The Markt in Middelburg with the Gothic town hall and its tower above the brick-paved square

AUDIO TOURS IN MIDDELBURG

Middelburg is the capital of Zeeland, and for a long time it was one of the wealthiest cities in the Netherlands. Wine, cloth and later the ships of the East India trade all passed through here, and the money they brought is still visible in the gables along the quays. A single night in May of 1940 took most of the old centre, and what you walk through today is a city that rebuilt itself street by street.

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A Short History of Middelburg

Period 1:

The abbey and the market

Middelburg grows up around an abbey founded by canons from Flanders, which the Norbertine order turns into the wealthiest institution in Zeeland. The abbot holds estates across Walcheren, and the market square beside the abbey becomes the place where the city does its business.

Old print of the town hall of Middelburg with its side wing

Gemeente Middelburg / Uit in Middelburg

Period 2:

A city of trade

Wine and cloth make the city rich, and then the sea does the rest. After Amsterdam, Middelburg holds the most important chamber of the East India Company, with its own shipyards, warehouses and a trading company that sails to West Africa and the Caribbean.

Painting of sailing ships of the Middelburgsche Commercie Compagnie at sea

Gemeente Middelburg / Uit in Middelburg

Period 3:

The quiet century

The trade moves on and the harbours grow quiet. Money for maintenance runs short, churches and houses come down because demolition is cheaper than repair, and the city lives for a century on what earlier generations built along its quays.

Eighteenth century engravings of the quays of Middelburg with ships and strollers

Gemeente Middelburg / Uit in Middelburg

Period 4:

Fire and phoenix

In the fighting over Walcheren the old town burns out in a single day, taking the town hall, the abbey tower and the entire city archive. Rebuilding starts within weeks, and every restored house carries a small stone with an eagle rising from the flames.