Veere

About this place

Veere is a small town in the Walcheren area of Zeeland in the southwest Netherlands, on the Veerse Meer lake, about 6 km northeast of Middelburg and 70 km southwest of Rotterdam in a straight line. About 1,500 people live there. The name Veere means «ferry»: Wolfert I van Borselen set up a ferry here in 1281 and built a castle on one of the dikes. The town received city rights in 1355 and prospered for centuries on sea trade, especially in Scottish wool, and was the seat of an admiralty in the 15th century. Its buildings from that wealthy era still stand. The stone Gothic town hall with its ornate tower stands in the middle of town, and merchants' houses with stepped gables line the harbour, among them two 16th-century Scottish houses. The huge, unfinished Church of Our Lady, a round old defence tower and a white windmill on the ramparts all look out over the water. Visitors stroll along the quay among boats and yachts, climb the green ramparts and eat Zeeland mussels in the harbour restaurants. The North Sea beach is a short bike ride away, and the Oosterschelde barrier is about 10 km off.