Bath is a small village and a former municipality in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

province of

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

, lying on the north shore of the

Western Scheldt The Western Scheldt ( ), 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 Westerschelde as ...

. It is now located in the municipality of Reimerswaal, about 10 km southwest of

Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the Brabantian dialect, local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southwestern Netherlands. It is located in the Province ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1325 as "insula de Boestenbare dicta". The current name refers to the Bad Creek (compare: bath). According to the 19th-century historian A.J. van der Aa, the former village of Bath was hit by floods several times in the 16th century: in 1530, 1532, 1536 and 1539. After these floods, only the church tower of the village was left, but it too had disappeared by the 19th century. In 1773, a part of the area was reclaimed from the sea again, and a fort, Fort Bath, was built in 1785 to protect the ships who collected the toll for passing ships. A small hamlet was built inside the fort; this became the new village of Bath. The structure contained a square fort with three

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s surrounded by a moat. In 1809, it was destroyed during the

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...

, and was rebuilt between 1830 and 1834. In 1867, it was deemed obsolete. Bath was home to 299 people in 1840. In 1950, a little church was built by the Free Evangelical Congregation. The village was flooded during the

North Sea flood of 1953 The 1953 North Sea flood () was a major flood caused by a heavy storm surge that struck the Netherlands, north-west Belgium, England and Scotland. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, resulting in extensive flooding. The ...

. Bath was a separate municipality until 1878 (called "Fort Bath" until 1816), when it became a part of the municipality of Rilland-Bath.

Transportation

In 1872, the Rilland-Bath railway station was built on the

Roosendaal Roosendaal () is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Towns/villages of the municipality * Roosendaal (population: 66,760) * Wouw (4,920) * Heerle (1,900) * Nispen (1,440) * Wouwse ...

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...

railway line.

Gallery

File:De bouwvallen van de toren van Bath in Zeeland De Batsen Toorn (titel op object), RP-T-1888-A-1808.jpg, The ruins of the church towers in the 1630s File:De Schelde gezien vanaf Bath I.jpg, The

Schelde The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old English ("shallow" ...

as seen from Bath File:Bath, monumentale opslagplaats RM32422 foto2 2012-05-17 10.06.JPG, Former arsenal File:Met militairgebouw - Bath - 20028560 - RCE.jpg, Little church and military buildings

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Zeeland Former municipalities of Zeeland Reimerswaal (municipality)