In theEarly Middle Ages, Ostend was a small village built on the east-end (oost-einde) of an island (originally calledTesterep) between the North Sea and a beach lake. Although small, the village rose to the status of "town" around 1265, when the inhabitants were allowed to hold a market and to build a market hall.
The main source of income for the inhabitants was fishing. TheNorth Sea coastline has always been rather unstable due to the power of the water. In 1395 the inhabitants decided to build a new Ostend behind largedikes and further away from the always-threatening sea.
The strategic position on the North Sea coast had major advantages for Ostend as a harbour but also proved to be a source of trouble. The town was frequently taken, ravaged, ransacked and destroyed by conquering armies. TheDutch rebels, theGueuzen, took control of the town. TheSiege of Ostend, 1601 to 1604, of which it was said that "the Spanish assailed the unassailable and the Dutch defended the indefensible", cost a combined total of more than 80,000 dead or wounded, making it the single bloodiest battle of theEighty Years' War. This shocking event set in motion negotiations that led to a truce several years later. When the truce broke down, it became aDunkirker base.
After this era, Ostend was turned into a harbour of some importance. In 1722, the Dutch again closed off the entrance to the world's biggest harbour ofAntwerp, theWesterschelde. Therefore, Ostend rose in importance because the town provided an alternative exit to the sea. TheBelgium Austriacum had become part of theAustrian Empire. The Austrian EmperorCharles VI granted the town the trade monopoly with Africa and the Far-East. TheOostendse Compagnie (Ostend trade company) was allowed to found colonies overseas. However, in 1727 the Oostendse Compagnie was forced to stop its activities because of Dutch and British pressure. The Netherlands and Britain would not allow competitors on the international trade level. Both nations regarded international trade as "their" privilege.
There was aJewish community in Ostend, which was first noted in the 16th century.[3]
On 19 September 1826, the localartillery magazine exploded. At least 20 people were killed and a further 200 injured. The affluent quarter of d'Hargras was levelled and scarcely a building in the city escaped damage. Disease followed the devastation leading to further deaths.[4]
The harbour of Ostend continued to expand because the harbour dock, as well as the traffic connections with the hinterland, were improved. In 1838, a railway connection withBrussels was constructed.[citation needed] Ostend became a transit harbour to England in 1846 when the first ferry sailed toDover.[citation needed] An October 1854 meeting of American envoys led to theOstend Manifesto.[5] Important for the image of the town was the attention it started to receive from the Belgian kingsLeopold I andLeopold II. Both monarchs liked to spend their holidays in Ostend. Important monuments and villas were built to please the Royal Family, including theHippodrome Wellington horse racing track and theRoyal Galleries. The rest of aristocratic Belgium followed and soon Ostend became known as "the queen of the Belgian sea-side resorts".[citation needed]
In 1866, Ostend was the venue for a crucial meeting of exiled Spanish Liberals and Republicans which laid the framework, thePact of Ostend, for a major uprising in their country,[citation needed] culminating in Spain'sGlorious Revolution two years later.
The two world wars proved to be disastrous for Ostend. TheBelle Époque-era ended for the city in 1914 at the start ofWorld War I when the Germans placed anti-aircraft batteries alongFort Napoleon and in the dunes along the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ter-Duinenkerk. During theGerman invasion of Belgium, Ostend along withZeebrugge fell to the Germans without fighting on October 15,[6] after which they stationed German submarines and other light naval forces in the city for much of the duration of World War I. Near the end of the war, the BritishRoyal Navy tried to block Ostend twice with anaval blockade: thefirst raid took place on 23 April 1918, thesecond raid on 9 May 1918.
