Gemeente Sluis

Maritime Heritage in West Zealand Flanders (municipality of Sluis)

Zealand and the sea, as the words would indicate, are inextricably linked. Zeeland’s link with the sea is long and tenuous one. Large parts of the county, as you see it today, have been reclaimed from the sea.

Over the years a great many major physical and human investments, as well as clever innovations have been required to keep our feet dry!

On the other hand, the sea and the coast have provided Zeeland with an important source of incomes; think of fishing and more recently especially tourism. The sea and the shorelines make Zealand attractive. The sea makes Zealand proud, especially proud of its maritime heritage. A Zealander is always happy to tell stories about the history of his home land and why he/she is so proud of it. By spreading the word to visitors and others they can also learn about Zealand’s rich history and pride. That is also an important reason for the West-Zeeuwse Vlanderen municipality of Sluis to participate in the European Maritime Heritage project.

The aim of the project Maritime Heritage is to preserve the maritime related history and preserve the heritage of the coast line. Characteristic elements such as the groynes (paalhoofden) which you find on many of the beaches are very distinctive for the Zeeuwse coast. The beach and shore line heritage makes it possible for a visitor to experience the history first hand. In this way a visitor can learn about our heritage when visiting our beaches and coast line. This makes ‘a day out at the beach’ a more interesting tourist attraction.

The municipality of Sluis, together with the other project partners, have the aim to highlight and bring into focus the maritime characteristics of the area through several different projects. The projects involved are described in more details below.

The International Fisheries Festivals

The Fisheries festival in Breskens (one of the coastal ports in the municipality Sluis) has become a household name in the region, as well as far beyond. Each year in and around the fishing harbour at the heart of Breskens an attractive multi-day programme takes place along the quay sides and in streets of the town with performances by well-known artists, a fairground, many bazaars & stalls and children’s attractions. In recent years, the fishing and maritime history have been put in the spotlight, with the promotion of local fisheries and related businesses playing a leading role.
To advance this we are working closely with maritime heritage organizations of Yarmouth (Great Britain), Boulogne-sur-Mer, Etaple and Calais (France) and Blankenberge (Belgium). As part of the cultural exchange between these different fishing ports, a small traveling exhibition has been created to show the special customs and maritime festivals in the various locations around the Southern North Sea.

Art Work on the coast

"Panorama of the Zeeland coastline" is the title of the exhibition Coastal art work. The XXL Art Foundation and the Municipality of Sluis are the initiators of this project. Around 150 paintings of the coast line have been made by artists working from a boat moored in 40 locations along the Dutch coast. This has created a fine artistic image in time, before and during the execution of the coastal reinforcement projects.

The painting of the Zeeuwse coast line can be seen in 20 panorama paintings now hanging in the Dutch Reformed church in the village of Groede. In addition, the local school children in years 7 and 8 also participated in a continuation of coastal art work project via an educational program entitled “Sandbags in front of the door! ". These children - the generation that will benefit from the coastal reinforcement – learnt about how the coastal defences are being reinforcement, but in a unique artistic way.

Beach Heritage

You find breakwaters all along the Dutch coast. They are the long rounded pathways running out into the sea made of hard and dark stones. Their job is to help break up the force of waves before they reach the shore line. Along the top of them, as each wave roles in, you can see the water spraying upwards in a frenzy of foam and bubbles as the pent up forces within each incoming waves are released. In the county of Zeeland this spectacle is even better because here instead of stones tens of thousands of wooden piles do battle against the elements of the sea.

This battle has been going on now for almost five hundred years. All those years ago the hydraulic engineers of the time built breakwaters into the sea and lined them with hundreds of these wooden piles. These works were so special and unique for the time that in 1540, the emperor Charles V, travelled especially to Zealand all the way from Spain to witness for himself these spectacular man made works. The stone breakwaters topped with wooden piles are called groynes. But sometimes there are no stone shoulders, but only wooden piles. These are called a “Paalscherm” or Pile screen. The county of Zealand has about two hundred of these pile screens, forty of which can be found along the 12 km long coastline of West-Zeeuwse Vlanderen within the Municipality of Sluis.

