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Saeftinghe

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Overview

Het Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe (The Drowned Land of Saeftinghe) is a national park in the province of Zeeland in The Netherlands. It is the biggest swamp of its kind within European borders.

Wikivoyage guide · 15 sections

▸Introduction194 chars

Het Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe (The Drowned Land of Saeftinghe) is a national park in the province of Zeeland in The Netherlands. It is the biggest swamp of its kind within European borders.

▸Understand388 chars

Het Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe is a large swamp in the very east of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, on the territory of Hulst municipality, and borders the river Scheldt directly. It is an official nature reserve area. The area is very treacherous since large patches of land can be consumed by the tides within seconds. The area shouldn't be explored without an experienced guide for that reason.

▸History1,074 chars

Saeftinghe was drained in the thirteenth century under management of the abbey of Ter Doest. The most widely known occupant of that abbey, Willem van Saeftinghe, gave his name to the polderland. The polder was very successful due to its fertile soil and peat reserves. This prosperity, however, ended on November 1st, 1570 during the All Saints' Flood, which flooded the regions around the river Scheldt. Only Saeftinghe and some surrounding lands remained dry. This however, was shortlived, as in 1584, fourteen years after the flood, during the Eighty Years' War, the Dutch saw themselves forced to break through the dike. As a result, Saeftinghe sank below the Scheldt.

Attempts to reclaim the land again were made, the most notable of which was in 1907, but Saeftinghe was never reclaimed. Attempts were made until the Second World War broke out. The 1960s brought an increase in wealth and free time to the Dutch, which resulted in a growing interest and appreciation of nature. This resulted in Saeftinghe becoming a protected nature reserve of 3600 hectares of swamp.

Facts

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Source

WBP almanac

External sources

Wikivoyage

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From Wikipedia600 words

Introduction

Lost town in Zeeland, Netherlands DesignationsRamsar WetlandOfficial nameWesterschelde & SaeftingheDesignated9 April 1995Reference no.748 Saeftinge satellite picture View on Emmadorp [nl] Visitor center Drowned Land of Saeftinghe Saeftinghe or Saaftinge was a town in the southwest Netherlands, located in eastern Zeelandic Flanders, near Nieuw-Namen. It existed until 1584. It is now a swamp known as the Drowned Land of Saeftinghe [nl] (Dutch: Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe) and 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 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.

History

[edit] 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 prosperous places in the region. There were several additional settlements nearby: Namen, Sint-Laureins, Stampaert, Weele (Sint-Marie), Sint-Laureijns and Casuwele. The settlements were mostly small villages with just a few houses and huts, but there was also Saeftinghe Castle, built in 1279. Today all is buried beneath several layers of clay and sand due to several floods over the years. Large bricks were found at several places inland. Those bricks were probably remainders of the abbey used by the villagers to build their houses when the abbey was destroyed due to several floods. Today some of those bricks can be seen in the nearby Visitors Center. Most of the land around the town 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 found themselves forced to destroy the last intact dike and Saeftinghe sank 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 Hedwigepolder was conquered from the sea. Nowadays a hamlet is located within the reclaimed portions of land, called Emmadorp [nl]. Saaftinge itself has never been retrieved. In 1970, all of the area was incorporated into the municipality of Hulst, when Graauw en Langendam [nl] and Clinge ceased to exist. Within the historical municipal limits, Saaftinge today has a population of 55. The flag consists of a blue lion rampant on a white field. The lion originates from the personal shield of Willem van Saeftinghe.

More in sights0

▸Landscape489 chars

As mentioned above, Het Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe is a swamp. Its soil is for three tenths consisting of sand banks and mosaic and seven tenths of the soil consists of vegetated ground: Salt march plants and grasses can be found. In several parts of the reserve peat can be seen on the surface.

The land is highly influenced by the tides of the Scheldt. Portions of the land can drown in a matter of seconds, making the area dangerous for anyone visiting without an experienced guide.

