Vlissingen

Vlissingen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈvlɪsɪŋə(n)] (listen); Zeelandic: Vlissienge; historical name in English: Flushing) is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries. It was granted city rights in 1315. In the 17th century Vlissingen was a main harbour for ships of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). It is also known as the birthplace of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter.

Vlissingen

Flushing
Municipality
Clockwise from top left: Coastline skyscraper, harbour, museum, residential tower and boulevard with beach
Flag
Coat of arms
Location in Zeeland
Coordinates: 51°27′N 3°34′E
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceZeeland
Boroughs
Government
 • BodyMunicipal council
 • MayorBas van den Tillaar (CDA)
Area
 • Total344.83 km2 (133.14 sq mi)
 • Land34.18 km2 (13.20 sq mi)
 • Water310.65 km2 (119.94 sq mi)
Elevation1 m (3 ft)
Population
 (January 2019)[4]
 • Total44,371
 • Density1,298/km2 (3,360/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Vlissinger
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
4380–4389
Area code0118
Websitewww.vlissingen.nl

Vlissingen is mainly noted for the yards on the Scheldt where most of the ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy (Koninklijke Marine) are built.

Geography

The municipality of Vlissingen consists of the following places:

History
Vlissingen from the sea, 1662
The Arrival at Vlissingen of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, by Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom, oil on canvas.

The fishermen's hamlet that came into existence at the estuary of the Schelde around AD 620 has grown over its 1,400-year history into the third-most important port of the Netherlands. The Counts of Holland, Flanders, and Zeeland had the first harbours dug. Over the centuries, Vlissingen developed into a hub for fishing, especially the herring fishery, commerce, privateering and the slave trade. Under the Treaty of Nonsuch, English garrisons were stationed here and at Brill to keep these ports out of Spanish hands.[5] During the heyday of the Dutch Golden Age, ships from Vlissingen set sail for the various outposts of the Dutch colonial empire and contributed to the world power of The Seven Provinces.

The history of Vlissingen was also marked by invasion, oppression and bombardments. Because of its strategic position at the mouth of the Schelde, the most important passageway to Antwerp, it has attracted the interest, at one time or another, of the British, the French, the Germans and the Spanish. Floods have also been a constant threat. Vlissingen declined during the 18th century. The Napoleonic Wars were particularly disastrous. After 1870, the economy revived after the construction of new docks and the Walcheren canal, the arrival of the railway and the establishment of the shipyard called De Schelde. The Second World War interrupted this growth. The city was heavily damaged by shelling and inundation but was captured and liberated by British Commandos of 4th Special Service Brigade on 3 November 1944.

The city was rebuilt after the war. In the 1960s, the seaport and industrial area of Vlissingen-Oost developed and flourished. Now this area is the economic driving force behind central Zeeland, generating many thousands of jobs. Nowadays approx. 50,000 ships annually from all corners of the world pass through the Schelde.[6]

Vlissingen's seaside boulevard at the start of the 21st century.

Name

Etymology

The derivation of the name Vlissingen is unclear, though most scholars relate the name to the word fles ("bottle") in one way or another.

According to one story, when saint Willibrord landed in Vlissingen with a bottle in the 7th century, he shared its contents with the beggars he found there while trying to convert them. A miracle occurred, typical of hagiography, when the contents of the bottle did not diminish. When the bishop realised the beggars did not want to listen to his words, he gave them his bottle. After that, he supposedly called the city Flessinghe.

Another source states that the name had its origins in an old ferry-service house, on which a bottle was attached by way of a sign. The monk Jacob van Dreischor, who visited the city in 967, then apparently called the ferry-house het veer aan de Flesse ("the ferry at the Bottle"). Because many cities in the region later received the appendix -inge, the name, according to this etymology, evolved to Vles-inge.

According to another source, the name was derived from the Danish word Vles, which means "tides".

The eastern cape of Novaya Zemlya, Cape Flissingsky was named after the city in 1596 by Willem Barentsz.

Historical English name "Flushing"

Vlissingen was historically called "Flushing" in English. In the 17th century Vlissingen was important enough to be a town that English speakers referred to and that had acquired its own English name. For example, Samuel Pepys referred to the town as "Flushing" in his diaries. In 1673 Sir William Temple referred to Vlissingen as "Flushing" once and "Flussingue" twice in his book about the Netherlands.[7] Some English writers in the Netherlands also used the Dutch name.

