Beveren () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

which comprises the towns of Beveren,

Doel Doel is a subdivision of the municipality of Beveren in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. It is located near the river the Scheldt, in a polder of the Waasland. Since 1965, there have been plans to extend the Port of Antwerp into ...

Haasdonk Haasdonk is a village and '' deelgemeente'' (sub-municipality) of Beveren in East Flanders, Belgium. Haasdonk was an independent municipality until 1 January 1977, when it merged with Beveren as part of the fusion of municipalities in Belgium. I ...

Kallo Kallo is a village and ''deelgemeente'' (sub-municipality) of Beveren in East Flanders, Belgium. Kallo was an independent municipality until 1 January 1977, when it merged with Beveren as part of the fusion of municipalities in Belgium. Most of ...

, Kieldrecht,

Melsele Melsele is a town in the Belgian province of East Flanders, between the city of Beveren and the nearby town of Zwijndrecht. Tram route 3 which starts just outside the town connects it to Zwijndrecht and Antwerp. The town's road links include the ...

, Verrebroek and

Vrasene Vrasene is a village in the municipality of Beveren in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It is located about east of Antwerp. History Vrasene is located on a hill which is a remnant of an old dune stretching from Stekene to Zwijndrecht. T ...

. The port of the

Waasland The Waasland is a Belgian region. It is part of the Belgian provinces of East Flanders and Antwerp. The other borders of the Land van Waas are with the Scheldt and Durme rivers. The (informal) capital and major city of the region is Sint-Niklaas ...

(Dutch: ''Waaslandhaven'') is in Beveren, on the left bank of the

Schelde The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

, facing the

port of Antwerp The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...

on the other side of the river.

History

Roman origins

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 built higher by the religious communities that sprang up in the region. The invasions of the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

in the 9th century prompted the

Counts of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...

and their local

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

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 ( – 26 August 1346, ruled 1322–1346) was Count of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel. Life 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 c ...

in 1334. Beveren thus became the oldest political centre of the

region — the northeastern part of the historical County of Flanders — basking for more than two centuries in the glory of Flanders and Burgundy.

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

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

was bought by an Antwerp merchant, and the rest went to the Duke of Aarschot. This state of affairs lasted until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, 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, which breached the dykes, causing again heavy damage to hundreds of houses. In the 1960s and 1970s, the expansion of the

took place on

's territory. The village of

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 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 15th-century Castle of Cortewalle, and the Castle Hof Ter Saksen (18th century), which evolved from a medieval inn on the road between

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

and Antwerp. During the second part of the 20th century, the castle was abandoned and reduced to ruins within a park. *The Haasdonk fort was built just before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

for Antwerp's protection.

Bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

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 polders north of Beveren offer a unique landscape, reminiscent of the southern

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. *The Freethiel

Folklore

Like many other cities in Belgium, Beveren has a collection of giant

puppets A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to mov ...

who take part in most of the local festivities. The two oldest ones were baptized in 1954. At Katoen Natie in Kallo one can watch and listen to the

Organ collection Ghysels The Organ collection Ghysels is a museum collection of mechanical dance and fairground organs. Since 2010 it is exhibited at the Kijk- en Luisterdepot (Watch and Listen Depot) in Kallo in Beveren, Belgium. It was brought together by Jef Ghysels fro ...

, which was allocated to Museum Vleeshuis in Antwerp. The collection is open for the public since 2010 and waits on at transfer until Vleeshuis has been renovated.Kunsterfgoed
De Collectie Ghysels
last visited on 5 November 2018

Climate

Beveren has an oceanic climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfb'') with narrow seasonal differences for its latitude. Summers are warm, but occasionally hot, whereas winters usually remain above freezing.

Famous inhabitants

* Valère Gille *

Wilfried Van Moer Wilfried van Moer (1 March 1945 – 24 August 2021) was a Belgian footballer who won the Belgian Golden Shoe three times, first in 1966 while at Antwerp then in 1969 and in 1970 while at Standard Liège. Prior to 1966 Van Moer played with Bev ...

, football player (b. 1945) * Kathleen Smet,

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

athlete (b. 1970) *

Dominique Cornu Dominique Cornu (born 10 October 1985) is a Belgian retired road and track cyclist from Flanders, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2015. He specialised in the time trial discipline. Career Cornu was born in Beveren. At the 2006 Worl ...

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

and

track cyclist Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

(b. 1985) * Julie Gould,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

swimmer (b. 1989)

References

External links

*
Official website
in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

{{Authority control Municipalities of East Flanders Waasland Populated places in East Flanders