Scherpenisse 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

Tholen Tholen () is a 25,000 people municipality in the southwest of the Netherlands. The municipality of Tholen takes its name from the town of Tholen, which is the largest population center in the municipality. The municipality consists of two peninsu ...

, and lies about 14 km west of

Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the Brabantian dialect, local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southwestern Netherlands. It is located in the Province ...

History

It was first mentioned in 1204 as Scarpenes, and means "sharp

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

". Scherpenisse developed along the former trench Pluimpot. The area became property of the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of O ...

in 1551. In 1556, the Pluimpot was dammed, and the main buildings were constructed between the dam and the church. The Dutch Reformed is a basilica like church with a thick tower. The church probably dates from the 15th century. Construction of the tower started in 1520, but was halted in 1570. The church was restored between 1971 and 1974. The church is located off-centre, because a part of the village burnt down in 1538, and was rebuilt closer to the harbour. The former town hall was constructed in 1594 as a gift of Countess Maria of Nassau. The building is in

mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

style and has a ridge turret with clock. Scherpenisse was home to 935 people in 1840. Scherpenisse was a separate municipality until 1971, when it was merged with

. In 1957, as part of the

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. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works consist of dams, slu ...

, the remainder of the Pluimpot was filled up, and the harbour of Scherpenisse disappeared.

Gallery

File:Hervormde Kerk (Scherpenisse)5.JPG, Dutch Reformed church File:Overzicht voorgevel van hotel-restaurant- De Gouden Leeuw met straatbeeld - Scherpenisse - 20331710 - RCE.jpg, Hotel-restaurant De Gouden Leeuw File:Scherpenisse Watertoren 6921.JPG, Water tower File:Voorgevels - Scherpenisse - 20195880 - RCE.jpg, Shops in Scherpenisse

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Zeeland Former municipalities of Zeeland Tholen