Koewacht

Village

Coat of arms

51°13′36″N 3°58′23″E / 51.22667°N 3.97306°E / 51.22667; 3.97306CountryNetherlands
BelgiumProvinceZeeland
East FlandersMunicipalityTerneuzen
Moerbeke
StekeneArea

^[1]^[2]

• Total21.80 km² (8.42 sq mi)Elevation

^[3]

2.5 m (8.2 ft)Population

(2021)^[1]^[2]

• Total2,938 • Density130/km² (350/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Postal code

4576^[1]

Dialing code0114

Koewacht is a village on the border between the Netherlands and Belgium.

The village consists of two parts; a Dutch and a (smaller) Belgian part. A notable person born here is Bas (rapper)

Overview

The Dutch part is located in Zeelandic Flanders, a part of the province of Zeeland and part of the municipality of Terneuzen. It was a separate municipality until 1970, when it was merged with Axel.^[4] In 2003, the Dutch part became part of the municipality of Terneuzen.^[5]

Koewacht is a border village. During the Dutch Revolt, it formed the border between the Dutch and Spanish held territories and over twenty forts were built in the area of which seven still have visible remains.^[5] Koewacht is a linear settlement on a ridge. In the 18th century, it became a centre for flax production. The church was built between 1713 and 1714, but became located in Belgium in 1839.^[6] During World War I, the border was sealed off and the Wire of Death, a lethal electric fence, ran through the village.^[5] Between 1921 and 1922, a church was built on the Dutch side.^[6]^[5]

The Belgian part lies in the province of East Flanders, in the municipalities of Moerbeke and Stekene.^[5]

Gallery

Church in the Netherlands
Church in Moerbeke, Belgium

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2021". Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 22 April 2022. NL: 2,515; two entries
^ ^a ^b "Bevolking per statistische sector - Sector 44045A2". Statistics Belgium. Retrieved 6 May 2022. BE: 423
^ "Postcodetool for 4576AA". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^ Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, "Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten", KNAW, 2006. "KNAW > Publicaties > Detailpagina". Archived from the original on 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Koewacht". Plaatsengids (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b Piet van Cruyningen & Ronald Stenvert (2003). Koewacht (in Dutch). Zwolle: Waanders. ISBN 90-400-8830-6. Retrieved 22 April 2022.