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 2003. The former municipalities of Oostburg and Sluis-Aardenburg merged on that date. The latter of these two municipalities was formed from a merger between the previous municipality named Sluis and the former municipality of Aardenburg in 1995.

History

The town received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1290. In 1340 the Battle of Sluys was fought nearby at sea during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

. There is a record of one of the first lotteries with money on 9 May 1455 of 1737 florins (US$170,000, in 2014). 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 ...

in 1587 the town was captured by Spanish troops under the

Duke of Parma The Duke of Parma and Piacenza () was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a historical state of Northern Italy, which existed between 1545 and 1802, and again from 1814 to 1859. The Duke of Parma was also Duke of Piacenza, except ...

and was retaken in 1604 by a Dutch and English force under Maurice of Nassau. From 2006 until its closure in 2013, Oud Sluis was one of only two

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

three-starred restaurants in the entire country.

Geography

In addition to the town of Sluis itself, the municipality is made up of the following population centres:

Sint Anna ter Muiden Sint Anna ter Muiden is a small city in the province of Zeeland, Netherlands. It is administratively a part of municipality of Sluis, and the town of Sluis lies about 1 km east. It is located on the westernmost point of the Netherlands (excl ...

, with a population of only 50 (2001), is a small village about 1 km west of the town of Sluis, located on the westernmost point of the Netherlands.

Demography

The population of the city is 2,040 (as of 2001).

Transport

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

connection across the Westerschelde exists between Breskens and Vlissingen. After the opening of the Westerschelde tunnel near

Terneuzen Terneuzen () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland. History First mentione ...

in 2003, the ferry now carries only pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

Notable people

* John Crabbe (before 1305 in Muide – 1352) a Flemish merchant, pirate and soldier *

Joost de Soete Joost de Soete or de Zoete, Lord of Villers or Villiers, (1510–1520, Sluis – March 1589, The Hague) was a Dutch nobleman and Field Marshal who fought in the early years of the Eighty Years' War. De Soete was the third son Alexander de Zoete, ...

(ca.1510/1520 in Sluis – 1589) a Dutch nobleman and Field Marshal *

Jacob van Loo Jacob van Loo (1614 – 26 November 1670) was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age, chiefly active in Amsterdam and, after 1660, in Paris. Van Loo is known for his conversational groupings; particularly his mythological and biblical scenes general ...

(1614 in Sluis – 1670) a painter of the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

Joan Blasius Joan Leonardszoon Blasius (13 April 1639 – 6 December 1672) was a Dutch poet, playwright, translator and lawyer. Born near Cadzand in Oostvliet, a village now lost to the North Sea, he was the younger brother of the famous doctor Gerard Blasius ...

(1639 in Cadzand — 1672) a Dutch poet, playwright, translator and lawyer * Johanna Jacoba van Beaumont (ca.1752 in Sluis - 1827) a politically active journalist, feminist and editor *

Johan Hendrik van Dale Johan Hendrik van Dale (15 February 1828 - 19 May 1872) was a Dutch teacher, archivist, and lexicographer. He created '' Van Dale's Great Dictionary of the Dutch Language'' ( nl, Van Dale Groot woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal); first publish ...

(1828 in Sluis - 1872) a Dutch teacher, archivist and lexicographer * Ernst Oppler (1867–1929) German impressionist painter, lived for some years in Sluis * Jan Eekhout (1900 in Sluis - 1978) a Dutch writer, poet, translator and Nazi * Herman Wijffels (born 1942 in Turkeye) a retired Dutch politician and businessman * Hans Wijers (born 1951 in Oostburg) a retired Dutch politician and businessman * Ate de Jong (born 1953 in Aardenburg) a Dutch film director IMDb Database
retrieved 5 August 2019

Sport

* Willem van Hanegem (born 1944 in Breskens) a Dutch former football midfielder with over 50 caps and 600 appearances in the top flight of association football *

Annabel Kosten Annabel Kosten (born 23 May 1977) is a retired freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands, who won the bronze medal with the Dutch women's 4×100 m freestyle relay team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Career Kosten made her in ...

(born 1977 in Oostburg) a retired freestyle swimmer, bronze medallist at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Gallery

File:Sluis town hall.jpg, The town hall and the Belfort in Sluis File:Sluis church.jpg, The channel and the catholic church in Sluis File:Sint Anna ter Muiden2.jpg, A street of the village Sint Anna ter Muiden File:Retranchement, de Retranchementse Molen RM33921 foto6 2015-09-25 14.15.jpg, Retranchement, de Retranchementse Molen

References

External links

*
Official website
(in Dutch) {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2019 Zeelandic Flanders Populated places in Zeeland Municipalities of Zeeland Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1995 Municipalities of the Netherlands established in 2003 Cities in the Netherlands