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30-448: The first mention of the village dates from 1267, when "The Doolen" name is first mentioned. Until the 18th century the village was an island surrounded by purposefully flooded land, with the remainder, north of the village, known as "The Drowned Land of Saeftinghe ". The "Eylandt den Doel" is completely surrounded by old seawalls. The dike encloses the hamlets of "Saftingen", "Rapenburg" and "Ouden Doel" (Olden Doel). The Doel polder site

60-460: A Gors , that is an area outside the dikes that is normally not flooded with the tide. To protect it, a ring dike was constructed around the castle. During the Revolt of Ghent (1379–1385) , knight Hector van Voorhoute commanded at Saeftinghe Castle. At one time, there were 4 squires, 10 bowmen and 20 pike men guarding the castle. In 1382 those of Ghent besieged the castle. In 1411 Saeftinghe Castle

90-535: A peat extraction area and has an historically unique 18th-century farmstead and inn site "The Old Hoefyzer", with one of the last remaining historic barns. Electrabel -owned Doel Nuclear Power Station is located to the north of the village of Doel. Its four reactors can produce a total output of 2.9 GW of electricity for consumers in Belgium , France and the Netherlands . Since 1965, there have been plans to enlarge

120-414: A few houses and huts, but there was also Saeftinghe Castle , built in 1279. Today all is buried beneath several layers of clay and sand due to several floods over the years. Large bricks were found at several places inland. Those bricks were probably remainders of the abbey used by the villagers to build their houses when the abbey was destroyed due to several floods. Today some of those bricks can be seen in

150-459: Is a crosspoint where the river Scheldt meets the salty waters of the North Sea in the estuary Western Scheldt . It is a treacherous place where the tides easily consume large stretches of land in a matter of seconds and must not be explored without an experienced guide. Saeftinghe was drained in the 13th century under the management of the abbey of Ter Doest . Willem van Saeftinghe was one of

180-554: Is an old medieval word for a stone (not brick) building, see e.g. the Gravensteen in Ghent. The houses beneath it, indicate that it stood on an elevation. Therefore, it can be concluded that in its first phase, Saeftinghe Castle was a Motte-and-Bailey castle. In 1296 a 230 m long moat was dug around the castle. The depiction on both maps is similar. They show a square castle with a square main tower and two round towers. The fourth corner

210-488: Is that these served to keep up the walls in case the grounds shifted due to flooding. The lordship Saeftinghe was first mentioned in 821, when it was gifted to the Bishop of Utrecht. From the place names, it can be deduced that it was populated by Frisians. Laterm the convents in the area created polders. In 1261 Margaret II, Countess of Flanders bought the area. In 1263 she made it a free lordship by giving it its own charter,

240-460: Is unique to Belgium and dates back to the Eighty Years War (1568–1648). The typical checkerboard pattern dates from 1614, when these geometric farmlands were first mapped, and they have seen little change over the years. This fact makes the village a rare example of regional urbanization . The village has many historic buildings, including the oldest stone windmill of the country (1611), and

270-485: The Port of Antwerp and demolish the village of Doel to be replaced with petrochemical industry. This has seen many people having to sell their homes to the development corporation of that enlargement, however some people resisted the plans. In the middle of the 1980s, the plans were halted only to be revived in 1995. Many historic buildings have already been demolished. As of 1 September 2009, people are no longer allowed to live in

300-448: The Keure van Saefthinghe. It is often said that in 1279 Saeftinghe Castle was built by her as a fortress, but a reference for this year cannot be found. Furthermore, on 29 December 1278 she left the government to her son Gwijde. A better construction date is between 1263, when it would have been mentioned if it existed, and 1293, when it was mentioned. At Saeftinghe Castle toll was levied on

330-740: The North Sea by what is now known as the Eastern Scheldt . Even in 1250-1300 fishermen could only use the Honte at high tide. In the late 14th and early 15th century, a number of floods opened a connection from the Honte / Western Scheldt to the Scheldt. This led to the rise of Antwerp as the commercial center of the Netherlands. Even so, the connection to Antwerp over the Western Scheldt remained problematic for

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360-659: The Western Scheldt, and according to some also on the Eastern Scheldt. In 1288 a new dike was made to create the Nieuwlandpolder. Saefthinghe Castle was in the Oudelandpolder. It might be that the first location of Saeftinghe town was also in the Oudelandpolder, and that it was later moved to become Saeftinghe village at a new location. During the 14th century, most of the dikes around Saeftinghe Castle were destroyed. At least after 1365-1369, Saeftinghe Castle came to lie on

390-443: The best known occupants of the abbey and gave his name to the stretch of land claimed from the sea. Up to 1570, the land was very fertile polder . Agriculture, peat burning and trade turned Saeftinghe into one of the most prosperous places in the region. There were several additional settlements nearby: Namen, Sint-Laureins, Stampaert, Weele (Sint-Marie), Sint-Laureijns and Casuwele. The settlements were mostly small villages with just

420-399: The castle garrison marched out against those of Ghent, but was severely beaten. At about the same time it got extra fortifications. In 1484 and somewhat later Maximilian of Austria constructed a new fortress or fortifications near the castle. The mention of 250 footmen and 40 cavalry gives the idea that these were more modern fortifications. On a map from the first half of the 16th century,

450-497: The castle is depicted as a ruin. In 1539 the ring dike was almost completely washed away by a storm. It was restored, but in 1552 it was again severely damaged. This time, only provisional repairs were made. The All Saints' Flood of 1570 marked the beginning of the end for the whole land of Saeftinghe. At first the dikes were repaired, but a financial crisis, and the early phases of the Eighty Years' War doomed it. In 1583 and 1584

