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30-751: The paper is a merger of a number of regional papers, the oldest of which was the Middelburgsche Courant , founded in 1758 in Middelburg . One of its scoops was hiring the first female reporter in the Netherlands, in 1885. In 1933, the Middelburgsche Courant acquired a paper from Goes , the Goesche Courant . In 1939, it merged with the Vlissingsche Courant , founded 1869 in Vlissingen , and became

60-576: A monastery was built on the site, which remained an active Catholic foundation until the Reformation. Foundations for Middelburg's "stately and picturesque" main church were first laid in the 10th century; additional construction continued through the Middle Ages. Middelburg was granted city rights in 1217. During the Middle Ages , it became an important trading centre in the commerce between England and

90-410: A Zeeland edition. BN/De Stem had been acquired by Wegener in 2000 when it took over VNU , and it had been required to keep both papers editorially separate to continue to offer readers a choice between two independent newspapers. In 2009 complaints had come in that Wegener had combined operations as a cost-cutting measure, leading to the 2010 verdict. In 2010, 48% of the paper's paid subscribers share

120-594: A city if it obtained a complete package of city rights at some point in its history. Its current population is not relevant, so there are some very small cities. The smallest is Staverden in the Netherlands, with 40 inhabitants. In Belgium, Durbuy is the smallest city, whilst the smallest in Luxembourg is Vianden . When forced by financial problems, feudal landlords offered for sale privileges to settlements from around 1000. The total package of these comprises town privileges . Such sales raised (non-recurrent) revenue for

150-628: A feature of the medieval history of the Low Countries , and, more generally, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation . A liege lord , usually a count , duke or similar member of the high nobility, granted to a town or village he owned certain town privileges that places without city rights did not have. In Belgium , Luxembourg , and the Netherlands , a town, often proudly, calls itself

180-519: A university until 2004 when University College Roosevelt (formerly known as Roosevelt Academy ), affiliated with Utrecht University , was established. A campus of the HZ University of Applied Sciences is also located in the city, although this institution has its headquarters in the nearby city of Vlissingen. Middelburg has a rugby club, Oemoemenoe, and four football (soccer) clubs: MZVC, Zeelandia Middelburg, Jong Ambon and FC Dauwendaele. Jong Ambon

210-470: Is translated Young Ambon, and consists of mostly Ambonese players. FC Dauwendaele is the club of the neighborhood of Dauwendaele. Middelburg has a railway station with intercity train connections to Vlissingen , Goes , Roosendaal , Rotterdam , The Hague , Leiden , Haarlem , and Amsterdam . Four trains leave every hour in both directions. City rights in the Netherlands City rights are

240-621: The Provinciale Zeeuwsche Courant . In 1946 another Goes newspaper, Vrije Stemmen: Dagblad voor Zeeland , merged into PZC. Vrije Stemmen started as an underground newspaper during WWII . In 1998 PZC acquired the Zierikzeesche Nieuwsbode , founded in 1844 by Pieter de Looze of Zierikzee . In 2006 PZC ' s circulation was 58,000, down 3% from the year before, following a trend among Dutch regional newspapers. In 2007 and 2008 hovered around 52,000. Visitors to

270-432: The microscope and telescope is often credited to Middelburg spectacle-makers (including Zacharias Janssen and Hans Lipperhey ) in the late 16th century and early 17th century. The city of Middelburg dates back possibly to the late 8th century or early 9th century. The first mention of Middelburg was as one of three fortified towns ( borgs ) erected on Walcheren (then an island) to guard against Viking raids. In 844

300-624: The province of Zeeland . Situated on the central peninsula of the Zeeland province, Midden-Zeeland (consisting of former islands Walcheren , Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland ), it has a population of about 48,000. In terms of technology, Middelburg played a role in the Scientific Revolution at the early modern period . The town was historically a center of lens crafting in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology . The invention of

330-607: The 17th century slave trade . Samuel Ben Israel, son of Menasseh Ben Israel , is buried in Middelburg at the Sephardic burial site located at the 'Jodengang' outside the citywall. Menasseh Ben Israel negotiated with Cromwell the opening of England, and its colonies, to the Jews. Middelburg also has an Ashkenazic burial site, which is located at the Walensingel inside the city wall. In 1994

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360-578: The 19th century to make way for a commercial canal that crosses Walcheren from Vlissingen to Veere . The medieval abbey is still in use today, as a museum and as the seat of the provincial government. Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573–1621) was a still life painter of the Dutch Golden Age who worked most of his life in Middelburg. He had three sons, Johannes Bosschaert (1606/08– 1628/29), Ambrosius Bosschaert II (1609–1645) and Abraham Bosschaert

390-455: The 40.7 °C measured at Gilzerijen KNMI and 40.6 °C in Westdorpe. Vlissingen KNMI measured −11.0 °C and 37.5 °C on the same dates, clearly showing how much the influence is diminished just 8 km further inland. The climate is warming due to anthropogenic influences, clearly witnessed by the fact that the previous record of 37.5 °C was measured just a year before. Also, in

420-627: The German bombardment. Modern Middelburg has preserved and regained much of its historic and picturesque character. There are lavish 17th and 18th century merchant houses and storehouses standing along canals , of a similar style as found in cities like Amsterdam . The old city moats are still there, as are two of the city gates , the Koepoort Gate and the Varkenspoort Gate. Part of the 18th century moat and defence works, however, were demolished in

450-719: The Low Countries won their independence from their former Spanish Habsburg rulers and formed the Dutch Republic , a Protestant state. Later, during the 17th century (the Dutch Golden Age ), Middelburg became, after Holland 's metropolis Amsterdam , the most important center for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. As such, Middelburg also played an important role in