Flushing, originally a Dutch colonial village founded in 1645 and now part of Queens, New York City, was first called Vlissingen after the town in the Netherlands. The English settlers who also came to live in the village[8] shortened the name to "Vlissing" by 1657 and then began to call it by its English name "Flushing." The Anglicisation of "Vlissingen" into "Flushing" did not occur after the conquest of New Netherland, but in England well before then. This village was the site of the Flushing Remonstrance.

The village of Flushing in Cornwall was also named after Vlissingen. Originally named Nankersey, the village was given its name by Dutch engineers from Vlissingen in the Netherlands who built the three main quays in the village. Michigan and Ohio in the US have villages called Flushing as well.

Tourist attractions
  • Beeldenhuis (Statuehouse)
  • Belgische Loodshuizen (Belgian Maritime Pilotshouses)
  • Beursgebouw (Marketbuilding)
  • Dokje van Perry (Perry's Dock)
  • Fontein ter nagedachtenis aan Elisabeth Wolff en Agatha Deken (Fountain)
  • Fort Rammekens
  • Garnizoensbakkerij en Kazematten (Garrisonbakery & Casemates)
  • Gevangentoren (Prisontower)
  • Grote of Sint-Jacobskerk (Church of St James the Great)
  • Het Arsenaal (The Arsenal)
  • Hoofdkantoor 'De Schelde' (Headquarter 'De Schelde')
  • Koopvaardijmonument (Merchant Navy Monument)
  • Lampsinshuis (House of the Lampsins family)
  • Leeuwentrap (Lionsstairs)
  • Lutherse kerk (Evangelical Lutheran Church)
  • Zeevaartschool (Ship transport school)
  • Standbeeld Michiel de Ruyter (Michiel de Ruyter Statue)
  • NS-Station Vlissingen (Train Station)
  • Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady)
  • Oranjemolen (The Orange Mill)
  • Plein Vier Winden (Square Four Winds)
  • Reptielenzoo Iguana (Reptile zoo)
  • Sardijntoren (Sardijntower)
  • Stadhuis Vlissingen (City Hall)
  • Timmerfabriek (Carpentryfactory)
  • Watertoren (Water tower)
  • Willem III Kazerne (Barracks of William III)
  • Windorgel (Windorgan)
  • Wooldhuis (Wooldhouse)
  • Zeemanserve (Cornelia Quackshofje) (Seaman's quarter)
  • The Marketbuilding at Beursplein (Marketsquare)
  • Part of the shoppingstreet Walstraat in 2010
  • Statue Michiel de Ruyter
  • Windmill: de Oranjemolen
  • View to a port and a street (de Nieuwendijk)

Topography

Topographic map of Vlissingen (city), Sept. 2014

Climate

Vlissingen has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) that is milder than the rest of the Netherlands due to its more southern location on the coast.[9] It is approximately 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer annually than Groningen in the northeast. It is also one of the sunniest cities in the Netherlands, receiving approximately 180 more sunshine hours than Maastricht in the southeast. Its all-time record is 36.8 °C set on 27 July 2018 and -18.9 °C on 21 February 1956

