Zealand Attractions Zeeland

Zeeland is one of the world's youngest areas of land, reclaimed from the sea only within the last 1,800 years by man-made dikes. Much of the province lies below sea level, for the old peat bogs, flooded by the sea before the dikes were built and then overlaid with silt, gradually subsided over the centuries, forming extensive depressions (kommen). The oldest parts of the islands, enclosed by dikes before the 13th century, were particularly affected. These areas have been repeatedly exposed to devastating floods, most recently in 1953. On this last occasion neither the protective belt of dunes on north-western Walcheren, Schouwen and Goeree nor the dikes were able to withstand the assaults of the waves, and in order to prevent similar catastrophes in future all the major estuaries in Zeeland were closed off from the North Sea by dams under the Delta Plan. The only exceptions were the Nieuwe Waterweg, which gives the port of Rotterdam access to the North Sea, and the Westerschelde, the seaway to Antwerp.

The town of Goes, once the residence of Jacobaea of Bavaria, Countess of Holland (1401-36), is now the economic center of the former island of Zuid-Beveland. In earlier times the town's trade was mainly in salt and fish; nowadays horticultural produce is increasingly predominant.

Arnemuiden is a small town located on the former island of Walcheren. The Arenmuiden Museum, located in the former town hall, features historical displays.