Testerep

Testerep surgió entre los siglos V y VI frente a la costa belga del Mar del Norte , entre Nieuwpoort y Bredene , como resultado de las fuerzas de las mareas. El promontorio , comúnmente llamado " Ter Streep ", estaba separado del continente por el Testerepvliet, un canal de marea situado al sur que quedaba completamente inundado durante la pleamar . Debido a que Testerep se inundaba regularmente en los siglos posteriores, la residencia permanente en la isla era imposible. Solo después de que se formara un cinturón de dunas protector en el siglo X surgieron en la isla modestos asentamientos, principalmente de pescadores y pastores de ovejas. Primero se fundó Ostende en la década de 990 en el extremo este de Testerep, seguida de Westende en el extremo oeste y Middelkerke en el centro.

As a fishing village situated at the easternmost end of the island, Ostend's strategic location on the North Sea gave it growing importance. Its position on the natural channel that was beginning to breach the island's dunes made it an ideal port. In 1267, Margaretha of Constantinople, Countess of Flanders, granted the settlement city rights, which spurred its development into a significant harbour town. This growth, however, coincided with a period of intense storm activity and rising sea levels that placed the entire island under severe threat.

Beginning in the 12th century, a series of catastrophic storm surges began to permanently reshape the coastline. The All Saints' Flood of 1170 was particularly destructive, eroding dune barriers along the North Sea coast. Over the following century, successive storms, including St. Lucia's flood in 1287, continued to batter Testerep. These events progressively submerged the lower-lying parts of the island, widened the channel east of Ostend, and eventually led to a major breach that permanently separated Ostend from the mainland. The western part of the island, which housed Westende and Middelkerke, was gradually fused with the mainland as the channel behind it silted up, while the sea claimed much of the land in between.

As the city of Ostend expanded, its inhabitants systematically flattened the surrounding dunes to make room for development. This removal of the island's natural sea defences left the settlement critically exposed. The consequences were catastrophic. The St. Clement's Flood in 1334 caused widespread devastation across the already vulnerable land. The final blow came with the enormous St. Vincent's Flood in 1393, which completely ruined the original city. Thousands of townspeople were forced to leave the original city and founded a second Ostend five hundred meters inland, no longer on the island of Testerep but on land in the Bredene district.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the devastating tidal waves of a new series of storm surges would eventually sink the northern half of Testerep into the North Sea. After poldering of the Testerep gully, the southern part would form part of the mainland from the twelfth century, the widest part of which formed Westende and Lombardsijde.

Durante la recuperación de los terrenos del canal recién sedimentados, el Testerepvliet fue canalizado hacia el "Groot Geleed", una zanja de drenaje que aún existe al norte del Moere-Blote- en Moere-Nieuwlandpolder . El río IJzer (actual canal del puerto cerca de Nieuwpoort) todavía conserva en su margen oriental algunas marismas y pantanos como pequeños vestigios del antiguo arroyo . Junto con la reserva natural "IJzermonding", la "playa de Sint-Laureins" con las dunas detrás y la antigua base naval en Lombardsijde, esta área solía formar el estuario del IJzer .

51°11′24″N 2°49′48″E / 51.19000°N 2.83000°E / 51.19000; 2.83000