Baalhoek is a hamlet in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

province of

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

.''VUGA's Alfabetische Plaatsnamengids van Nederland'' (13th edition), VUGA, 1997. It is located in the municipality of

Hulst Hulst () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and city in southwestern Netherlands in the east of Zeelandic Flanders. History Hulst received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in the 12th century. Hulst Siege of Hulst ...

, about 5 km east of Kloosterzande on the dyke of the

Westerschelde The Western Scheldt ( ), in the province of Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are now disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the Westerschelde as ...

.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. The name of the hamlet refers to an old pier to the north, "Ten Ballen", used by a ferry. When the village of

Hontenisse Hontenisse (population in 2002: 8,014) is a former municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the municipality of Hulst in the province of Zeeland. The municipality covered an area of 115.78 km² (of which 3.53 km² water). On January 1, 20 ...

disappeared in a flood in 1509, this pier and some of the remaining dykes formed a corner ("hoek"), named "Ballenhouck". The pier disappeared into the Westerschelde around 1600, but the name remained.Municipality of

, ''Gemeentelijk voorlichtingsblad'' 5 nr. 3, June 2007. http://www.gemhulst.nl/mdcms/showdetails.php?contentid=982 According to the 19th-century historian A.J. van der Aa, Baalhoek (or "Balhoek") was the only settlement in the Kruispolder, a

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...

that was reclaimed from the sea in 1616. In the middle of the 19th century, it consisted of 19 houses, and had a population of more than 70. All of the houses of the hamlet were located on or near the sea dyke. There was a little harbour here. Around the harbour, a new hamlet Kruispolderhaven arose. Nowadays, the hamlet is the smallest of the three hamlets in the Kruispolder, including Kruisdorp and Kruispolderhaven. Together, these three settlements are also named "Kruispolder". Baalhoek is mostly associated with the "Baalhoekkanaal" (Baalhoek Canal), a plan for a shortcut to the

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

to bypass the narrows of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

that was proposed in 1967, but finally rejected in 1998 due to the resistance of a coalition of environmentalists and farmers.

References

Populated places in Zeeland Hulst {{Zeeland-geo-stub