Zierikzee

Zierikzee is a town in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland in the Dutch province of Zeeland. The city has 11,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the municipality.

Understand
Zierikzee is a historic town on the Eastern Scheldt. It has 568 official monuments, a unique medieval street pattern and the oldest still playing carillon of the Netherlands. During high season it is crowded with visitors, mainly Dutch and German. It's a good hub to explore the rest of the province which has much to offer both culturally and scenically. Historical cities, attractions and beaches are nearby. Zierikzee offers good hotels and restaurants and is a pleasant city to stay.

History
The name Siricasha (Zierikzee) was first mentioned in 1156. The city rights were confirmed and expended by count William II of Holland. It is unknown when the city received its rights for the first time. At the end of the Middle Ages Zierikzee was an important city. In 1304 the Battle of Zierikzee took place where a combined French and Holland fleet was successfully in defeating the Flemish who had invaded Zeeland and Holland. During the 80 years war the city was taken by the Geuzen (Beggars) and later recaptured by the Spaniards. They left the city four months later after a mutiny of Spanish soldiers because of arrears. In the 17th century Zierikzee was primarily a fishery city and had a commercial fleet that limited herself to European waters. Unlike Middelburg the city had little input in the colonization of East and West Indian regions. In the 18th century the trade became more important than fishing. The merchant had to cope with setbacks about the middle of the 18th century. The fourth Anglo-Dutch war resulted in a decline of the fleet and the inhabitants of Zierikzee fell from 10,000 to 6,000. During the 19th century Zierikzee became to a more or less forgotten city.

Get in
Zierikzee has no railway connection and there is no nearby airport. It can be reached by car or by public bus. Coming from the East follow A58 to the direction of Middelburg and turn right to N256 after Goes. The N256 ends at Zierikzee just after passing the 5km long Zeelandbrug.

Bus line 132 from Goes takes a half hour to Zierikzee bus station.

From Rotterdam Zuidplein bus station to Zierikzee take either Interliner 395 (weekdays only) or bus line 436 and change bus in Oude Tonge to bus line 133 (all lines operated by Connexxion)

Get around
Zierikzee can be best visited by foot. Most monuments can be seen within the radius of about 3 km.

Do
There are a lot of activities you can do in and around Zierikzee. First of all you will explore the historic centre by foot. Get a city map at the tourist office and stroll around. Look very carefully to the old buildings. Never forget to look up as most interesting can be seen on the upper floors or roofs like decorations, inscriptions and sculptures. In summer you can find lot of terraces on the squares and at the waterfronts to have a drink, lunch or dinner. If the weather is against you, go inside and admire the old atmospheric rooms.

Buy
There are a lot of shops in the center of Zierikzee. Many are retails. A nice shop to look around is the Fair Trade Shop in the Gravensteen. There is an antique and art shop on Havenplein 18 and next door is a candy shop, aptly named the syrup soldier.

Camp sites
There are a lot of camp sites on Schouwen-Duivenland. You will find two just near Zierikzee. Most camp sites are in and around Renesse, 15km west of Zierikzee close to the beaches.

Connect
The international telephone country code for the Netherlands is 31, the area code for Schouwen-Duiveland (Zierikzee) is 0111. If dialing from abroad, use +31 but then leave out the 0 in the area code.

WiFi is available in most hotels. In some hotels you have to pay for WiFi service. Public free spots can be found at the Tourist Office (Nieuwe Haven 7), restaurant De Proeverij (Kraanplen 12-14) and Rijkse AAR (Havenpark 8).

Go next
Visit the adjacent islands Goeree-Overflakkee and Walcheren. Both have beautiful little historic cities. Or take a closer look to the Delta Works.