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Zeeuws-Vlaanderen | |
|---|---|
Region | |
 Flag | |
 Location of Zeelandic Flanders in Zeeland, Netherlands | |
| Coordinates:51°20′N3°49′E / 51.333°N 3.817°E /51.333; 3.817 | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | Zeeland |
| Municipalities | Sluis Terneuzen Hulst |
| Area | |
• Total | 875.80 km2 (338.15 sq mi) |
| • Land | 733.19 km2 (283.09 sq mi) |
| • Water | 142.61 km2 (55.06 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2010) | 106,522 |
| Postal code | 4500-4599 |
| Area code(s) | 0114, 0115, 0117 |
| Major roads | N58,N60,N61,N62 (Western Scheldt Tunnel) |
Zeelandic Flanders (Dutch:Zeeuws-Vlaanderen[ˌzeːusˈflaːndərə(n)]ⓘ;Zeeuws:Zeêuws-Vlaonderen;West Flemish:Zêeuws-Vloandern)[1] is the southernmost region of theprovince ofZeeland in the south-westernNetherlands. It lies south of theWestern Scheldt that separates the region from the remainder of Zeeland and the mainland Netherlands to the north. Zeelandic Flanders is bordered to the south and to the east byBelgium.
Zeelandic Flanders is the north-eastern part of the large historical region ofFlanders which today lies mostly in Belgium. It shares a land border with the Belgianprovinces ofEast andWest Flanders. It is a latitudinally oriented strip of land along the Western Scheldt, aNorth Sea estuary, and has no land access to the rest of the Netherlands. The westernmost point of the European Netherlands lies here inSluis. The area of Zeelandic Flanders is 876 km2 (338 sq mi) of which 733 km2 (283 sq mi) is land and 143 km2 (55 sq mi) is water.
The region is bordered by theZwin nature reserve in the West and theDrowned Land of Saeftinghe in the East.
Since local government boundary reforms in 2003, Zeelandic Flanders has consisted of only three municipalities:Sluis in the west,Terneuzen in the centre andHulst in the east.
Zeelandic Flanders is connected toZuid-Beveland to the north by theWestern Scheldt Tunnel under the Western Scheldt (estuary). The tunnel arrives 18 km east ofFlushing on the Zuid-Beveland peninsula. Until 2003 when the tunnel was opened, Zeelandic Flanders was cut off from the rest of Zeeland and the only land route was to go via theAntwerp region in Belgium.[2]
There used to be two car ferries connecting Zeelandic Flanders to other parts of Zeeland, one ferry fromPerkpolder toKruiningen on Zuid-Beveland and the second one fromBreskens to Flushing onWalcheren. This last ferry service still exists, but can only be used by pedestrians and cyclists nowadays.
TheGhent–Terneuzen Canal passes through Zeelandic Flanders.
A freight railway line connects Terneuzen toGent-Dampoort railway station.
Except for some formerly insular areas, the region now called Zeelandic Flanders was not part of the historicalCounty of Zeeland, but a part of theCounty of Flanders initially ruled by theHouse of Habsburg. The region was on the front line in theEighty Years' War andwas conquered by theDutch Republic in 1604. As such, it was the only part of Flanders, which took part in the insurgency, to become part of the new republic.
Zeelandic Flanders was subsequently ruled directly by theDutch States General (parliament) as one of theGenerality Lands and calledFlanders of the States (Staats-Vlaanderen). After occupation by theFrench in 1795, the area accrued to thedépartement ofEscaut. Before the formation of theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, Zeelandic Flanders was territory of the Dutch province ofNorth Brabant for a few years, but when the present province Zeeland was formed Zeelandic Flanders became a part of it, even after the 1830Belgian Revolution that separated the remainder of Dutch Flanders from the Netherlands.
As of 2010[update], the population of Zeelandic Flanders was 106,522 with 145 per square kilometre (380/sq mi).
As Zeelandic Flanders was historically part of Flanders, demands and plans to annex it have been made by Belgian politicians on multiple occasions. A famous example was whenLeopold II made plans to invade the Netherlands before he became king. He also planned to annexLimburg, and had spies gain information on the Dutch military. He decided to abolish his plans after contactingFrance, who did not support it[citation needed].
Another famous occasion was shortly afterWorld War I. Belgium once again claimed both Zeelandic Flanders and Limburg, this time as a reconciliation.[clarification needed] Even though the Netherlands was neutral in the war, Belgium felt the neutrality was a sign of support for Germany and suspected the Netherlands of collaborating with them.
The native dialect of the western part of the region isZeelandic Flemish, that can be considered a variety of bothWest Flemish and closely relatedZeelandic. In the central regions, theLand-van-Axels andLand-van-Cadzands dialects ofZeelandic, itself a transition language between West Flemish andHollandic, are spoken. In the eastern part,East Flemish with someBrabantian influence is spoken. Because some smaller areas were isolated by water, and thus being small islands, there are some dialects that differ slightly with the 'normal' dialect.
Media related toZeelandic Flanders at Wikimedia Commons
