The Dutch province of Zeeland, which famously shares its name with the country of New Zealand, is inherently tied to the seawater it’s surrounded with. Land comes and land goes. The sea gives, the sea takes.

For many centuries, the Dutch tried to fight back against the North Sea. And with success through the early invention of dykes and dams.

So came the founding of the town Emelisse in the 13th century, hosting various points of interest for the region. Emelisse had a church recognised by pope Innocentius III. It had a guesthouse founded by the dukes of Holland for the homeless. It also had a mill and a women’s monastery.

In 1271, a large amount of money was donated by Aleid van Holland to the guesthouse in order to keep services available for the ones in need. In 1308, Lombard merchants - the country we call Italy today - were granted permission to settle in Emelisse, giving a boost to the local economy and status in the province. And in 1322. Duke Willem III provided protection to Emelisse and its guesthouse - further empowering their status.

Unfortunately, the battle against the sea wasn’t always victorious for the Dutch.
The dykes near Emelisse were in bad shape because nobody was able to look after them. In 1530 and 1532 the dykes collapsed, “drowning” the village below sea level.

Eventually the soil of Emelisse was taken back from the sea, but the town was never rebuilt. And so, Emelisse joins the list of many villages the North Sea took from the Dutch - a village the North Sea can call its own.

To commemorate the history of Emelisse 5 millennias later - along with all drown villages of Zeeland - a rollercoaster was built on the shore where it once resided.

And I was on holiday in Colijnsplaat, which is next to where Emelisse would be. I guess that reason would’ve been much shorter to write. 🤷‍♂️