Retranchement 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 located on the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

border, about 9 km northwest of

Oostburg Oostburg ( Zeelandic Flemish: ''Wòstburg'') is a city in the south-western Netherlands. It located in the municipality of Sluis, in the province of Zeeland. As of 1 January 2015, its population is 4731, down from 5008 in January 2005. It received ...

, in the municipality of

Sluis Sluis (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Sluus ; french: Écluse) is a town and municipality located in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western Dutch province of Zeeland. The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 January ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1627 as "Een groot en seer sterck Retrenchement". Retrenchement is a type of

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 ...

. The village is named after Retranchement Cadsandria which was built around 1622 to protect against the Spanish troops, and consists of a wall with

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s with a sconce on either side. The fortification was built by

Maurice, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...

to control the

Zwin The Zwin is a nature reserve at the North Sea coast, on the Belgian-Dutch border. It consists of the entrance area of a former tidal inlet which during the Middle Ages connected the North Sea with the ports of Sluis and Bruges inland. The Zwi ...

and protect the recently conquered harbour of the

. The fortification were enlarged in 1644, and a little settlement developed. The redoubt of Fort Nassau still exists. The Dutch Reformed church is a small aisleless church with

ridge turret A ridge turret is a turret or small tower constructed over the ridge or apex between two or more sloping roofs of a building. It is usually built either as an architectural ornament for purely decorative purposes or else for the practical housing ...

which was built in 1630 as a garrison church. The exterior was restored in 1948, and the interior in 1955. Construction of the nameless

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

of Retranchement started on 24 July 1643. It was blown over in a storm in 1717, and rebuilt 70 metres from its original spot. It was damaged in 1944, but could still be operated. It was repaired in 1948. In 1963, it was no longer in service. It was restored in 1982/83 and 2002/2003, and operates on a voluntary basis. Retranchement used to be an important border crossing, and there was an interchange station between the tram line from

Breskens Breskens is a harbour town on the Westerschelde in the municipality of Sluis in the province of Zeeland, in the south-western Netherlands. Its population is 4,787 (). The town is noted for the ''Visserijfeesten'' (Fishery Festival), the largest f ...

to Maldeghem and the Belgian tram line to

Knokke Knokke () is a town in the municipality of Knokke-Heist, which is located in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. The town itself has 15,708 inhabitants (2007), while the municipality of Knokke-Heist has 33,818 inhabitants (2009). ...

. The tram lines closed in 1939 and 1948 respectively. Retranchement was the scene of heavy fighting both in May 1940 and October to November 1944. Retranchement and Sluis were the last places liberated by the Canadian army during the

Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations led by the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Allies ...

, due to the strong fortifications of the village. 779 Canadians and 1,305 Germans died near Retranchement. Retranchement was a separate municipality until 1970, when it was merged with

Gallery

File:Retranchement, de Retranchementse Molen RM33921 foto6 2015-09-25 14.15.jpg, Windmill: de Retranchementse Molen File:Retranchement 1866.gif, Map (1866) File:Retranchement-20180531-211412.jpg, Sunset on the

File:Retranchement01.jpg, Village view

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Zeeland Former municipalities of Zeeland Sluis