▸Flora and fauna2,094 chars

Saeftinghe isn't well-known for its flora, mostly because the soil is flooded regularly by brackish water from the river Scheldt. As for plants, you will find common scurvy grass, sea aster, sea club-rush, sea milkwort, sea arrowgrass, common saltmarsh grass and saltmarsh rush, which grow abundantly. In the east of the reserve you'll also find reeds, which benefit from the fresher waters.

The higher areas of the lands are grazed by cattle. Some of Saeftinghe's richer flora can be found here. The salt flats are roamed by Colletes Halophilus bees, which dig themselves into holes in the sandy soil. These bees are solitary and depend mostly on the sea asters, which makes them absent in large parts of Saeftinghe. The brood parasite or cuckoo bee can also be found in the region, though they are even rarer. They, however, have a rather large population in Saeftinghe. Another rare species is the Mimusmesa Sibiricina, which, in Western Europe, can be found in only several isolated and remote places. The Drowned Land is one of these places.

The area is great for bird spotting as well. In the Drowned Land you'll find mostly herring gulls, which population was found to be numerous in 2012, counting well over 3000 breeding pairs. In second was the redshank with half the amount of breeding pairs. The reeds in the east are used by greylag geese, marsh harriers, bearded reelings, blue throats, water rails and many more bird species. During the winter, many geese are found in Saeftinghe - mostly the aforementioned greylad geese. They, at this time of year, migrate to warmer, more southern regions. These high numbers of wildfowl attract many birds of prey, such as white-tailed eagles and large amounts of roosting marsh and hen harriers.

As for larger mammals, the sand banks of Valkernisse, just north of Saeftinghe, are important basking places for grey seals. During high tides they often can be found in the Saeftinghe creeks. Other mammals include the brown rat, muskrat, rabbit, hare and fox. The population of the latter was found to be between 15 and 30 adult foxes in 2012.

▸Get in362 chars

1 Saeftinghe Visitor Centre, Emmaweg 4, 4568 PW Nieuw-Namen (Visitors address is in Emmadorp), ☏ +31 114 633 110, fax: +31 114 633 111, saeftinghe@hetzeeuwselandschap.nl. May 1st - October 1st: Every day but Monday: 13:00-17:00; April and October: Open during weekends: 13:00 - 17:00. November 1st - March 31st: Closed. See: Fees and permits. (updated Sep 2016)

▸Fees and permits111 chars

*You must show a valid membership card.**Reduction applies to passholder and a maximum of three family members.

▸Get around92 chars

All forms of traffic are banned inside the nature reserve. The only option is to go by foot.

▸Do551 chars

Take a guided tour - This is the safest thing to do: The Visitors Centre will plan you in for a guided tour (reservations are preferred) with an experienced guide that knows what they're doing.

Roam the Drowned Land - Though it is anything but recommended, anyone get into the Drowned Land, please make sure you're aware of the dangers of the reserve before roaming the swamp.

Bird spotting - Not interested in highly physical activities such as walking? Then look for a bird spotting hut and enjoy your time looking for the many birds in the reserve.

▸Eat108 chars

1 Café Het Verdronken Land, Koninginnestraat 21, 4568 PT Nieuw Namen, ☏ +31 114 635 633. (updated Sep 2016)

▸Sleep169 chars

There are no longer any hotels, campsites or B&Bs near the Drowned Land. For nearby places to rest, refer to the articles for Hulst, Terneuzen, Ghent, Antwerp and Sluis.

▸Camping89 chars

Camping is not allowed in the reserve. See Hulst for a list of all nearby sleep listings.

▸Backcountry50 chars

See Hulst for a list of all nearby sleep listings.

▸Stay safe102 chars

The water in the Drowned Land can rise very quickly, so be aware and alert when exploring on your own.

▸Go next7 chars

Antwerp

The legend

[edit] Main article: Saeftinghe 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 for help from the sunken town. Another Saeftinghe legend holds the belief that visitors of the area and inhabitants of the nearby village of Emmadorp sometimes see 'ghosts' in the fog. According to the legend the ghosts are the spirits of the inhabitants of the three towns killed in the flood.

Visitor centre

[edit] A visitor centre opened in Emmadorp in 1997, from where excursions to the nature reserve depart. From 1997 to 2007, an average of around 12,000 visitors per year went on excursions.