The Documented History Of Oostende, Belgium

The Documented History Of Oostende, Belgium

Todays article will discuss the History surrounding the eastern areas of Belgium, specifically the town of Oostende. Oostende is in the northern area of Belgium. It is touching the southern area of the North Sea. It is on mainland & is not an island. Oostende has one of magnificent beaches of Belgium attached to it, known as Ostend beach. For the historical part of this month’s series, the history of the town will be studied instead of the beach itself. Oostende is approximately 61.66 miles from (70.957061 miles or 114.19432 kilometers) from the island of Great Britain. The English version of the name, is Ostend. From now on in this article Oostende will be referred to Ostend. The name Oostende translates from German into English as “East End”. This is a bit confusing as Ostend & Ostend Beach are on the northeastern area of Belgium. The German speaking population of Belgium is in the western area, not the area where Ostend & Ostend Beach are. This leads many to wonder how the town was named. It is currently considered to be one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Belgium. It is also one of the most well known beaches in Belgium because of how beautiful it is & active marine life. It has a rich & powerful history. Ostend is located in the province of West Vlanders. It has an interesting military history, as well as cultural history. The city of Ostend has an approximate population of 71,557. This number was found on a census taken in Ostend on January 1st of 2022. They do have a city website, which is known as https://www.oostende.be/. Unfortunately, it is in Dutch so the majority of the website will need to be translated into English. The town had an approximate land area of 40.95 square kilometers (15.810883 square miles). The highest elevation in the town is not written down. In this article we will discuss the discovery & documented history of the town known as Ostend, The known aboriginals of Ostend, the most destructive man caused & natural disasters of Ostend, & finally a segment on the economy of Ostend. With that being said, let us delve into the most beautiful sea-side town in all of Belgium. 

The Documented History Of Oostende, Belgium

Before Colonization 

The 13th Century 

It is unknown when humans first came to this area. Ostend was first formed before 1265. It was originally formed on an island known as Testerep. It was on the far east end of this island, this may be a contributing factor as to why it was called “Oostende”. It was first formed as a small fishing village. The village moved up in status to a town in approximately the year 1265. This coincided with the town residents being on record to have decided to hold a market. They also decided to build a market hall. It comes as no surprise that the towns main industry was fishing at this time.

The 14th Century 

 The north sea coastline had always been rather unstable due to the power of the water, which is why, In 1395 the inhabitants decided to build a new Ostend behind large dikes and further away from the unpredictable coastline. The seas main threat was large crashing waves which would destroy many things along the coastline. The original Ostend at this point was abandoned, & a new one was built on the area where it is now. 

After Proper Formation & Dutch Colonization 

The 17th Century 

The Ostendian economy relied on fishing, meaning that it was vital to the township’s economic development to have proper placement on the northern sea coast. Ostend ended up building up in an area that would provide a place for a nice harbour, but their placement would also prove to be a source of issues. The town was frequently taken, ravaged, ransacked & destroyed by conquering armies, more specifically the Dutch. In the end, the Dutch rebels known as the Gueuzen, invaded & stole the town. The siege of Ostend took place from 1601 to 1604, of which it was said that "the Spanish assailed the unassailable & the Dutch defended the indefensible". In this battle, approximately 80,000 soldiers were killed & wounded, this makes it the single most bloody & destructive battle of the eighty years war. This horrific conflict set off a chain of events of which would later result in a truce being made. When this truce was breached, the town became a Dunkirker base. After this low point, Ostends harbour was turned into something with a small level of importance. It was strategically important in that it was one of the already well established harbour in this specific area of the north sea. 

The 18th Century 

In 1722 the Dutch, again closed off the entrance to the world's largest harbour at the time, of Antwerp, the Westerschelde. Therefore, Ostend rose in importance because the town provided an alternative exit strategy to the sea. This would also boost the economy as it would cause more people to have to pass through the town to reach the harbour. The Belgian Austriacum had also just become a part of the Austrian empire at this time. The then Austrian Emperor Charles the IV granted the town the trade monopoly with Africa & the Far-East. This would also dramatically boost the economy. The Oostendse Compagnie was now allowed to found colonies overseas. However, in 1727 the Oostendse Compagnie was forced to stop its activities because of Dutch &  British pressure. The Netherlands & The United Kingdom would not allow their competitors to trade on the same levels as them. They regarded the right to internationally trade as their privilege & their privilege only. 

