Braakman

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Sunset over the Braakman Braakman.JPG
Sunset over the Braakman

The Braakman was a large tidal inlet in the middle of the Dutch region of Zeelandic Flanders, on the south bank of the Westerschelde west of Terneuzen.

Netherlands Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Europe

The Netherlands is a country located mainly in Northwestern Europe. The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve separate provinces that border Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. Together with three island territories in the Caribbean Sea—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba— it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The official language is Dutch, but a secondary official language in the province of Friesland is West Frisian.

Zeelandic Flanders Region in Zeeland, Netherlands

Zeelandic Flanders is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates the region from the remainder of Zeeland and the Netherlands to the north. Zeelandic Flanders is bordered to the south by Belgium.

Terneuzen Municipality in Zeeland, Netherlands

Terneuzen is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With over 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland.

It was created by a succession of storm surges in the 14th and 15th centuries, including the St. Elizabeth's flood (1404) and the St. Elizabeth's flood (1421). For a long time the Braakman was a natural barrier between east and west Zeelandic Flanders, and also access to the ports of Boekhoute, Philippine, Axel and Sas van Gent. Over the centuries it steadily spread, drowning at least 15 villages between 1200 and 1601. Then, people fought back. Successive empolderings shrank the Braakman to a remnant, which was finally closed off from the sea in 1952. During the North Sea flood of 1953, this dam proved its worth: it resisted the flood and prevented flooding in the hinterland.

The St. Elizabeth's flood of 1404 occurred on or around 19 November 1404, the namesake day of St. Elizabeth. The floods were especially catastrophic in Flanders, Zeeland and Holland.The area in Zeeland and Flanders had been flooded 29 years earlier, on 8 October 1375. As a result of the floods, the Braakman was created or enlarged. In this new area, new parishes and villages started to appear. The flood in 1404 destroyed the area again, just as it had done in 1375. Other areas previously untouched such as the small towns of IJzendijke and Hugevliet were engulfed and destroyed during the flood. When the flood occurred many were killed and homes destroyed due to the poor warnings.

St. Elizabeths flood (1421) A flooding of the Grote Hollandse Waard, an area in what is now the Netherlands

The St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421 was a flooding of the Grote Hollandse Waard, an area in what is now the Netherlands. It takes its name from the feast day of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary which was formerly November 19. It ranks 20th in the list of worst floods in history. During the night of November 18 to November 19, 1421, a heavy storm near the North Sea coast caused the dikes to break in a number of places and the lower lying polder land was flooded. A number of villages were swallowed by the flood and were lost, causing between 2,000 and 10,000 casualties. The dike breaks and floods caused widespread devastation in Zeeland and Holland.

Sas van Gent Place in Zeeland, Netherlands

Sas van Gent is a town in the Netherlands. It is located in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Terneuzen and lies about 30 km south of Vlissingen on the border with Belgium.

The remaining body of water is used for recreation, and part of its seaward end was made into the Braakmanhaven port area.

Body of water Any significant accumulation of water, generally on a planets surface

A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water, generally on a planet's surface. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as ponds, wetlands, or more rarely, puddles. A body of water does not have to be still or contained; rivers, streams, canals, and other geographical features where water moves from one place to another are also considered bodies of water.

Coordinates: 51°19′22″N3°44′16″E / 51.32278°N 3.73778°E / 51.32278; 3.73778

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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