Sluis (; zea, label=

Zeelandic Zeelandic ( zea, Zeêuws; nl, Zeeuws; vls, Zêeuws) is a group of Friso-Franconian language varieties spoken in the southwestern parts of the Netherlands. It is currently considered a Low Franconian dialect of Dutch, but there have been mo ...

, Sluus ; french: Écluse) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an or ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the west of

Zeelandic Flanders Zeelandic Flanders ( ; zea, Zeêuws-Vlaonderen; vls, Zêeuws-Vloandern)''Vlaanderen'' in isolation: . is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates ...

, in the south-western Dutch 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 ...

. The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 January 2003. The former municipalities 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 ...

and

Sluis-Aardenburg Sluis-Aardenburg was a municipality in the province of Zeeland, in the south-western part of the Netherlands. It was created from a merger of Sluis and Aardenburg in 1995, and it merged with the municipality of Oostburg, on 1 January 2003, to fo ...

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 traditio ...

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 England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Planta ...

. 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 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 ...

. From 2006 until its closure in 2013,

Oud Sluis Oud Sluis is a defunct restaurant in Sluis, Netherlands. It was a fine dining restaurant that had been awarded one or more Michelin stars since 1995. It carried one star in the period 1995–1998, two stars in the period 1999–2005 and three star ...

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 lar ...

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 ta ...

connection across the

Westerschelde The Western Scheldt ( nl, Westerschelde) in the province of Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are now disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the W ...

exists between Breskens and

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...

. 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 mention ...

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 (ca.1510/1520 in Sluis – 1589) a Dutch nobleman and Field Marshal * Jacob van Loo (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 art and th ...

* Joan 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 (1828 in Sluis - 1872) a Dutch teacher, archivist and lexicographer *

Ernst Oppler Ernst Oppler (19 September 1867 1 March 1929) was a German Impressionist painter and etcher born in Hanover. Early life Ernst Oppler was the son of Edwin Oppler (1831-1880), a prominent German-Jewish architect. Ernst Oppler's brothers were ...

(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 Ate de Jong (born 1953 in Aardenburg, Zeeland, Netherlands) is a Dutch film director. He is best known as the producer of '' The Discovery of Heaven'' (2001), nominated for a Golden Calf award, and '' Het Bombardement'' (2012). Filmography Dire ...

(born 1953 in Aardenburg) a Dutch film director IMDb Database
retrieved 5 August 2019

Sport

Willem van Hanegem Willem "Wim" van Hanegem (; born 20 February 1944) is a Dutch former football player and coach who played as a midfielder. In a playing career spanning over 20 years, he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands, as well as a European Cu ...

(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 (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