The 19th Century 

On the 19th of September, 1826 an artillery magazine exploded in the local area. At least 20 people lost their lives in this incident & 200 of them were severely wounded. The affluent quarter of d'Hargras was levelled as a result & the majority of the buildings were absolutely destroyed. Disease followed the devastation leading to further unaccounted number of deaths. The harbour of Ostend continued to expand due to the harbour dock, as well as the traffic connections with the hinterland, were improved. In 1838, a railway connection to Brussels was constructed, it is unknown what cities government paid for this. In the year 1846, Ostend became a designated transit harbour point when a ferry carrying passengers sailed from Ostend Harbour to Dover. On October 1854 a meeting of American envoys led what is known as the Ostend Manifesto. Important for the public imagery of the town, was the attention that it began to receive from Belgian kings Leopold I & Leopold II. Both of these Monarchs were very fond of Ostend & often were documented spending their summer vacations in the glorious. Due to this, important monuments & villas were built to please the royal family, which included the Hippodrome Wellington horse racing track, as well as the Royal Galleries. The rest of aristocratic Belgian society followed & soon Ostend became known as "the queen of the Belgian sea-side resorts". In the year 1866, Ostend was the venue for meeting of exile Spanish liberals & republicans to lay the framework for their country. 

The 20th Century 

During world war 1, ostend was occupied by germanic forces & was often used as an access point to to the northern sea for submarines as well as ships. As a consequence of the heavy military presence, the harbour fell victim to 2 naval assaults by the Royal Navy of Britain. The village hosted majority if not all sailing events for the country from this point on. They also held all sailing activities for the 1920 summer olympics for Antwerp.  World war 2 invoked the second occupation of the town by Germany within a period of little more than twenty years; an occupation which it shared this time with most of northern Europe. Both conflicts brought significant destruction to Ostend. In addition, other opulent buildings which had survived the wars were later replaced with structures in the modernist artistic style.

The Aboriginals Of Oostende, Belgium 

It is unfortunately, completely unknown who occupied Belgium first. The aboriginals of this area have not been identified as of the time of publication. 

The Most Destructive Man-Caused & Natural Disasters To Affect Oostende, Belgium

No. 1: Artillery Explosion Of 1826 

A large artillery magazine exploded on the night of the 19th of September, 1826. This caused 10 fatalities & approximately 200 injuries. The exact location of the artillery magazine when it exploded is unclear. The quarter of d’hargras was completely levelled & very few buildings escaped the carnage. This also caused water to be inaccessible, which caused or contributed to a large disease outbreak. 

No. 2: The Siege Of Ostend 

The siege of ostend lasted from the 5th of July, 1701 to the 20th of September, 1704, back when Belgium was known as the Spanish Netherlands. It was incredibly long & we cannot fit all events that happened in the war in this subsection, so we will be giving a brief overview of it. We will not be discussing the 80 years war itself. The 80 year’s war was caused by a dutch revolt against the Spanish. The dutch used Ostend as a major force against the Spanish as ostend could easily be supported due to its magnificent harbour. As one source states, “Ostend was fortified in the year of 1583 and by the end of the sixteenth century was the only possession of the Republic in Flanders. From this strategically important position, the Dutch could inflict much damage on the surrounding Spanish territory. Even more crucially, control of Ostend meant control of the coast. Therefore, in 1601, Albert decided to besiege the town, stating that he would spend eighteen years doing so if need be. The siege began on the 5th of July 1601 and became infamous for the heroism, bloodshed and sheer endurance of both sides. As Simoni says, 'among the many battles, sieges, naval encounters and all manner of other military engagements of the Eighty Years' War, none was, and perhaps is, more famous than the long drawn-out siege of Ostend in which the Spaniards assailed the unassailable and the Dutch defended the indefensible'.”. The battle of ostend ended up lasting approximately 3 years, 2 months, & 15 days. There were a total of 30,000 to 45,000 deaths on the dutch side & 60,000 to 70,000 deaths on the Spanish side. The ultimate outcome of the siege was that ostend fell, but the majority of the city was destroyed by this point so it ultimately worked in the Dutch favour. The entire reason that the Spanish wanted to capture the city was for its abundant resources & connection to the sea, so this effort became futile when the Spanish realized just exactly what happened to this city. Not only that, but what happened to the city due to the actions of their own.

The Economic State Of Oostende, Belgium

Ostend has a large tourist industry due to their winter festivals & their beautiful beach. There is unfortunately no released graph as to how much tourism contributes to the economy. Ostend also has a spectacular fish market, so commercial fishing is also quite common. They are also often the place for exports going out & imports coming in as they are the main harbour along the coast. They use the Euro in Ostend. Ostend also does not have a stock exchange that is specifically dedicated to ostend. There are unfortunately no public figures for the Ostendian economy that are accessible to the public. 

Directories / Credits 

1. The Explosion at Ostend, The Manchester Guardian and British Volunteer, 30 September 1826

2. University of Glasgowhttps://www.gla.ac.uk › mar2004Siege of Ostend Journal

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