480-440: The castle. There was a house for the toll collector, a small galley with sail and four oarsmen, a small boat. In 1394 a new construction phase started. An interesting detail are the buttresses on the outside of the walls. These would diminish the defensive value of the castle, and were therefore normally on the inside of the castle walls. However, these outside buttresses were also seen at Borselen Castle. A likely explanation

510-404: The larger Hanze ships till way into the 16th century. Saeftinghe Castle was built in 1279, at the place where the Honte / Westerschelde split of from the Scheldt. This was a strategic location, but also an excellent location to levy toll on the Honte. Not much is known about the characteristics of Saeftinghe Castle. The ruins are now probably deep in the Western Scheldt. The castle was depicted on

540-492: The municipality of Hulst , when Graauw en Langendam  [ nl ] and Clinge ceased to exist. Within the historical municipal limits, Saaftinge today has a population of 55. The flag consists of a blue lion rampant on a white field. The lion originates from the personal shield of Willem van Saeftinghe. A legend of Saeftinghe attributes the All Saint's flood to capturing a mermaid and not setting her free. This caused

570-468: The nearby Visitors Center. Most of the land around the town was lost in the All Saint's flood of 1570 (the Allerheiligenvloed ). Four years later the drowned land reached into what is now Belgium . Only Saeftinghe and some surrounding land managed to remain dry. In 1584, during the Eighty Years' War , Dutch soldiers found themselves forced to destroy the last intact dike and Saeftinghe sank into

600-400: The only windmill on a sea wall. The Baroque Hooghuis (1613) that is associated with the entourage and holdings of the famous 17th century Antwerp painter , Peter Paul Rubens . Some of the other historical and cultural buildings in the town area are the "Reynard Farm" (De Reinaerthoeve), with a monumental farmhouse and barn. "De Doolen" is a historic school. "De Putten", or "The Wells", is

630-503: The rebels destroyed the first dikes in order to keep control of the Scheldt. After they lost Antwerp in 1585, the whole of Zeelandic Flanders was inundated. Near the castle, the Saeftinghse Gat was formed. The Saeftinghse Gat and the others that were formed, were hard to close, because they were left open for such a long time. By 1584 the Saeftinghse Gat had washed away much of the castle ruins. The exact location of Saeftinghe castle

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660-412: The region to be cursed by the merman, and led to the flood that destroyed the towns of Sint-Laureins, Namen and Casuwele, killing all inhabitants. The legend holds that a tower bell calls for help from the sunken town. Another Saeftinghe legend holds the belief that visitors of the area and inhabitants of the nearby village of Emmadorp sometimes see 'ghosts' in the fog. According to the legend the ghosts are

690-510: The so-called Scheldekaart van Rupelmonde tot aan het Zwin en het eiland Walcheren from 1468, and the Scheldekaart van Rupelmonde tot aan de zee from 1504/05. On the 1468 map it was named Casteel van Scaftyngen , on the 1504/05 map it was named Saeftinghen tslot . Saeftinghe Castle probably started as a Motte-and-bailey castle . In account from 1293, there is a reference to a steen , and some houses beneath it. The word steen

720-462: The spirits of the inhabitants of the three towns killed in the flood. A visitor centre opened in Emmadorp in 1997, from where excursions to the nature reserve depart. From 1997 to 2007, an average of around 12,000 visitors per year went on excursions. 51°21′13″N 4°9′54″E  /  51.35361°N 4.16500°E  / 51.35361; 4.16500 Saeftinghe Castle Saeftinghe Castle

750-593: The village of Doel is allowed to exist. A green buffer zone will be created between the harbour and the village. The World War II monument will also be returned to its original location. Saeftinghe Saeftinghe or Saaftinge was a town in the southwest Netherlands , located in eastern Zeelandic Flanders , near Nieuw-Namen . It existed until 1584. It is now a swamp known as the Drowned Land of Saeftinghe  [ nl ] ( Dutch : Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe ) and an official nature reserve area. The land

780-417: The village. In 2021, there were still 19 people living in the village and 91 in the surrounding area. A memorial to British soldiers killed nearby during World War II was removed from the town square during the early morning hours in 2011, according to a BBC report. On 30 March 2022, a compromise was reached after a 24-year long legal battle. The Port of Antwerp is allowed to extend its container harbour, and

810-522: The waters of the Scheldt . Attempts to reclaim the area were made throughout history; the most serious project taking place in 1907, but even then only the Hertogin Hedwigepolder was conquered from the sea. Nowadays a hamlet is located within the reclaimed portions of land, called Emmadorp  [ nl ] . Saaftinge itself has never been retrieved. In 1970, all of the area was incorporated into

840-480: Was a castle on the northeast tip of the drowned land of Saeftinghe . It was destroyed by flooding in the 16th century, and now its exact location is unknown. The location of Saeftinghe Castle, and indeed the history of the drowned land of Saeftinghe, is closely connected to changes in the local waterways. In early medieval times, the Western Scheldt , or Honte was not yet connected to the Scheldt , which flowed to

870-462: Was a wing with living quarters. On the 1468 map the depiction is on a piece of paper that has been glued onto the map. As other castles on the maps (Beveren, Halsteren and Rupelmonde) were depicted rather accurately, it can be assumed that this also applies to Saeftinghe Castle. Furthermore, for the time of construction, location and purpose, such a square castle is a not unlikely construction. An account from 1375-1376 refers to covering four towers of

900-543: Was still in the same situation. In 1420 there was still a castellan on the castle. Somewhat later, the Count of Flanders sold the area to Ten Duinen Abbey . The area around the castle was not included. It was a square area of about 450 by 450 meters. About 80 meters east of the castle was a harbor. The abbey made new polders in the area, but these did not included the castle, which continued behind its ring dike. From 1375 to 1539 there were many reports of damage to this dike. In 1452

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