480-570: The Younger (1612–1643) who were all Dutch Golden Age painters. The painter Pieter Gaal (1769–1819) was born, settled and died here, after traveling over Europe to paint. Another well-known citizen of Middelburg was the admiral and explorer Jacob Roggeveen , who was born in the city in 1659 and died there in 1729. Roggeveen discovered Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in the South Pacific Ocean on Easter Sunday, 6 April 1722. Further discoveries on

510-526: The authority they had previously had: law-making and the judiciary had become part of the state . After the Constitution of 1848 and the Municipal Law of 1851, the differences between the legal privileges of cities, towns, and villages were permanently erased. In the early 19th century, when several important towns (especially The Hague ) wanted to call themselves cities, the custom of granting city status

540-548: The development and centralization of a national government. In the Netherlands the last city to receive real city rights (as defined above) was Willemstad in 1586. During the Dutch Republic , only Blokzijl gained city rights (in 1672). After the Batavian Revolution in 1795, municipalities were styled after the French model and city rights were abolished by law. Although partially restored after 1813, cities did not fully regain

570-475: The early phases of World War II, on 17 May 1940. It is still not certain if German bombers or French artillery were responsible. The town was captured and liberated by British troops during Operation Infatuate on 6 November 1944. After the War, as much of the destroyed part of the old town center was rebuilt and restored along pre-War lines as far as was possible. The city's archives, however, had been incinerated during

600-563: The feudal lords, in exchange for the loss of power. Over time, the landlords sold more and more privileges. This resulted in a shift of power within the counties and duchies in the Low Countries from the aristocracy to the bourgeoisie, starting in Flanders . Some of these cities even developed into city-states . The growing economic and military power concentrating in the cities led to a very powerful class of well-to-do merchants and traders. Privileges Freedoms Governance Note several of

630-530: The following were first granted city rights during the medieval period. The first community in the contemporary Kingdom of the Netherlands to receive city rights was Deventer in 956. It can be argued that some cities have older rights: for instance Nijmegen may have been granted city status during the Roman Empire . Another case is Voorburg , which is built on the site of the Roman settlement Forum Hadriani and

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660-418: The municipality also includes several population centres, including: Arnemuiden , Kleverskerke , Nieuw- en Sint Joosland and Sint Laurens . The town is close to the coast but the distance of 10–15 km means the winters are somewhat colder with especially lower winter minima and higher summer maxima. It has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) with few extremes. Winters tend to be mild, especially considering

690-446: The northern latitude, summers are cool and precipitation is spread out evenly over the year. All seasons are warming up by about 0.5 °C/decade due to anthropogenic warming. The extremes measured since 2000, 2 km northeast of the town in the countryside with calibrated equipment have been −17.2 °C on 4 February 2012 and 40.9 °C on 25 July 2019, the latter unofficially being a new Dutch all-time high record, slightly above

720-458: The paper with their neighbors, the highest such number among Dutch newspapers. In 2012 circulation was down to 49,948 copies. In 2015 Wegener was sold to the De Persgroep of Belgium , now known as DPG Media . Middelburg, Zeeland Middelburg ( Dutch: [ˈmɪdəlbʏr(ə)x] ) is a city and municipality in the south-western Netherlands serving as the capital of

750-570: The paper's website brought the total readership up to 250,000 in 2008. In 2008 PZC celebrated its 250th anniversary in the presence of Beatrix of the Netherlands , who received a copy of the commemorative book PZC 250 Jaar . In 2010 Wegener was fined 20 million Euros by the Dutch competition regulator , the Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit. Wegener also owned BN/De Stem , a regional newspaper in west North Brabant that published

780-540: The past minima have been at and probably below −20 °C in winter months. Snowcover, days with airfrost and icedays (Tx < 0.0 °C) have greatly diminished and with it ice speedskating on the canals, a favourite sport in the winter months, has become very infrequent since 2013 especially. When William of Orange decided to found the first university in the Netherlands in 1575, he initially considered locating it in Middelburg. Ultimately he chose Leiden , however, and Middelburg—as well as all of Zeeland—remained without

810-608: The rising cities of Flanders , a fact commented on by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales . The town continued to gain in power and prestige during the 13th and 14th centuries. From 1559 to 1603, Middelburg was the episcopal see of a Catholic bishopric covering all Zeeland . In the Eighty Years' War , the city was captured by Dutch rebels from the Spanish forces during a long siege (1572–1574). The northern provinces of

840-502: The same journey included islands of the Tuamotu group, now part of French Polynesia . Petronella Johanna de Timmerman , scientist and poet, was born here in 1723. In 1774 she was inducted as an honorary member of the academy Kunstliefde Spaart Geen Vlijt. Also, she presented the academy with poems, translated from French plays. She died in Utrecht in 1786. Aside from the town of Middelburg,

870-532: The synagogue was restored, as it was partially destroyed during the Second World War. This synagogue was the third one to be built in the Netherlands during the Golden Age. In the hall of the railway station there is a plaque of remembrance for the Jews of Zeeland who started their journey to the death camps from the Middelburg train station. About a third of the old city centre was devastated by bombs and fire in

900-459: Was granted city status in about AD 151, but was abandoned in the late 3rd century: thus the current settlement is not considered an uninterrupted continuation of the Roman city. At the end of the Middle Ages , the number of grants of city status fell dramatically. The strong position of merchants and traders allowed the Netherlands to become the first modern republic in the 16th century. The institution of city status gradually came to an end with

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