BEURSPLEIN

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The small-sized Beursplein plays an important role in Bergen's cultural life. Surrounded by French, Mexican and Japanese restaurants as well as Irish and Dutch pubs and the Markiezenhof (Court of the Marquis), it houses a X-mas crib in December.



The Beursplein was only realized by the end of the 15th Century. It's first name was Sint-Jansplein (St John's Square), after a statue of this saint. When trade became more active, the name was changed according to this new function. Beurs means exchange, fair and market.


















Many locals flock together on the little square in the weekends before Carnival really breaks loose and will attract many visitors from all over the country. Bergen op Zoom is, together with Maastricht and Den Bosch, one of the most popular places to be during Carnival.


Underneath Beursplein the Grebbe can be found, once a mediaeval canal of about 800 meters between the northern part of town and the old port, later a notorious sewer and at present, being one of the oldest complete underground water systems in the country, a national monument which can be visited regularly. The waste water is now managed through a large synthetic pipe, partly hidden in the ground, as can be seen on this picture.



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BLEEKVELD

While visiting the neighbourhood around Bleekveld, one can easily think of a 'begijnhof'. A begijnhof most of the time is a walled complex consisting of a courtyard and cottages originally built in the 14th-century for a group of pious, charitable women (the Beguines). A central place was given to a chapel or church. Occasionaly there was also a graveyard. The begijnhof is a specific urban feature of the southern part of the former Netherlands (including nowadays Belgium and parts of northern France). All together there were 70 begijnhof complexes. Just a few were found in the north of The Netherlands and in Wallonia.

Professor Henri Pirenne explained the success of the Beguines by the fact that, due to violence, military operations and war, there were far more women than men. In his view single women saw no other way to survive than to unite and ask the rich for help. In exchange they would look after the sick and poor. In a begijnhof the rules were less strict than in a traditional convent.

In Flanders to this day remain 26 begijnhof complexes of which 13 are listed by Unesco. In alphabetical order these are: 1. Bruges/Brugge, 2. Dendermonde, 3. Diest, 4. Gent (Klein Begijnhof), 5. Hoogstraten, 6. Kortrijk, 7. Leuven (Groot-Begijnhof), 8. Lier, 9. Mechelen (Groot Begijnhof), 10. Sint-Amandsberg, 11. Sint-Truiden, 12. Tongeren and 13. Turnhout.

In The Netherlands only the sites in Amsterdam and Breda survived. Bergen op Zoom possessed a begijnhof from 1498 until 1580, when the buildings were demolished during religious riots. Not much later the authorities realized fortifications on the same spot. In modern Bergen op Zoom only the name remains: Begijnhofstraat. On the other side of the busy Noordsingel, part of the town’s centre ring, we find a street with little white washed houses and cobble stones as well as a green, called Bleekveld, where once sheets were laid out in the sunlight to bleach.
It is not difficult to sense here what the atmosphere in the nearby begijnhof may have been like... Even the signs help: 1. no entrance and 2. a reference to medical support.










A fragment of the map by Jacob van Deventer, ca 1545.




The begijnhof on a map published by F. Hogenberg in
1581.




The place of the begijnhof (ca no. 12) on a reconstruction
by Han Bos, 2001.



On a map in the book Historische stedenatlas van Neder-
land.



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BOULEVARD

On 29 January 1574, just off the coast of Bergen op Zoom, a sea battle took place between a Spanish fleet (two squadrons consisting of over 100 ships, led by admiral De Glimes and Romero) and rebel ships under the command of Lodewijk van Boisot and Joost de Moor. The Spanish fleet was destroyed. Twelve hundred Spaniards, including De Glimes, perished in the flames of the burning vessels or fell in the struggles that raged on their decks. As a result Middelburg, the main town of the province of Zealand, capitulated to 'de Zeegeuzen' or 'Sea Beggars', a French nickname for the rebels. The battle was an early victory for the Dutch in the so-called Eighty Years' War (1568 - 1648), which would lead to the independant state of The Netherlands.

Artist Hugo Vrijdag used references to this naval battle in his work 'Windvanen' ('Vanes'). One can also symbolically see a squadron in the stainless steel sculpture. It was established in 1999, on a spot where the new district Bergse Plaat embraces the Binnenschelde, a compartmentalized area of the Oosterscheldt estuary.






























