Museums

If you imagine West Zeelandic Flanders as always having been this tranquil and idyllic, you can’t be more wrong. Delve into the history of this region, and your imagination will be filled with astonishing images. The Romans walking through the fields around Aardenburg. The Count of Flanders arriving at the enormous castle at Sluis. Simon Stevin consulting with Prince Maurice about the forts and lines to hold back the Spanish troops. Heavy storms break weak dykes, and villages wash into the North Sea yet again.

Fortunately, there is Jacob Cats, who makes the salty sea habitable again. The fear and desperation of the people in the autumn of 1944 when cannons roar. Half a century before that, the Dikke van Dale dictionary was written in Sluis. Not to mention the sharks that left their teeth here millions of years ago, or the refugees from other regions who found a safe place in West Zeelandic Flanders. All this and more took place within the few kilometres of the municipality of Sluis! Fortunately, there are wonderful museums, exhibition spaces and numerous activities that tell us all these stories.

Visit the museums to take a journey back in time!