Ostend was once again a target at the start ofWorld War II by both theAxis andAllied powers. The city would face repeated bombing raids by theLuftwaffe during theGerman invasion of Belgium on 10 May 1940, destroying significant parts of the historic coastline in the process. As early as 13 and 15 May, German bombs fell in the evening and night around Fort Napoleon and the water tower in the Vuurtorenwijk. On the 17th of May more bombs were dropped, with the freight station on the Istanbul quay being hit as a result.[9][10] Around this time, the fear that Ostend would be bombed heavily by the Luftwaffe started to form, prompting many to flee the city by boat to England or France.[11] The 21st of May was the scene of another air raid on Ostend, causing big fires as a result. One of such fires was atHotel Splendid on the corner of the Kemmelbergstraat.[12] The beach hotel of Ostend was hit by three German bombs on the 24th of May. The hotel was used as a hospital and killed over 50 Belgian soldiers after a massive fire broke out.[13] The next day, the 25th of May, another German bombing raid was carried out. At around 08:00 in the morning,incindiary andbisance bombs were dropped on the city, causing around 3 to 4 fires and killing 12 civilians as a result.[14] The last bombing raid on the 27th of May ended up completely destroying the city hall of Ostend at theWapenplein as well as the city archive and paintings created byJames Ensor andLéon Spilliaert.[15][16][17] In total, the bombing raids between the 21st until the 27th of May caused over 75 deaths of civilians and soldiers in the city.[18] After the German bombings stopped in May 1940, Allied bombings started in June of that year. TheRoyal Air Force repeatedly targeted the city due to British fears that Germany would use the strategic coastal city for aGerman invasion of England. As a result, more civilians died and even more of the coastline and inner city, as well as the harbour, ended up being damaged or destroyed.[19]
German machine gunner firing at Allied planes in front of the Kursaal in June 1940
After the successful invasion of Belgium and the occupation, the Germans decided to demolish the remnants of the Kursaal and build a bunker underneath its remains. They also decided to enact the massiveAtlantic Wall in the city and heavily reinforced and defended it due to its strategic location.[20][21][22] The city was liberated by Canadian troops on 8 September 1944.[23][24][25][26] Ultimately, the many German and British raids on Ostend ended up destroying many historic houses as well as iconic buildings along the coast as well as in the inner city like the city hall,Kursaal, post office andHippodrome Wellington.[27] No other Belgian city was bombed as often and faced as much destruction as Ostend: 407 Allied bombs were dropped on the city, making Ostend the most bombed city in Belgium.[28] Because of this, many of the damaged houses and public buildings were left standing in the city for years.[29] It was ultimately decided that the remnants of said buildings, such as civilian houses and luxury hotels, would be torn down instead of restored after the war and reconstructed withmodernist apartment blocs due to an increasing demand in these types of buildings from the tourist sector.[30][31]
Ostend's Winter in the Park festival draws more than 600,000 people to the seaside city. During December, Ostend's Christmas market, one of the largest in Europe, features vendors and food sellers along with ice skating, music and other events. A light-show tunnel on one of the major shopping streets attracts and amuses visitors from all over Belgium, Europe and beyond.[32]
Ostend is known for its sea-side esplanade, including theRoyal Galleries of Ostend, pier, and fine-sand beaches. Ostend is visited by many day-trippers heading to the beaches, especially during July and August. Tourists from inland Belgium and from abroad mostly arrive by train (day trips) and head for the closest beach area, theKlein Strand, located next to the pier. The locals and other residents in Belgium usually occupy the larger beach (het Groot Strand).
Near the beach is a well-preserved section of the fortifiedAtlantic Wall, open to the public as theAtlantic Wall Open Air Museum located inRaversijde. One can walk through the streets aroundHet Vissersplein. At certain times, there are markets in the neighbourhood streets and in the summer theVissersplein has music festivals. TheVissersplein (Bonenstraat/Kadzandstraat) is a car free zone with many brasseries where patrons can sit outside and have a drink. Towards the port side there are many little fish outlets, and beyond that the ferries can be observed docking.
TheJames Ensor museum can be visited in the house where the artist lived from 1917 until 1949.
TheMu.Zee (merged from theProvinciaal Museum voor de Moderne Kunst and theMuseum voor Schone Kunsten) is the museum of modern art (from the 1830s to the present) and displays works of noted local painters such asJames Ensor,Leon Spilliaert,Constant Permeke and the revolutionary post-war BelgianCOBRA movement amongst others.
Ostend has a maritime temperate climate, influenced by winds from the North Sea, making summers cooler than inland Europe. 24-hour average temperatures below the freezing point is a rare occurrence. According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Ostend has amarine west coast climate, abbreviated "Cfb" on climate maps.[34]
Climate data for Ostend (1991–2020 normals, extremes since 1973)
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