Haasdonk
| Beveren | |||
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| Municipality | |||
Doel
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 Beveren
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Location of Beveren in East Flanders
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| Coordinates: 51°12′N 04°15′E / 51.200°N 4.250°ECoordinates: 51°12′N 04°15′E / 51.200°N 4.250°E | |||
| Country | Belgium | ||
| Community | Flemish Community | ||
| Region | Flemish Region | ||
| Province | East Flanders | ||
| Arrondissement | Sint-Niklaas | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Marc Van de Vijve (CD&V) | ||
| • Governing party/ies | CD&V, VLDVUA | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 150.18 km2 (57.98 sq mi) | ||
| Population (1 January 2016) | |||
| • Total | 47,573 | ||
| • Density | 320/km2 (820/sq mi) | ||
| Postal codes | 9120, 9130 | ||
| Area codes | 03 | ||
| Website | www.beveren.be | ||
Beveren (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbeːvərə(n)]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Beveren proper, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene.
The port of the Waasland (Dutch: Waaslandhaven) is located in Beveren, on the left bank of the Schelde, facing the port of Antwerp on the other side of the river.
In Roman times, the Beveren area was at the edge of the sea and heavily influenced by the tides. The earliest inhabitants erected primitive dams, which were later reinforced and heightened by the religious communities that sprung up in the region. The invasions of the Normans in the 9th century prompted the Counts of Flanders and their local vassals to defend this land even more. Among the local nobility were the lords of Beveren, whose territory was eventually ceded to Louis I of Flanders in 1334. Beveren thus became the oldest political centre of the Waasland region – the northeastern part of the historical County of Flanders – basking for more than two centuries in the glory of Flanders and Burgundy.
In 1570, a catastrophic tide flooded the area. For strategic reasons linked to the protection of Antwerp, the local authorities decided to dismantle the remaining dams. Five years later, the rights to the territory were sold. The area closest to the Scheldt was bought by an Antwerp merchant, and the rest went to the Duke of Aarschot. This state of affairs lasted until the French Revolution, when the territory was subdivided into the pre-merger communes. From the 17th century on, the territory had slowly been taken back from the sea, until 1846, when the last parcel of land was dammed up.
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Wikipedia