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Photo: LimoWreck, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Another village divided by the border. The Dutch part (Nieuw-Namen) is much smaller than the Belgian part (Kieldrecht). The windswept polders around Nieuw-Namen are among the most sparsely populated areas in the Netherlands. In the street leading up to the Koningsdijk (King's Dyke), the houses on one side are in Belgium and on the other side in NL. A tree-lined straight bike path on top of the Koningsdijk connects Nieuw-Namen to De Klinge. It offers nice views over the surrounding polders and runs right on the border (formed by the Koningsdijk here), although the path is actually on the Belgian side.
Nieuw-Namen is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Hulst, and lies about 24 km south of Bergen op Zoom. The village is located on the border with the Belgium, and forms a single urban area with the Belgian village of Kieldrecht.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
the city windmill
Old mill built in 1792.
Saint-Willibrord Basilica
The city's main church. Was voted to be the most beautiful church in the Netherlands in 2009. It is a Catholic church with beautiful interior. The church tower spire is very peculiar, because the top was shot off during World War II by Polish liberators, as it was used by the German military as a lookout (apparently, the strategic view over Eastern Zeelandic Flanders was tremendous). They even painted Nazi graffiti texts and a swastika on the walls and the church bell, which supposedly are still visible today. After the war, a new spire was erected on top of the tower, in a very different style: while the church and most of the tower itself are in Gothic style, the top is an interesting concrete construction in a more modern style. The church tower dominates the city's skyline and can be seen from far outside of the old town.
The main square, home to the city hall and the main church.
Informative exhibition about the local history of Hulst. The tower has beautiful views.
the city's ramparts
The ramparts, and their moat, surround the old city centre completely. The old town can only be accessed from outside through one of the three city gates. Some parts of the ramparts have impressive bastions with cannons. On the northern side of town, the city wind mill stands proudly on top of the ramparts. A walking trail runs on top around the whole town. Most of the bastions have little parks on top. When walking on top of the ramparts, you have nice views over the old town on the one side and the city moat and surrounding countryside on the other.
Ghent gate
The main entrance gate to the city, on the southern side. Gentsestraat (Ghent Street), leading from the Gentse Poort to the Grote Markt, is the city's main shopping street. Both the Gentse Poort and Gentsestraat refer to Ghent, which was the capital of Flanders, to which Hulst once belonged.