Zandvliet () is a former Belgian town forming part of the Antwerp district of

Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo Berendrecht (), Zandvliet () and Lillo () are three towns along the seaport docks north of the old city of Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium. The substantial 1983 merger with former municipalities led in 2000 to the decentralisation of this enlarged ...

. The place dates back to 1135 when it was known as ''Santflit'', meaning "a navigable passage through sand". In 1622 the Spaniard

Ambrogio Spinola Ambrogio Spinola Doria, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases and 1st Duke of Sesto (1569 – 25 September 1630) was an Italian military leader and nobleman of the Republic of Genoa, who served as a Spanish general and won a number of important battles. ...

constructed a fortification with seven bastions around Zandvliet, to strengthen the defenses of

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 ...

against the northern Netherlands. The project lasted six years and gave the town the appearance of a citadel. At the beginning of the 18th century France drove Spain from Zandvliet after which the fortress became derelict. Traces of the original fortress can be seen in the street layout of Conterscherp, Zuidvest and Begijnhoeve. The church in Zandvliet was destroyed during the wars against Spain, but was rebuilt in 1648 by the bishop of Saint Michael's Abbey in Antwerp. After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, J. Bril became the first Belgian mayor of Zandvliet. In 1887 a rail link between Antwerp and

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 ...

also linked to Zandvliet. This line mainly transported

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...

, but also catered for passengers. In 1958

Berendrecht Berendrecht () is a neighbourhood and former village in Antwerp province in Belgium. Its name means " dike of the bear", according to the area's dialect, or "dike of a man called Bear", or "passage by the marsh". But ''drecht'' or ''tricht'' means ...

, Zandvliet and Lillo were incorporated in Antwerp and the

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 ...

landscape largely expropriated for harbour development. Since the decentralisation of 2000 these three old communities were joined under the name of ''Bezali'', an acronym used by the media. The people of Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo on the other hand were proud of the original names and used them in the hope that they would not be forgotten. The name ''Zandvliet'' became a household name, thanks to the 1967 naming of Zandvlietsluis, one of the largest sea locks in the world.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Antwerp Province Geography of Antwerp