Knokke-Heist (; french: Knocke-Heist) is a

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 ...

in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

. The municipality comprises the towns of

Heist-aan-Zee Heist-aan-Zee, Heist or Heyst, is a town (formerly a municipality, until 1971) in Knokke-Heist, West Flanders, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. ...

Knokke Knokke () is a town in the municipality of Knokke-Heist, which is located in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. The town itself has 15,708 inhabitants (2007), while the municipality of Knokke-Heist has 33,818 inhabitants (2009). ...

, Duinbergen, Ramskapelle and Westkapelle. On January 1, 2006 Knokke-Heist had a total population of 34,063. The total area is 56.44 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 603 inhabitants per km². Knokke-Heist is located along the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

in a

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

area on the Belgian border with 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 ...

. It is Belgium’s best-known and most affluent

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

History

Middle Ages

Originally, the marshy

Zwin The Zwin is a nature reserve at the North Sea coast, on the Belgian-Dutch border. It consists of the entrance area of a former tidal inlet which during the Middle Ages connected the North Sea with the ports of Sluis and Bruges inland. The Zwin ...

area was mostly settled by shepherds and fishermen. With the encouragement of the

Counts of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...

, several

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

s were built between the 11th and the 13th century and the land successfully dewatered, giving rise to agriculture and further sheep breeding. New parishes were founded and the early settlement of Sint-Anna-ter-Muiden, later made part of Westkapelle, obtained city rights in 1242. The strategic importance of the Zwin harbour was recognized in 1301, during the war between Count

Guy of Dampierre Guy of Dampierre (french: Gui de Dampierre; nl, Gwijde van Dampierre) ( – 7 March 1305, Compiègne) was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated the ...

and the French King Philip the Fair. During the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

that followed shortly after, several battles were fought between France and England for supremacy of the area including the

Battle of Sluys The Battle of Sluys (; ), also called the Battle of l'Écluse, was a naval battle fought on 24 June 1340 between England and France. It took place in the roadstead of the port of Sluys (French ''Écluse''), on a since silted-up inlet between ...

in June 1340. The local population tried to remain neutral as it was politically tied to Flanders, then allied to France, but economically dependent on wool from England. Under

Philip the Bold Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and '' jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. Philip II was ...

’s leadership, it took advantage of the relative peace of the end of the century to fortify the canal linking the Zwin to the port of

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

15th to 17th century

The beginning of the 15th century witnessed several renewed English attacks on neighboring Sluis, with devastating effects on the local economy, until a lasting peace was signed in 1439. The end of the century was marked by internal rebellions against Maximilian of Austria and strategic flooding of the

s. The reign of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

in the following century saw peace coming back to the region. This was also the time when the Zwin started silting and when apple

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

s were planted to supplement the local economy. The

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

of the late 16th century brought renewed floods and devastation, but the economy managed to come back to life after the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

with the cultivation of

rapeseed Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains a ...

and

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es. The strength of this agricultural rebirth and of the cattle trade allowed the local farmers to weather future economic crises relatively well.

18th century until today

Following the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne o ...

in 1713, the territory of Knokke was annexed to the

, but the old border was reestablished at the Zwin a few years later. After the

Battle of Fleurus (1794) The Battle of Fleurus, on 26 June 1794, was an engagement during the War of the First Coalition, between the army of the First French Republic, under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, and the Coalition Army (Britain, Hanover, Dutch Republic, and H ...

, Bruges, Knokke and the neighboring municipalities were included in the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the Lys. The construction of the Leopold Canal in 1857 made the closing of the Zwin and its transformation in a natural reservation possible. The development of Knokke and Heist as tourist destinations followed soon after. The population of Knokke doubled between 1873 and 1914 to 3,326 inhabitants, then again from 1914 to 1930 and again to reach more than 14,000 in 1965 despite the heavy setbacks brought by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Notable sights

*The area known as ''Het Zoute'' (''Le Zoute'' in French) includes the exclusive Royal Zoute Golf Club, located in the dunes. *The

, a 158 ha coastal

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. This large salt-water marsh area is also a protected bird sanctuary. *The Sincfala museum, located in Heist, documents the regional history and way of life. *A

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

garden (''Vlindertuin'') was established near ''Moeder Siska'', the

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

that makes clover-shaped

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron and recipe used ...

s which dates from 1892. Both closed in 2010. * Scharpoord, a concert hall *"De groetende mannen", translated to "the men greeting (each other)", a sculpture by Joep van Lieshout of two large orange men shaking hands *The sculpture of Alfred Verwee located in front of the town hall *The sculpture located on the beach of Knokke-Heist. There are many sculptures in Knokke-Heist located on the beach and on the wave breakers. *The pink fountain located at the tourism center. *The sculpture of a blue floating water faucet built by the municipal water company. *The sculpture of a rabbit located at the end of the boardwalk.

Events, sports and culture

*Knokke-Heist is home to more than 40

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

. *The ''Kneistival'', a free and week-long music festival, has taken place every July since 1986. *Festival international du cinéma expérimental de Knokke-le-Zoute (Experimental Film festival) :fr:Festival international du cinéma expérimental de Knokke-le-Zoute *Knokke-Heist is home to the Cartoon Festival of Knokke-Heist, which is an art gallery open in the summer located on the beach in front of the casino in which cartoons for adults and children are presented. *Knokke-Heist host a carnaval every year at the end of February. *The Belgian Basketball Supercup is held in Knokke-Heist. *The Belgian Volleyball Supercup is also held in Knokke-Heist. *Miss Belgian beauty is Belgian beauty pageant held in Knokke-Heist. *The Zwin Triathlon at the end of September.

Inhabitants

Günther Vanaudenaerde Günther Vanaudenaerde (born 23 January 1984) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a right back. Football career After playing youth football for FC Lissewege, KSC Blankenberge and Cercle Brugge, Vanaudenaerde made his de ...

, defense

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player (1984-) *David Van Ooteghem, radio presenter (1975-)

Gallery

File:Knokke Albertstrand R02.jpg, File:Casino Knokke.JPG, File:Stadhuis van Knokke, Alfred Verweeplein 1, Knokke.jpg, File:Pissarro Camille, Le village de Knocke, 1894, ppp630, Paris Musées.jpg, File:ZWIN.jpg, File:Knokke - Dominicanenkerk 1.jpg, File:Alfred Verwee002.jpg, File:Twee Groetende AVL-Mannen 02.jpg, File:Pines at Knocke by Charles Warren Eaton.jpg, File:St George Knokke.JPG,

Notes

External links

Official website
- Information available in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, French,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Sincfala museum
- Information on local history and on the Zwin area, available in

only
KH Magazine
- Official website of the community magazine KH, including a complete activity calendar

, French {{Authority control Municipalities of West Flanders Port cities and towns of the North Sea Seaside resorts in Belgium