Sas van Gent 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 o ...

in the Netherlands. It is located in the 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 ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

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 mentio ...

and lies about 30 km south of

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 ...

on the border with

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 ...

. The

Ghent–Terneuzen Canal The Ghent–Terneuzen Canal (Dutch: Kanaal van Gent naar Terneuzen), also known as the "Sea Canal" (Zeekanaal) is a canal linking Ghent in Belgium to the port of Terneuzen on the Westerschelde (Scheldt) Estuary in the Netherlands, thereby providi ...

passes through Sas van Gent, and at that point there was a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

in the canal. The name of the village, ''Sas van Gent'', means ''sluice of Ghent''.

History

Sas van Gent is a border fortress which was founded in 1547 when the city of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

received permission from

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

to dig a canal to the Westerschelde. Between 1551 and 1563, a lock was constructed north of

Zelzate Zelzate () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality only comprises the town of Zelzate proper. In 2021, Zelzate had a total population of 13,124. The total area is 13.71 km2. Zelzate is divided in ...

which was subsequently fortified. In 1583, it was captured by Spanish troops. In 1644, it was conquered by

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...

and became part of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...

. The city was attacked by the French in 1672 but could not be taken. The French returned in 1747, and conquered the city. Between 1825 and 1827, the

was dug, and a side canal was dug to Sas van Gent between 1882 and 1885. The Catholic Assumption of Mary church is a three-aisled basilica like church built between 1891 and 1892 and designed by Joseph Cuypers. The church is a replacement of its 1739 predecessor. Sas van Gent was home to 854 people in 1840. In 1869, a railway station opened on the

to Ghent railway line. The line was closed in 1939, and the building was demolished in 1967. The city started to industrialise in the late 19th century. A museum dedicated to the industrial heritage is located in Sas van Gent. Sas van Gent was a separate municipality until 2003, when it was merged with

. The former municipality covered an area of 63.65 km² (of which 3.02 km² water). The former municipality of Sas van Gent also included the following towns, villages and townships:

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Westdorpe,

Zandstraat Zandstraat is a small village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Terneuzen, and lies about 27 km southeast of Vlissingen. Zandstraat is not a statistical entity, and the postal authorities have placed it un ...

. All are now part of

Gallery

File:Industrieel Museum Zeeland.jpg, Industrial museum File:Sas van Gent - Nederlands Hervormde Kerk 1.jpg, Dutch Reformed church File:Sas van Gent - Kiosk 1.jpg, Bandstand

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sas Van Gent Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2003 Populated places in Zeeland Former municipalities of Zeeland Zeelandic Flanders Terneuzen 1547 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire