Vlissingen

Sister cities

• Ambon
• Deal

History

The fishermen's hamlet that came into existence at the estuary of the Schelde around AD 620 has grown over its 1,400-year history into the third-most important port of the Netherlands. The Counts of Holland, Flanders, and Zeeland had the first harbours dug. Over the centuries, Vlissingen developed into a hub for fishing, especially the herring fishery, commerce, privateering and the slave trade. The first reliable records of Old Vlissengen date from a charter of 1247, when the town already had a church and an infirmary; another in 1264 mentions a steenhuus or castle, the foundations of which were uncovered during the construction of a new town hall in 1965. In 1294, the town was purchased by Floris V, Count of Holland, who recognised the strategic and economic potential of its location and began its development. The port facilities were further extended in the mid-15th century, financed by a local monopoly in the herring trade. In the mid-16th century, the town fell into poverty due to the Eighty Years' War, the Dutch revolt against Spanish occupation, and particularly owing to the punitive taxes imposed by the Duke of Alba. In April 1572, the townspeople staged a successful uprising, expelling the Flemish garrison, firing at ships bringing reinforcements and hanging a Spanish nobleman in front of the town hall. Under the Treaty of Nonsuch in 1585, English garrisons were stationed here and at Brill to keep these ports out of Spanish hands. The towns were sold back to the Dutch in 1616. During the heyday of the Dutch Golden Age, ships from Vlissingen set sail for the various outposts of the Dutch colonial empire and contributed to the world power of the Seven Provinces. The history of Vlissingen was also marked by invasion, oppression and bombardments. Because of…

Geography

The municipality of Vlissingen consists of the following places: * City: Vlissingen * Villages: Oost-Souburg, Ritthem, and West-Souburg * Hamlet: Groot-Abeele