Terneuzen

Terneuzen
Municipality
Terneuzen city hall
Terneuzen city hall
Flag of Terneuzen
Flag
Coat of arms of Terneuzen
Coat of arms
Highlighted position of Terneuzen in a municipal map of Zeeland
Location in Zeeland
Coordinates: 51°20′N 3°50′E / 51.333°N 3.833°E / 51.333; 3.833
Country Netherlands
Province Zeeland
Government
[1]
 • BodyMunicipal council
 • MayorErik van Merrienboer (PvdA)
Area
[2]
 • Total
317.76 km2 (122.69 sq mi)
 • Land250.38 km2 (96.67 sq mi)
 • Water67.38 km2 (26.02 sq mi)
Elevation
[3]
4 m (13 ft)
Population
 (January 2021)[4]
 • Total
54,463
 • Density218/km2 (560/sq mi)
DemonymTerneuzenaar
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
Part of 4500 range
Area code0115
Websitewww.terneuzen.nl

Terneuzen (Dutch pronunciation: [tɛrˈnøːzə(n)] ⓘ) is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland.[5]

History

Historical house (national site) in Terneuzen

First mentioned in 1325, Terneuzen was a strategically located port on the waterways to Ghent, in present-day Belgium.

It received city rights in 1584.

Tradition has it that Terneuzen was once the home of the legendary Flying Dutchman, Van der Decken, a captain who cursed God and was condemned to sail the seas forever, as described in the Frederick Marryat novel The Phantom Ship and the Richard Wagner opera The Flying Dutchman.

Before 1877, the city was often called Neuzen.

Geography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Terneuzen, June 2015

The city of Terneuzen is located on the southern shore of the Western Scheldt estuary.

The municipality of Terneuzen consists of the following population centres:[6]

Economy

Aerial view of Terneuzen from the west, including the Dow chemical plant below the Ghent–Terneuzen Canal, and the old town above it

The Ghent–Terneuzen Canal is still an important shipping route connecting the Port of Ghent.[7] The port of Terneuzen is the third-largest in the Netherlands, after those of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The largest plant of Dow Chemical Company outside of the United States is located at Terneuzen, on the west side of the Ghent–Terneuzen Canal.

Transport

Terneuzen can be reached from the rest of the Netherlands via the Western Scheldt Tunnel, which opened in March 2003. Terneuzen is not linked to the rest of the Netherlands by rail, although the Dow Chemical plant is served by a freight-only line to Ghent in Belgium (Terneuzen's passenger rail service was withdrawn in 1951).

Notable residents

References

  1. ^ "Burgemeester en Wethouders" [Mayor and aldermen] (in Dutch). Gemeente Terneuzen. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Postcodetool for 4531GZ". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Netherland Statistics". statline. 28 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020".
  7. ^ www.binnenvaart.be Archived 2006-04-04 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 3 August 2019
  9. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 3 August 2019