkerke was a separate municipality until 1995....

, whose name derives from a beautiful 17th-century church, is the chief town of North Beveland; Goes
Goes
Goes is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands in Zuid-Beveland, in the province Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents.-History of Goes:...

, which has a 15th-century Gothic church, is South Beveland's principal urban center. Heavy fighting occurred in both areas during World War II, notably during the Battle of the Scheldt
Battle of the Scheldt
The Battle of the Scheldt was a series of military operations of the Canadian 1st Army, led by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds. The battle took place in northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands during World War II from 2 October-8 November 1944...

.
South Beveland is also home to Europe's largest greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...

, located near Kapelle
Kapelle
Kapelle is a municipality and a town in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland.-Transport:Railway station: Kapelle-Biezelinge.-Famous people:*Annie M.G. Schmidt - famous writer was born in Kapelle...

.

Third and fourth centuries

This was the period during which most of Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...

 appears to have been submerged. The area was and for several centuries would remain almost unpeopled.

Middle Ages

During the eleventh century the area began to be drained, as little by little polder
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...

s and channels were developed to protect the fields between them. Once drained, salt levels began to reduce and the soil became very fertile. Agriculture developed and prosperity grew.

In the thirteenth century villages and towns began to appear. People lived chiefly from farming and fishing. The commercial centre of Zuid-Beveland was Goes
Goes
Goes is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands in Zuid-Beveland, in the province Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents.-History of Goes:...

, but Reimerswaal
Reimerswaal (city)
Reimerswaal is a lost city in the Netherlands.The present-day municipality of Reimerswaal is named after this city, which was granted city rights in 1374. The city was destroyed by repeated floods, and the last citizens left in 1632. Nothing remains...

 to the east, which later would be destroyed by floods also played an important role at this time.

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

As a result of the St. Felix Day's floods
St. Felix's Flood
The St. Felix's Flood happened on Saturday 5 November 1530, the name day of St. Felix. This day was later known as Evil Saturday . Large parts of Flanders and Zeeland were washed away, including the Verdronken Land van Reimerswaal. According to Audrey M...

 in November 1530, much of the island disappeared under water. Towns and villages were lost to what became known as the drowned land of Zuid-Beveland (Pays inondé de Zuid-Beveland / Verdronken Land van Zuid-Beveland). The island was again badly impacted forty years later in November 1570 by the “All Saints’ Day floods (Allerheiligenvloed / Inondations de la Toussaint ).

Between 1568 and 1648, during the course of what by its weary end had become the War of Dutch Independence, the surviving lands of Zuid-Beveland were frequently in the military theatre of operations.

The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

During most of this period the economy of the Netherlands slowed or contracted, with the exception of the agricultural sector. However, the region benefitted from advances in transportation, connected in 1868 to Roosendaal by railroad with the inauguration of the Zeeland Line (la Zeeuwse Lijn : la « Ligne zélandaise »). In 1850 work began on the Zuid-Beveland Canal
Canal through Zuid-Beveland
The Canal through Zuid-Beveland in the Netherlands is the western of the two canals crossing Zuid-Beveland. It connects the Westerschelde and the Oosterschelde....

 which linked the Western Scheldt
Western Scheldt
The Western Scheldt in the province Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the Westerschelde as its only direct way to the sea. It is an important shipping route...

 and the Eastern Scheldt
Oosterschelde
The Oosterschelde is an estuary in Zeeland, Netherlands, between Schouwen-Duiveland and Tholen on the north and Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland on the south.During the Roman Era it was the major mouth of the Scheldt River. Before the St...

 across a narrow neck of land in the east of the province.

The construction in 1871 of the Sloedam, topped off with a roadway and a railway track, across the old Sloe Channel, connected Zuid-Beveland with Walcheren
Walcheren
thumb|right|250px|Campveer Tower in Veere, built in 1500Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus...

.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK