Stavenisse 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, and lies about 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

The village was first mentioned in 1206 as Stauenesse, and is a combination of

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 ...

and wooden pool. The original village developed around the salt marshes were diked in the 11th century. The village disappeared in the flood of 1509. In 1599, the area was ''

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 ...

''ed by order Hendrik van Tuyll van Serooskerke. A castle was built between the harbour and the church, but was demolished in 1753, and only a garden with some remnants remain. The Dutch Reformed church is a T-shaped church dating from 1617. The tower was added in 1672. Between 1910 and 1911, the church was remodelled in a rationalist style. Stavenisse was home to 1,257 people in 1840. Stavenisse was severely flooded during the

North Sea flood of 1953 The 1953 North Sea flood () was a major flood caused by a heavy storm surge that struck the Netherlands, north-west Belgium, England and Scotland. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, resulting in extensive flooding. The ...

. The sea dike was breached in six places and the harbour dike in two places, and the water rose to above street level. Of the 1737 inhabitants, 153 died. A total of 140 houses were destroyed. There are still 19 wooden emergency houses in the village which were donated by the people of Norway, but one has been moved to the museum in Sint-Annaland.

Gallery

File:2010 Nederlands Hervormde Kerk Stavenisse.jpg, Dutch Reformed church File:Stavenisse - molen met haven.jpg, Wind mill and harbour File:Watersnoodhuis Stavenisse.jpg, Former town hall File:Stavenisse, Bestanddeelnr 905-5524.jpg, Stavenisse (17 February 1953)

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Zeeland Tholen