Haamstede is a village 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 ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Schouwen-Duiveland Schouwen-Duiveland () is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland. The municipality has 33,737 inhabitants (1 January 2016) and covers an area of (of which is water). The northside of the island has two fi ...

. The village is known for Haamstede Castle.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1229 as Haemstede, and means "place with a house or farm". Haamstede is a circular village around a church. The first church was built in the first half of the 10th century. Until 1229, it was a ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch language, Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and Judiciary, judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking ...

'' of the Lords of Renesse who built a castle. After 1454, Haamstede became a possession of the

County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy (; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It became known as Franche-Comté (the ''Free County''), and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It belonged to th ...

. The castle was restored in the 17th century, and Haamstede developed into a castle village. The

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

of Haamstede Castle dates from the 13th century. In 1525,

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

organised a party in the castle to celebrate his victory over France. Due to carelessness, the castle burnt down. The castle was confiscated by the

States of Zeeland The Provincial Council of Zeeland (), also known as the States of Zeeland, is the provincial council of Zeeland, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 39 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elections. ...

in 1591 and sold. In 1608, it was owned by Jacob van den Eynde who restored and enlarged the castle. In 1853, it became property of the Van der Lek de Clercq family. The castle was restored 1888. In 1981, the castle with forest and dunes became property of

Natuurmonumenten Vereniging tot Behoud van Natuurmonumenten in Nederland (), also known as Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, is a Dutch nature conservation organization founded in 1905 by Jacobus Pieter Thijsse and Eli Heimans, that buys, protects, and manages nature ...

to ensure its future and make the castle accessible to the public. The Dutch Reformed church is a three aisled cruciform church without a tower or choir which was built in the early 16th century as a replacement of the 11th century church which burnt down in 1506. The church was restored in 1956. Haamstede was home to 819 people in 1840. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Haamstede developed into a tourist site and started to form a single urban area with

Burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

. Haamstede was a separate municipality until 1961, when it was merged into

Westerschouwen Westerschouwen is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Zeeland. The municipality was formed in a merger of the municipalities Burgh, Haamstede, Noordwelle, Renesse, and Serooskerke on January 1, 1961. As the name indicates, it covere ...

. In 1997, it became part of the municipality of

Buildings

* Haamstede Castle * Dutch Reformed church * Westerlichttoren lighthouse

Gallery

File:Slot Haamstede met poortgebouw.JPG, Haamstede Castle File:Smederij Haamstede-2.jpg, Former forge of Haamstede File:Haamstede Watertoren 6119.JPG, Former water tower File:Landal Résidence thof van Haamstede - panoramio.jpg, Hotel in Haamstede

References

External links

Tourist information website
{{Authority control Schouwen-Duiveland History of Schouwen-Duiveland Populated places in Zeeland Former municipalities of Zeeland