Ommetje Kruiningen: Flood disaster 1953 (8,5 km)

This detour, a walk of 8.5 kilometers (including extension at selection point) along the most striking sights of Kruiningen, was put together by villagers. For this detour (purple line on map) follow the yellow signs with the logo of Watersnood 1953 (flood disaster 1953). You can also extend the route via the other (junction) numbers of the walking network. 

  1. Mother with child 

This sculpture, created in 1957 by the Dutch writer, sculptor and painter Jan Wolkers (1925- 2007), is considered the most moving flood monument in Zeeland. It depicts a mother holding her drowned child under a shawl. The text, by poet Adriaan Roland Holst, is inscribed on the pedestal. 

 

  1. The former ferry port 

Made up of a series of islands, Zeeland used to have many ferries. One of them was the Kruiningen-Perkpolder ferry; the connection between Zuid-Beveland and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. This ferry existed from 1943 to 2003; the construction of the Westerschelde Tunnel created a fixed bank connection and made the ferries obsolete. Now a new residential area has emerged here, called "Kruse Veer." 

 

  1. The great breaches at Kruiningen in 1953 

During the 1953 flood disaster, the Westerscheldedijk broke through in three places. "The first hole" (as it is popularly called), occurred at the end of the Sandeeweg, the second at the Veerhaven and the third at Den Inkel. To close the hole at Den Inkel, a ring dyke had to be made first (see aerial photo from 1953). Behind the dike a large meadow was left behind which is now a nature reserve. During a walk through this area you can still see here and there a piece of an old caisson 

caisson sticking out of the ground. 

 

  1. The Swedish houses 

During the flood, many houses in Kruiningen were destroyed or uninhabitable for a long time. After the disaster, many had to be rebuilt. Help also came from abroad, houses delivered in kits. For example, Sweden donated 14 wooden houses to the village of Kruiningen. These houses are now part of the local cultural heritage. You can find them in the Henry Dunantstraat. 

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