Cycling route The Oosterschelde and the drowned villages 56 km

Zierikzee, Colijnsplaat, Burghsluis

The province of Zeeland has endured many disasters throughout the centuries. The southwest of the Netherlands was regularly confronted with storm surges. The first time that was written in the year 838 was 2437 victims of a disaster, where the water was as high as the tops of the dunes.

On 28 September 1014, thousands of people died as a result of a flood disaster. And in 1404 and 1421, respectively, the First and Second St. Elizabeth's Flood occurred, an extremely high storm surge that not only cost thousands of lives but also caused dozens of villages to disappear into the sea. In 1530, the St. Felix Flood followed, and in 1570, the All Saints' Flood. Despite the fact that the All Saints' Flood was predicted, more than 20,000 people died during this flood disaster and four more villages disappeared into the sea.

In 1906 and 1916, heavy storm surges occurred, which were surpassed in 1953 by the well-known flood disaster. This last disaster was the reason for building a storm surge barrier in the form of the Delta Works.

The landscape in Zeeland has changed considerably due to all those storm surges and almost two hundred villages and a few towns have been completely absorbed by the sea. On this route through the Oosterschelde National Park, along the coast of Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland, you will pass about twenty of these former villages, of which little has generally been found. A window has been placed at a number of villages, through which you can see what it must have looked like in the past. On this route you will pass the window of Koudekerke and Westenschouwen.

The construction of the Delta Works, which was completed in 1986, changed the landscape even more and created a unique ecosystem, with flora and fauna that are special to the Netherlands. So don't forget to enjoy yourself when you cycle through the Oosterschelde National Park, despite the harrowing events that took place there.