Vlissingen, Zoutelande and Westkapelle

Vlissingen is a beautiful city with a maritime character and one of the protected townscapes in the province of Zeeland. It boasts wonderful beaches (Nollestrand and Badstrand), charming boulevards, and a magnificent marina that is a feast for the eyes. The southern pier is adorned with a wind chime with bamboo pipes, whose notes are carried through the air when the wind blows strongly, thus playing the instrument. The town center boasts approximately three hundred monuments, making Vlissingen the 30th-largest monument city in the Netherlands. Westkapelle has a completely different, much smaller-scale atmosphere and a history closely linked to World War II. The village was severely affected by a bombing and was almost completely wiped off the map. As of 2013, a creek, created as a result of the bombing, still stands in Westkapelle. A clear reminder of the war and the liberation is the Sherman tank that still stands on the dike overlooking the water. Near the "Hoge Licht" lighthouse, for which Westkapelle is famous, lie the graves of the war dead. From the starting point, it's a little under two kilometers by bike to the first attraction on the route: the Oranjemolen (Orange Mill) in Vlissingen. This smock mill was formerly used as a grain and hulling mill, but as of 2013, it only grinds on a voluntary basis. Because of its location, you can see the mill from afar. The exact year of construction of this historic monument is unknown, but because the mill was already mentioned in writing in 1699, it must be even older than that. The Oranjemolen is the mill closest to the coastline in the Netherlands and the only one of 23 city mills in Vlissingen that has survived the test of time. Then you cycle on to the mill in Zoutelande. You can't help but smell the salty sea air along the way. The windmill from 1722 looms on the horizon as you approach the village. The Zoutelande windmill was built after its predecessor was blown down. The ground-sailer still grinds grain, but now it's done by a volunteer miller. Continue your journey along the sea and head for the Low Lighthouse of Westkapelle (Noorderhoofd). The red lighthouse was built in 1875 and is 11.5 meters tall. Because Westkapelle has two lighthouses, the other one signaling a higher beam, it is called "Westkapelle Laag." The four-story lighthouse appears simple, yet it is a beautiful structure. A little less than five kilometers away, in Meliskerke, stands the Meliskerkse windmill. This round, stone ground-sailer dates from 1801. The corn mill was built to replace a post mill that was blown down during a violent storm. Until 1954, the mill ground grain, but then fell into disrepair until it was restored in 1987. Those curious about how the mill works can visit it on Saturdays. Nature lovers will be amazed by the Ter Hooge estate. The approximately 25-hectare estate consists largely of parkland and woodland. The park is primarily designed in the English landscape style: expansive lawns and fairytale-like water features were designed here after the Second World War. The park stretches out around a magnificent castle. Two slender, octagonal staircase towers rise high above the estate. A castle was first built here in the Middle Ages, but the current complex arose in 1755 on the foundations of the old castle. About ten kilometers further, at the mouth of the former Welzinge canal that provided access to the harbor of Middelburg, stands Fort Rammekens. Formerly also called Zeeburg, the fort was not yet a fort in 1496, but a bay where ships moored. It is the oldest surviving sea fort in Western Europe. Fort Rammekens was built in 1547 to protect and control the busy shipping routes to Antwerp and Middelburg. The fortification was built over the then existing sea dike in a diamond-shaped formation. A bastion with thick walls, capable of mounting cannons, was constructed, facing the Western Scheldt. At the ends of the walls, half-bastions with cannons were built, which were given an earthen covering in the post-Napoleonic era. Extensive use was made of natural stone during the fort's construction, as it was more resistant to salt water, and for defense, the fort was built with a moat on the inland side. After 1560, Fort Rammekens was held by the Spanish, French, and English, but in 1814 it was definitively returned to Dutch hands. Its defensive function was abolished in 1869, but it remained in use as a gunpowder magazine.