Aardenburg is a small city close to the Dutch 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 th ...

. It is part of the

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 ...

Municipality, located in the 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 ...

in the

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 ...

. Its medieval name was Rodenburgh (Red Castle). In the Sint-Baafskerk, (Saint

Bavo Saint Bavo of Ghent (also known as Bavon, Allowin, Bavonius, Baaf; AD 622–659) is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint. He was the son of Pepin of Landen and the brother of saints Begga and Gertrude of Nivelles. Life Bavo was born nea ...

's Church), Aardenburg houses the most complete example of the ''Scheldegotiek'', the characteristic

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

of the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

. It is also still possible today to see remains of some of the fortifications that used to enclose the city.

History

Archeologists have found proof of settlement as early as 4500 BC. The site was a small Roman ''

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...

'', flourishing in the second and third centuries AD, where the foundations have been uncovered of a small Celto-Roman temple. After the Second World War restorations to damaged buildings uncovered fragments of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

rooftiles, of which some bear the markings of a Roman military post, as well as black vases and Roman sandals. The most significant find, however, was that of a Roman building with a foundation of 18 by 10 meters. The Roman

Castellum A ''castellum'' in Latin is usually: * a small Roman fortlet or tower,C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War; 2,30 a diminutive of ('military camp'), often used as a watchtower or signal station like on Hadrian's Wall. It should be distinguished from a ...

was in use from 175 to 270 AD.The latest coin is of ca 273 AD (''Princeton Encyclopedia'') On top of the foundations of this Roman building there were the remains of a

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

building, which was destroyed in 1383 according to later accounts. Rodenburgh was granted city rights in 1127 and is thus one of the oldest cities in the

and is the oldest city in Zealand. Until January 1, 1995, Aardenburg was a separate municipality. Until January 1, 2003, it was then in the municipality of

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 form ...

. In 2003 Sluis-Aardenburg and nearby

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 ...

were combined into an enlarged Sluis municipality. Aardenburg was walled at the end of the thirteenth century: the present Kaaipoort at the old town's western entrance dates only from the sixteenth century. The name of the gate recalls Aardenburg's former harbour, the site of which is now dominated by a bank. The blue banner decorating the Kaaipoort in this picture is a temporary embellishment, celebrating the carnival that precedes Lent.

Gallery

File:Sint-Baafskerk Aardenburg.JPG, Sint-Baafskerk / Saint

's Church, Aardenburg from the west Aardenburg 1560.jpg, Aardenburg around 1560 Lambert-van-den-Bos-Schauplatz-des-Krieges MG 9495.tif, Map of the fortifications of Aardenburg, before 1675 Rabobank Aardenburg.JPG,

Rabobank Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...

and the

ABN Amro ABN or abn may refer to: Companies * ABN AMRO Group, a Dutch bank group * ABN AMRO, sometimes referred to as "ABN" in shorthand, is a Dutch state-owned bank * Algemene Bank Nederland, a now-defunct Dutch bank Radio, news and television organizat ...

shared the site of Aardenburg's former harbour.

Born in Aardenburg

Frans Dieleman François Marinus (Frans) Dieleman (2 September 1942 in Aardenburg – 11 April 2005) was a Dutch geographer and Professor in Urban and Rural Geography at the Utrecht University known for his work in the fields of urban geography and the geography ...

(1942-2005), Dutch geographer *

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 Dir ...

(born 1953), Dutch film director.

Notes

External links

Richard Stillwell, ed. ''Princeton Encyclopaedia of Classical =Sites'', 1976:
Aardenburg {{Authority control Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1995 Populated places in Zeeland Former municipalities of Zeeland Sluis