Kats is a village in the
Dutch 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
Noord-Beveland
Noord-Beveland (; "North Beveland") is a municipality and region in the southwestern Netherlands and a former island, now part of the Walcheren-Zuid-Beveland-Noord-Beveland peninsula.
Noord-Beveland is enclosed by the Oosterschelde estuary to the ...
, and lies about 20 km east of
Middelburg.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1204 as Chats. The etymology is unknown.
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
Kats originally prospered as ''Suburchdijke'' the name alluding to connections with the nearby city of
Souburg. The local inhabitants are referred to locally as ''katsenaers'' and 150 of them were drowned in flooding caused by a great storm on 5 November 1530, which engulfed the whole island, then in 1532 the Elizabeth Flood swept away all the remaining buildings.
Poldering Noord Beveland (the process the Dutch invented to reclaim land from the sea) did not start again until 1598 - the villages of
Colijnsplaat and Kats were both built on estates at right angles to each other.
The Dutch Reformed church originally dates from 1660. In 1870, it was extensively modified. The tower with gable roof were added between 1951 and 1952.
Kats was home to 401 people in 1840.
In 1853, the Abrahampolder was created, and the harbour was moved to the north east.
Kats used to be an independent municipality. In 1941, it was merged into the municipality of
Kortgene. In 1995, it became part of
Noord Beveland.
Notable people
*
Dirk Geijskes (1907–1985), Dutch biologist, ethnologist and curator
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Zeeland
Former municipalities of Zeeland
Noord-Beveland