Saeftinghe
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Saeftinghe was a city in eastern Zeeuws-Vlaanderen near Nieuw-Namen that existed until 1584. Nowadays the area is a swamp known as the Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe (Drowned Land of Saeftinghe) which is an official nature reserve area. The land is a crosspoint where the river Scheldt meets the salty waters of the North Sea in the estuary know as the Western Scheldt. It is a treacherous place where the tides easily consume large stretches of land in a matter of seconds and must not be explored without an experienced guide.
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[edit] History
Saeftinghe was drained in the 13th century under the management of the abbey of Ter Doest. Willem van Saeftinghe was one of the best known occupants of the abbey and gave his name to the stretch of land claimed from the sea. Up to 1570, the land was very fertile polder. Agriculture, peat burning and trade turned Saeftinghe into one of the most propserous places in region. There were three additional settlements nearby: Namen, Sint-Laureins, and Casuwele.
Most of the land around the city was lost in the All Saint's flood of 1570 (the Allerheiligenvloed). Four years later the drowned land reached into what is now Belgium. Only Saeftinghe and some surrounding land managed to remain dry.
In 1584, during the Eighty Years' War, Dutch soldiers saw themselves forced to destroy the last intact dike and Saeftinghe sunk into the waters of the Scheldt. Attempts to reclaim the area were made throughout history; the most serious project taking place in 1907, but even then only the Hertogin Hedwige-polder was conquered from the sea.
Saeftinghe itself has never been retrieved.
[edit] The legend
A legend of Saeftinghe attributes the All Saint's flood to capturing a mermaid and not setting her free. This caused the region to be cursed by the merman, and led to the flood that destroyed the towns of Sint-Laureins, Namen and Casuwele, killing all inhabitants. The legend holds that a tower bell calls from help from the sunken city.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Het Zeeuwse Landschap (in Dutch)
