Neeltje Jans () is an
artificial island
An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those tha ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in the 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 ...
, halfway between
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 the ...
and
Schouwen-Duiveland
Schouwen-Duiveland () is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland. The municipality has 33,737 inhabitants (1 January 2016) and covers an area of (of which is water).
The northside of the island has two fi ...
in the
Oosterschelde
The Eastern Scheldt ( nl, Oosterschelde) is a former estuary in the province of Zeeland, Netherlands, between Schouwen-Duiveland and Tholen on the north and Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland on the south. It also features the largest national ...
. It was constructed to facilitate the construction of the
Oosterscheldedam.
After the construction, a fun park with attractions and other various expositions were built on the island, which are now connected to the shore through the dam. Another addition of the island is a nature reserve.
The
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
was named after a nearby
sand bank
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It o ...
. The name of this sandbank has two possible origins:
* It could be named after a boat with the name Neeltje Jans, stranded on the sandbank. Neeltje is a Dutch first name (a diminutive from Cornelia or Neelie like in
Neelie Kroes
Neelie Kroes (; born 19 July 1941) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessperson who served as European Commissioner from 22 November 2004 to 1 November 2014.
Kroes studied Economics at t ...
). Jans is a familiar surname (meaning a son or daughter of Jan).
*It could be named after a goddess of the sea,
Nehalennia
Nehalennia (spelled variously) is a goddess of unclear origin, perhaps Germanic or Celtic. She is attested on and depicted upon numerous votive altars discovered around what is now the province of Zeeland, the Netherlands, where the Schelde River ...
.
The second stage of the
2015 Tour de France
The 2015 Tour de France was the 102nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 4 July in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and concluding on 26 July with the Champs-Élysées stage ...
finished on Neeltje Jans on 5 July 2015.
Gallery
File:Neeltje-Jans-Zeeland-2020-Luka-Peternel.jpg, Low altitude aerial view
File:Oosterscheldekering (1).jpg, High altitude aerial view
References
External links
*
Official web site*
Artificial islands of the Netherlands
Islands of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta
Islands of Zeeland
Veere
Walcheren
{{zeeland-geo-stub