Zierikzee () is a small city in the southwest

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 ...

, 50 km southwest of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

. It is situated in the municipality of

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 ...

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 city hall of Schouwen-Duiveland is located in Zierikzee, its largest city. Zierikzee is connected to Oosterschelde through a canal. In 2001, the town of Zierikzee had 10,313 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 3.0 km², and contained 4,295 residences.Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001''
(Statistics are for the continuous built-up area). The statistical area "Zierikzee", which also can include the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 10,730.Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
''Statline: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2003-2005''
. As of 1 January 2005.

History

Zierikzee, then located on the island of Schouwen, received city rights in 1248. In 1304, a fleet commissioned by the French and Dutch defeated a Flemish fleet in the naval

Battle of Zierikzee The battle of Zierikzee was a naval battle between a Flemish fleet and an allied Franco- Hollandic fleet which took place on 10 and 11 August 1304. The battle, fought near the town of Zierikzee, ended in a Franco-Dutch victory. The battle is part ...

Modern history

On 30 April 1917, a lost British pilot of the Royal Naval Air Service mistakenly entered the airspace of the Netherlands, then neutral in World War I, and dropped eight bombs on Zierikzee - damaging several houses and killing a family of three. After initially denying the incident, the British government apologized and agreed to compensate the Dutch for damage and loss of life. In 1953, Zierikzee was damaged by the catastrophic North Sea flood of 1953. The English town of Hatfield sent help and a friendship has developed. The two towns have been twinned. In 1997 the municipality of Zierikzee merged into that of

. In 2015, the last surviving example of the city's defensive

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s; cast in 1552, was donated to the city by the British coastguard. The coastguard had recovered it from a commercial diver, during a criminal investigation. The diver had found it off the Kent coast. On 27 June 2022, a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

estimated at between F1 and F2 struck the city, killing one person and injuring nine others. Three hundred properties were damaged. File:Channel, Zierikzee, Netherlands.JPG, The channel that connects Zierikzee to Oosterschelde is mainly used by tourist boats. File:Velde-Zierikzee.png, ''View of Zierikzee'' (1618), by Esaias van der Velde File:Zierikzee 1649 Blaeu HR+.jpg, 1649 map of Zierikzee (''Zirizea'') in

Willem Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, ...

and

Joan Blaeu Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673) was a Dutch cartographer born in Alkmaar, the son of cartographer Willem Blaeu. Life In 1620, Blaeu became a doctor of law but he joined the work of his father. In 1635, they publish ...

's "Toonneel der Steden" File:Church, Zierikzee, Netherlands.JPG, The tower ( Sint-Lievensmonstertoren) of Zierikzee was planned to be twice as high as it was eventually built.

References

* * {{Authority control Schouwen-Duiveland Populated places in Zeeland Former municipalities of Zeeland Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1997 Cities in the Netherlands