Kieldrecht is a village and ''

deelgemeente A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section ( French) is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 J ...

'' (sub-municipality) of

Beveren Beveren () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders which comprises the towns of Beveren, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene. The port of the Waasland (Dutch: ''Waaslandhaven'') is in Beveren ...

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Kieldrecht was an independent municipality until 1977, when it merged with Beveren as part of the

fusion of municipalities in Belgium The fusion of the Belgian municipalities (French: ''fusion des communes'', Dutch: ''fusie van Belgische gemeenten'') was a Belgian political process that rationalized and reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium between 1975 and 1983. In 19 ...

. The village is located on the border with the Netherlands, and forms a single urban area with the Dutch village of

Nieuw-Namen Nieuw-Namen is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Hulst, and lies about 24 km south of Bergen op Zoom. The village is located on the border with the Belgium, and forms a single urban area with the B ...

History

Kieldrecht probably originates from the 10th century. In 1156, the priory of was established which became a site of pilgrimage. It was destroyed in the 16th century during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. Hulsterloo is mentioned in the poem ''

Van den vos Reynaerde ''Van den vos Reinaerde'' (English title: ''Of Reynaert the Fox'') is the Middle Dutch version of the story of Reynard, as written by Willem die Madoc maecte. The poem dates from around 1250. It is considered a major work of Middle Dutch litera ...

'' ( 1250) which is set in the area. Kieldrecht used to be a dike village whose economy was based on fishing. The land around Kieldrecht was often flooded. In 1805, new dikes were built around the Saaftingepolder, and the area was no longer affected by

spring tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ca ...

s. As a border area, it often suffered from wars, and contains few historic buildings. Like neighbouring

Doel Doel is a subdivision of the municipality of Beveren in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. It is located near the river the Scheldt, in a polder of the Waasland. Since 1965, there have been plans to extend the Port of Antwerp into ...

, a large part of the former municipality has become an industrial zone and is now part of the

Port of Antwerp The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...

. The municipality of Kieldrecht was home to 4,083 people in 1974, and covered an area of . In 1977, Kieldrecht was merged into

and became a ''

''.

Sights

The St Michaels Church was first mentioned in 1238. During the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

it was used as a

sconce Sconce may refer to: *Sconce (fortification), a military fortification *Sconce (light fixture) *Sconcing, imposing a penalty in the form of drink *Sconce Point Fort Victoria is a former military fort on the Isle of Wight, England (), built to ...

by the

Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army ( nl, Staatse leger) was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This mercenary army ...

against the Spanish troops. In 1711, a new single aisled church was built, and in 1788, a new tower was added. In 1854, the church was extensively modified into the current three aisled church.

Nature

The Grote Geule is a nature area near Kieldrecht. It is a complex of creeks which developed after the land was flooded. It contains slightly

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

water. The nature area attracts birds like the

western marsh harrier The western marsh harrier (''Circus aeruginosus'') is a large harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian marsh harrier. Formerly, a number of relatives were includ ...

and

bluethroat The bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It, and similar small Europea ...

, and is an important winter area for geese and ducks. The Grote Geule is

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

since 2003 and measures .

Notable people

Theo Middelkamp Theofiel ("Theo") Middelkamp (23 February 1914 – 2 May 2005) was a Dutch road cyclist. In 1947, Middelkamp became world champion. In 1936, he was the first Dutch cyclist ever to win a stage in the Tour de France. Biography Middelkamp was born ...

(1914–2005), road cyclist and former world champion. Born in Nieuw-Namen, but lived in Kieldrecht for most of his life. *

Frans Pauwels Frans Pauwels (8 September 1918 – 24 January 2001) was a Dutch racing cyclist. He rode in the 1948 and 1949 Tour de France The 1949 Tour de France was the 36th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 30 June to 24 July. It cons ...

(1918–2001), racing cyclist

Gallery

File:Kieldrecht - Pastorie 1.jpg, Clergy house File:Langsschuur Oud Arenberg 88A Beveren Belgium.jpg, Barn Oud Arenberg File:Kieldrechtse Watergang.jpg, Kieldrechtse Watergang in the Grote Geule File:Antwerp Euroterminal NV during sunset civil twilight in Kieldrecht, Belgium (DSCF3937).jpg, Antwerp Euroterminal

References

{{Authority control Beveren Populated places in East Flanders