Delfzijl

Sister cities

• Zelzate
• Amsterdam
• Cesenatico
• Sierre

History

Delfzijl was established at the location where three sluices () were connected. In 1317, a sluice was built in the Delf, a canal which is now part of the Damsterdiep. Delfzijl has been the main sea port of Groningen since medieval times. In 1580, a square sconce and a church were built in Delfzijl. Fortification was expanded with six bastions in 1591. Also In 1591 Prince Maurice of Orange visited the port with a fleet of 150 ships which saw the capture of the city from the Spanish by a combined Dutch and English army. Following this an unsuccessful attempt was made in 1594 by Francisco Verdugo to capture the fortress Delfzijl. In 1628 Piet Hein moored his silver fleet at Delfzijl. The first sea battle in the Eighty Years' War was fought nearby in 1658 in the Eems estuary between Dutch forces under Jan Abels and Spanish forces under François van Boshuizen. A fleet of Dutch ships from the West Indies landed here in 1665 under command of admiral Michiel de Ruyter, avoiding the English fleet that was blockading the Dutch coast. The fortification and the sluices were damaged during the Christmas Flood of 1717. In 1813–1814, the French held the city, while it was under siege by the Dutch. The fortifications were removed in 1875, Delfzijl sits at an elevation above low tide, and usually above high tide except for a few days per year. The town is protected by dikes and gates that can be opened to let water out at low tide, and closed to prevent flooding at high tide. When normal draining at low tide is not sufficient water is pumped near Delfzijl at Farmsum in a modern pumping station that replaced the historical old pump house in the 1970s. The possibility of rising sea level is a large concern in Delfzijl, and storms have occasionally splashed water over the sea dikes in…

Geography

Delfzijl is located at in the northeast of the province of Groningen, in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is situated on the southwest bank of the Ems estuary, which forms the border with Germany. Delfzijl was bordered by the Dutch municipalities of Eemsmond (in the northwest), Loppersum (west), Appingedam (west), Slochteren (southwest), Oldambt (south), and by the German municipalities of Emden (east) and Krummhörn (northeast). The former municipality contained the population centres: * Bierum * Biessum * Borgsweer * Delfzijl * Farmsum * Godlinze * Holwierde * Krewerd * Losdorp * Meedhuizen * Spijk * Termunten * Termunterzijl * Uitwierde * Wagenborgen * Weiwerd * Woldendorp