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ZUIDZIJDE ZOOM

As a child, Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof (1859 - 1917), the designer of Esperanto, must have been fascinated, if not thrilled, by the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel.
He was born in Białystok, then part of the Russian Empire, now situated in eastern Poland. His native language was Russian, but he also spoke Yiddish and Polish, which became the native language of his children. His father was a teacher of German, and Ludwig also spoke that language fluently. He mastered French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and English and was interested in Italian, Spanish and Lithuanian.




Weary of all linguistic misunderstandings and confusion, young Zamenhof tried to come up with some kind of international language which would facilitate easier ways of communication. In 1887 he used the name Dr. Esperanto, meaning "someone who hopes" to publish the book 'La internacia lingvo'. His language however got the name Esperanto.




In 1905 the first congress in Esperanto took place in France. These days Esperanto is spoken in 120 countries by 2 million speakers. Every year many congresses in Zamenhofs language are organized.




In The Netherlands there are six monuments dedicated to the linguïst and his amazing project: in the southern border town Bergen op Zoom, in Den Burg (in the island of Texel), in Leeuwarden (the capital city of the province of Friesland), in Utrecht, in Oost-Vlieland ( a hamlet in the island of Vlieland) and in Zwolle (the capital city of the province of Overijssel).




In Bergen op Zoom the monument was established in 1933. Present was Lidia Zamenhof,Ludwig's daughter.


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VAN HEELULAAN

Most of the time in its long history, Bergen op Zoom has been a crossroads of cultures. Its location on a sand ridge on the border of the provinces Zeeland and Noord-Brabant, and later on the border of The Netherlands and Flanders guaranteed strong influences from these nearby areas.
In its heydays as an international market town Bergen op Zoom received many merchants from several European countries. Street names like Engelsestraat and Londonstraat speak for themselves.
From the era the town served as a garrison, there are still names such as Morganstraat (called after an English military governor) en Le Grandstraat (named after a French officer).
Since the seventies a number of international companies, e.g. General Electric Plastics (USA), Philip Morris (USA), Ricoh (Japan), Sabic (Saudi Arabia) established themselves in the town, especially in the port, called Theodorushaven. As a result people from all over the world found a new home in Bergen op Zoom. Besides, a steady stream of citizens from former colonies as well as political refugees came into existence. Finally, more and more local people found partners elsewhere, who also settled here.
Most immigrant workers from Turkey and Morocco, arriving in numbers in the sixties to work in the iron works and similar older factories, decided to stay. Their presence resulted in two mosques.
The most striking mosque is the Ulu Cami (2009). The first mosque (1984) was located in the old milk factory Hollandia in Bruinevisstraat, the new complex found a place on Van Heelulaan in the eastern Gageldonk district. It's not just a house of worship but also functions as a social-cultural centre. The design, by Erdal Önder (eNa Architecten), refers to Ottoman architecture (white walls, a minaret) as well as to the traditional way of building with bricks in The Netherlands. The Ulu Cami is related to the foundation 'Islamitische Stichting Nederland' and will welcome everyone who is interested.











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LE GRANDSTRAAT

The former "Rusthuis Avondvrede" at the corner of Le Grandstraat and Bolwerk. 'Avond' means evening and 'vrede' peace. This building was demolished in the seventees and replaced by a rather characterless nursing home.
The street is called after the French colonel Le Grand. This officer served under general Bizanet when Bergen op Zoom, occupied by the French, was attacked by Dutch and British troops in 1814. One year later Le Grand published the book La surprise de Berg-op-Zoom.
The Le Grandstraat was constructed in 1886, laid out on the fortifications by Menno van Coehoorn (1641 - 1704), who considered Bergen op Zoom his masterpiece among all the strongholds he built or modernized, such as Breda, Coevorden, Groningen, Nijmegen and Zwolle.

This postcard was published by Fa. P. Harte.
Photo: still unknown.



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NOORDSINGEL

Painting from 1976 by the initiator of this blog, based upon an older photo (between 1913-1925). In the background can be seen St-Joseph's Church, which was demolished in the seventies, close by (left) the powder magazine Dumont, also gone since long.



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