Veere Ter Veere (Zeeuws) | |
|---|---|
Municipality and town | |
 The city of Veere in 2007 | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
.svg) Location in Zeeland | |
| Coordinates:51°32′53″N3°40′00″E / 51.54806°N 3.66667°E /51.54806; 3.66667 | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | Zeeland |
| Government | |
| • Body | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Frederiek Schouwenaar (VVD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 206.55 km2 (79.75 sq mi) |
| • Land | 132.56 km2 (51.18 sq mi) |
| • Water | 73.99 km2 (28.57 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (January 2021)[4] | |
• Total | 21,953 |
| • Density | 166/km2 (430/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postcode | 4350–4379 |
| Area code | 0118 |
| Website | www |
Veere (Dutch:[ˈveːrə]ⓘ;Zeelandic:Ter Veere) is a municipality with a population of 22,000 and a town with a population of 1,500 in the southwesternNetherlands, in the region ofWalcheren in the province ofZeeland.
The nameVeere means "ferry": Wolfert Van Borssele established a ferry and ferry house there in 1281. This ferry he called the "camper-veer" or "Ferry of Campu" by which name Camphire it was known, at least in England, until the seventeenth century.[5] It eventually became known as "de Veer". In the same year 1281 Wolfert also built the castle Sandenburg on one of the dikes he had built. On 12 November 1282, Count Floris V. thereupon issued a charter by which Wolfert received the sovereignty to the land and castle with the ferry and ferry house. From that time on Wolfert was given the title of Lord Van der Veer.[6] Veere receivedcity rights in 1355.
The "Admiraliteit van Veere" (Admiralty of Veere) was set up as a result of the Ordinance on the Admiralty of 8 January 1488 in an attempt to create a central naval administration in theBurgundian Netherlands. To this was subordinated the Vice-Admiralty ofFlanders inDunkirk. In 1560 under admiralPhilip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn, this admiralty relocated nearGhent and in 1561 theHabsburg naval forces were also moved to Veere.
Veere functioned as thestaple port forScotland[7] between 1541[8] and 1799. In Scotland it was known as Campvere.[9] Until the Anglo-Dutch wars it was an important trading port for the import among other things, of saffron from East Anglian ports such as Wells.[10]
Flemish architectsAntonis Keldermans andEvert Spoorwater designed theGrote Kerk, the fortifications, the Cisterne and the town hall. During this period of prosperity, the cultural centre was located atSandenburgh castle, the residence of the noble Van Borsele and Van Bourgondië families. Court painterJan Gossaert van Mabuse worked here.[11] The poetAdrianus Valerius lived and worked in the city from 1591. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Veere was a prosperous trading city, with about 750 houses inside the city walls then, compared to about 300 as of 2013[update].
At the start of theSecond World War, there was aRoyal Netherlands Navyseaplane base at Veere, with sixFokker C XIV-W aircraft. On 12 May 1940 the base was bombed byHe 111 bombers causing some casualties.[12] On 14 May, the seaplanes were ordered to evacuate to France and then England, eventually arriving in theDutch East Indies where they would be destroyed in action with the Japanese in 1941 and 1942.[13] On 17 May, German infantry ofSS Regiment Deutschland of the2nd SS Panzer Division crossed onto Walcheren via theSloedam and by 18:00 that evening, the Dutch forces on the island, including the garrison at Veere, were ordered to surrender.[14] Veere was finally liberated on 7 November 1944 by Scottish troops of the British52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division duringOperation Infatuate, the Allied assault on Walcheren. As part of the preparations for the operation, the island's sea dykes were bombed resulting in the inundation of much of the area. Unlike many other towns on the island, Veere was virtually undamaged in the fighting.[15]
As a result of the damming of theVeerse Gat inlet in 1961, the fishing fleet of Veere moved to a new home port at Colijnsplaat on Noord-Beveland.[16] As of 2013[update] the main business of the town is tourism.
Veere municipality reached its current expanded shape in 1997, after the addition of several neighboring towns. During the course of nearly two centuries seventeen historical municipalities have merged to become present-day Veere. Its original full name wasVeere-de-Stad en Zanddijk-Binnen.
The city of Veere stands on theVeerse Meer lagoon on the island ofWalcheren in the province ofZeeland in theNetherlands.
The area of the municipality of Veere is 13,496 hectares, with a coastline of 34 kilometres and a population of about 22,000.
The population centres in the municipality are:
The area is visited by 4 million tourists annually. The main attractions are the beaches andmarinas. TheStorm Surge Barrier on theOosterschelde is the most popular visitor attraction in Zeeland.[17] TheScoutcentrum Zeeland on the coast of the Veerse Meer attractsScout visitors from around the world[18]
The town of Veere forms the setting for "Van Loon's Lives", a book ofcontemporary fantasy written byHendrik Willem Van Loon in 1942, in which the protagonists are able to magically summon the great men and women of history for weekend dinner parties, leading to often humorous incidents. The book was written at the time when Veere, like the rest of the Netherlands, lay under Nazi occupation, and despite its light-hearted tone clearly indicates the longing of the writer – living in the US – for his homeland whose liberation he was doomed never to see.
Scottish singer-songwriterBrian McNeill based the song "The Holland Trade" from his tenth studio albumThe Baltic tae Byzantium on the trade and cultural ties between Veere and Scotland from 1541 on.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Places adjacent to Veere | |
|---|---|
Municipalities ofZeeland | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