In 2005, because these groynes and pile-screens are so characteristic for the coast line of Zeeland the Provincial Government elevated these “Knights of the sea” to the status of an important Cultural Heritage for Zeeland. This protected status however does not mean that they are no longer functional. On the contrary, without these "Knights of the sea" working so hard for us the erosion of the sand dunes, through the forces of the sea, would increase by an extra four meters each year.

From afar all the piles seem to look the same. But get close up to them and you will see that no one pile is the same as the other. The sea life that attaches itself to each pile and this gives each one its own unique appearance. To lovers of nature photography they are very desirable models! The games played by the ebb and flow of the tides, the changing weather conditions and sea life that clings to the wood, all contribute towards making them very interesting and unique objects.

Thanks to the contribution of the Maritime Heritage the groynes along the beaches have been restored and in the seaside village of Nieuwvliet a platform has been built in the dunes which look out over the rows of groynes. The information on the panels tells the visitor all about this unique beach heritage and the interesting facts and workings of these "living piles''.

The attractions of the fisheries centre in Breskens

The municipality of Sluis has drawn up a plan for an integrated and sustainable vision for the future development of Breskens. Central themes in this plan are:

• improve the attractiveness of the town centre.
• development of the port for the fisheries related businesses and for the recreational sector.

Quality is a key concept within the plan. The development opportunities for Breskens are particularly favourable at this time because the focus on the sustainable development of the fisheries and their related businesses has never been greater. The vision has emphatically opted for a development plan whereby the tourist and recreational sectors are also the primary focus for the future of Breskens. This focus can only be strengthened provided optimal utilization is made of the existing facilities. The Yacht harbour and the fishing port form the distinctive character of Breskens. In short, the fisheries in the broadest sense of the word are a key contributor to the economic wellbeing and future development of Breskens. The port with its fish market and Fisheries museum, with its distinctive fishing boats (cutters), form a distinctive image for Breskens.

On the one hand, the preservation of the fishing fleet and the fish market is essential for their touristic value and on the other hand the link with tourism, recreation and related sectors such as the hotel and catering are important to maintain the economic future of the fisheries sector. In fact for Breskens fishing, recreation and tourism are all inextricably linked to one another. A planned and integrated approach across these important areas has a clear added value.

If Breskens in general and the fisheries sector in particular wishes to retain its competitive position and where possible develop further then it is essential to respond in a timely manner to any new trends and incorporate them in any new plans. One of these new trends is the growing interest for sustainability within the food sector. For example; “Cradle to Cradle”, “Catch to Plate”, and “Fair Food”.

Goal

Via an integrated and sustainable approach the preservation and strengthening of the quality aspects within the fishing industry and its related industries and businesses. The ultimate aim is to give a broader basis to the fisheries sector in Breskens where ever possible through the creation of win-win situations.

The fishing port of Breskens is facing a transition process. Namely, from quantity to quality and from production oriented to public-oriented activities. A responsible spatial plan and functional integration between fisheries (producer) and the consumer must be developed.

The various factors that can play a positive role in the conversion from a pure fishing related function to new multiple public-oriented functions need to be developed and implemented with the following focus:

1. The development and realisation of a multifunctional maritime centre, in which the current fish market and the fisheries museum, are an integral part and can positively contribute to the attractiveness of Breskens and its identity. The development of an information centre where the product FISH is central.
2. By maintaining and possibly strengthening the economic viability within the fisheries businesses by increasing the quality aspects of fishing itself and service related activities around fishing and the product FISH.

A feasibility study to find a site for a Maritime centre in Breskens to realise these opportunities has already been performed. Currently the final touches are being put to a final draft of a plan to realise the maritime centre with improved accessibility to the current fisheries museum.