Climate data for Vlissingen
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14.2
(57.6)		 15.8
(60.4)		 20.7
(69.3)		 29.9
(85.8)		 34.9
(94.8)		 34.6
(94.3)		 36.8
(98.2)		 34.1
(93.4)		 33.2
(91.8)		 25.0
(77.0)		 18.3
(64.9)		 14.8
(58.6)		 36.8
(98.2)
Average high °C (°F) 6.0
(42.8)		 6.2
(43.2)		 9.1
(48.4)		 12.5
(54.5)		 16.4
(61.5)		 19.1
(66.4)		 21.5
(70.7)		 21.6
(70.9)		 18.6
(65.5)		 14.6
(58.3)		 10.1
(50.2)		 6.7
(44.1)		 13.5
(56.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.0
(39.2)		 4.0
(39.2)		 6.4
(43.5)		 9.2
(48.6)		 12.9
(55.2)		 15.6
(60.1)		 18.0
(64.4)		 18.2
(64.8)		 15.8
(60.4)		 12.2
(54.0)		 8.1
(46.6)		 4.9
(40.8)		 10.8
(51.4)
Average low °C (°F) 2.1
(35.8)		 2.0
(35.6)		 4.1
(39.4)		 6.3
(43.3)		 9.9
(49.8)		 12.6
(54.7)		 15.0
(59.0)		 15.3
(59.5)		 13.2
(55.8)		 9.8
(49.6)		 6.1
(43.0)		 3.0
(37.4)		 8.3
(46.9)
Record low °C (°F) −15.3
(4.5)		 −18.9
(−2.0)		 −6.5
(20.3)		 −3.3
(26.1)		 0.8
(33.4)		 5.0
(41.0)		 8.3
(46.9)		 8.9
(48.0)		 3.9
(39.0)		 −1.9
(28.6)		 −7.5
(18.5)		 −13.5
(7.7)		 −18.9
(−2.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 58.5
(2.30)		 48.0
(1.89)		 51.1
(2.01)		 38.7
(1.52)		 52.6
(2.07)		 63.2
(2.49)		 64.1
(2.52)		 74.9
(2.95)		 69.4
(2.73)		 76.1
(3.00)		 77.1
(3.04)		 69.0
(2.72)		 742.8
(29.24)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 12 9 11 9 10 10 9 10 11 12 13 13 128
Average snowy days 5 5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 18
Average relative humidity (%) 87 85 83 78 78 78 78 78 80 83 87 88 82
Mean monthly sunshine hours 67.8 89.2 134.2 187.2 218.3 215.5 223.2 207.4 152.9 116.5 68.7 52.1 1,733.1
Source 1: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (1981–2010 normals, snowy days normals for 1971–2000)[10]
Source 2: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (1971–2000 extremes)[11]

Notable people
Petrus Cunaeus, ca.1630

The Arts

Science
Martin Kalbfleisch, 1893

Admirals
Michiel de Ruyter, 1667

Other maritime travellers
Nicholas van Horn, printed 1888
Els Vader, 1980

Sport

Transport
  • There used to be a ferry service to Sheerness operated by Olau Line. It was terminated in 1994.
St. Jacobskerk
  • Vlissingen is the setting for part of Arthur Ransome's children's adventure novel We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea.
  • Vlissingen is also the setting for most of the film The Fourth Man.
  • Vlissingen is also the hometown of Mynheer Claessens and his daughter Johanna, the heroine of Rafael Sabatini's 1929 novel "The Romantic Prince". The Hero, Count Anthony and Master Danvelt, having landed by ferry from Breskens, enter the massive fortifications by the Scheldt Gate and ride the short distance to the Claessen's handsome house by the Groote.[16]
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References
  1. "Burgemeester Letty Demmers-van der Geest" [Mayor Letty Demmers-van der Geest] (in Dutch). Gemeente Vlissingen. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  2. "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten" [Key figures for neighbourhoods]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. "Postcodetool for 4382MA". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  4. "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  5. Garrett Mattingly (1959), The Armada, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Ch. V, "Plans of Operations", p. 44.
  6. www.zeegat.nl/
  7. Sir William Temple, Observations upon the United Provinces of the Netherlands, ed. Sir George Clark (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1672), pp. 40, 48 & 116
  8. Russell Shorto, The Island at the Centre of the World (Black Swan, 2004) pp. 338-9
  9. Climate Summary for Vlissingen, Netherlands
  10. "Klimaattabel Vlissingen, langjarige gemiddelden, tijdvak 1981–2010" (PDF) (in Dutch). Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  11. "Klimaattabel Vlissingen, langjarige extremen, tijdvak 1971–2000" (PDF) (in Dutch). Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  12. Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, Volume III, Bekker, Elizabeth retrieved 30 July 2019
  13. IMDb Database retrieved 30 July 2019
  14. Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography, Kalbfleisch, Martin, retrieved 12 March 2020
  15. Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography, Horn, Van de retrieved 30 July 2019
  16. p49 of the House of Stratus edition, ch4. The Romantic Prince, Rafael Sabatini, 2001
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