Kats is a village in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

province of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Noord-Beveland Noord-Beveland (; "North Beveland") is a municipality and region in the southwestern Netherlands and a former island, now part of the Walcheren- Zuid-Beveland-Noord-Beveland peninsula. Noord-Beveland is enclosed by the Oosterschelde estuary to ...

, and lies about 20 km east of

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1204 as Chats. The etymology is unknown. In the

Middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Kats originally prospered as ''Suburchdijke'' the name alluding to connections with the nearby city of Souburg. The local inhabitants are referred to locally as ''katsenaers'' and 150 of them were drowned in flooding caused by a great storm on 5 November 1530, which engulfed the whole island, then in 1532 the Elizabeth Flood swept away all the remaining buildings. Poldering Noord Beveland (the process the Dutch invented to reclaim land from the sea) did not start again until 1598 - the villages of

Colijnsplaat Colijnsplaat is a village in the Province of Zeeland, the Netherlands It is a part of the Municipality of Noord-Beveland, and lies about northeast of Middelburg. History The village was first mentioned in 1489 as "het gors Colinsplate", and me ...

and Kats were both built on estates at right angles to each other. The Dutch Reformed church originally dates from 1660. In 1870, it was extensively modified. The tower with gable roof were added between 1951 and 1952. Kats was home to 401 people in 1840. In 1853, the Abrahampolder was created, and the harbour was moved to the north east. Kats used to be an independent municipality. In 1941, it was merged into the municipality of

Kortgene Kortgene is a small city in the southwest Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Noord-Beveland, Zeeland, about 15 km northeast of Middelburg. It received city rights in 1431, but was flooded in 1530 and 1532. The new settlement r ...

. In 1995, it became part of Noord Beveland.

Notable people

Dirk Geijskes Dirk Cornelis Geijskes (16 May 1907 – 27 September 1985) was a Dutch biologist, ethnologist and curator. He was the first director of the Surinaams Museum. As a biologist, he specialised in dragonflies. He would lead many expeditions into the i ...

(1907–1985), Dutch biologist, ethnologist and curator

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Zeeland Former municipalities of Zeeland Noord-Beveland