Zierikzee

Zierikzee

Zierikzee

City in Zeeland, Netherlands

Zierikzee (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈziːrɪkseː]) is a small city in the southwest Netherlands, 50 km southwest of Rotterdam. It is situated in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland. The city hall of Schouwen-Duiveland is located in Zierikzee, its largest city. Zierikzee is connected to Oosterschelde through a canal.

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In 2001, the town of Zierikzee had 10,313 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 3.0 km2, and contained 4,295 residences.[1] The statistical area "Zierikzee", which also can include the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 10,730.[2]

History

Zierikzee, then located on the island of Schouwen, received city rights in 1248. In 1304, a fleet commissioned by the French and Dutch defeated a Flemish fleet in the naval Battle of Zierikzee.

Modern history

On 30 April 1917, a lost British pilot of the Royal Naval Air Service mistakenly entered the airspace of the Netherlands, then neutral in World War I, and dropped eight bombs on Zierikzee - damaging several houses and killing a family of three. After initially denying the incident, the British government apologized and agreed to compensate the Dutch for damage and loss of life.[3]

In 1953, Zierikzee was damaged by the catastrophic North Sea flood of 1953. The English town of Hatfield sent help and a friendship has developed. The two towns have been twinned. In 1997 the municipality of Zierikzee merged into that of Schouwen-Duiveland.

In 2015, the last surviving example of the city's defensive cannons; cast in 1552, was donated to the city by the British coastguard. The coastguard had recovered it from a commercial diver, during a criminal investigation. The diver had found it off the Kent coast.[4]

On 27 June 2022, a tornado estimated at between F1 and F2 struck the city, killing one person and injuring nine others.[5] Three hundred properties were damaged.[6][7]

  • The channel that connects Zierikzee to Oosterschelde is mainly used by tourist boats.
  • View of Zierikzee (1618), by Esaias van der Velde
  • 1649 map of Zierikzee (Zirizea) in Willem and Joan Blaeu's "Toonneel der Steden"
  • The tower (Sint-Lievensmonstertoren) of Zierikzee was planned to be twice as high as it was eventually built.

References

  1. [1]
    Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001. (Statistics are for the continuous built-up area).
  2. [2]
    Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Statline: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2003-2005 Archived 1999-04-27 at the Wayback Machine. As of 1 January 2005.
  3. [3]
    Lith, Hans van. Plotseling een vreselijke knal, pp. 91–95.
  4. [4]
    "Historic cannon returned to its Dutch home". Maritime and Coastguard Agency. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  5. [5]
    "June 27, 2022 Zierikzee Tornado". European Severe Weather Database. European Severe Storms Laboratory. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  6. [6]
    "Tornado leaves one dead, ten hurt in Zeeland community". NL Times. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  7. [7]
    "Flying debris killed woman, 73, during Zierikzee tornado". NL Times. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
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