Nieuwpoort, Belgium

The municipality comprises the town of Nieuwpoort proper, as well as Ramskapelle and Sint-Joris.^{[citation needed]}

On 1 January 2008, Nieuwpoort had a total population of 11,062. Its land area is 31.00 km² (11.97 sq mi), which gives a population density of 350 inhabitants per km².^{[citation needed]}

In Nieuwpoort, the Yser flows into the North Sea.^{[citation needed]}

It was^[when?] the home of a statue created by Jan Fabre called Searching for Utopia.^{[clarification needed][citation needed]}

In 1999, the Stadshalle Grain Hall (market hall) with its belfry was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Belfries of Belgium and France site, owing to its historical civic (not religious) importance and its architecture.^[3]

In 1163, Nieuwpoort obtained city rights from Count Philip of Flanders. The Battle of Nieuwpoort, between the Dutch and the Spanish, happened here in 1600. The city was a Dunkirker base.^{[citation needed]}

In the 17th century, painter Victor Boucquet made^[when?] two of the altar-pieces for the great church.^{[clarification needed][citation needed]}

In 1671, Antonio Vélaz de Medrano, 1st Marquess of Tabuérniga became governor of the city.^[4]

Between 1757 and 1763, for a period of 6 years, the city was occupied by French forces as part of the conditions of the Second Treaty of Versailles between France and Austria.^{[citation needed]}

In the 19th century, a large waterworks infrastructure project called the Ganzepoot (goose foot, in Dutch) was constructed^[when?] in Nieuwpoort to drain the polders and channel water in and around the town and to the North Sea.^{[citation needed]}

During the Battle of the Yser, part of the First Battle of Ypres in World War I, Hendrik Geeraert opened the sluice gates on the mouth of the river Yser twice to flood the lower lying land, thus halting the German advance. Two World War I monuments (next to each other), the Nieuport Memorial and King Albert I Memorial, are in close proximity of the Ganzepoot.^{[citation needed]}

The old city centre of Nieuwpoort is located about 3 km (1.9 mi) from the coast. Close to the sea, a new tourist centre has developed. Both parts form one contiguous built up area, connected by buildings along the Albert I Laan street and the fishing port.^{[citation needed]}

Besides Nieuwpoort proper, two small villages in the Flemish polders are part of the municipality: Sint-Joris; and Ramskapelle.^{[citation needed]}

Nieuwpoort is located by the sea. At the coastal line, it borders the municipalities Koksijde at its town Oostduinkerke and Middelkerke at its town Lombardsijde. Because the territory of the town of Ramskapelle expands far inland, Nieuwpoort has a large number of neighbouring towns, most of which are part of two large municipalities:

a. Lombardsijde (Middelkerke) b. Westende (Middelkerke) c. Slijpe (Middelkerke) d. Mannekensvere (Middelkerke) e. Schore (Middelkerke) f. Pervijze (Diksmuide) g. Veurne h. Booitshoeke (Veurne) i. Wulpen (Koksijde) j. Oostduinkerke (Koksijde)

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  A view of Nieuwpoort marina from the south side with boats
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  A view of the beach and the pier at Nieuwpoort
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  Nieuwpoort taken from the air
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  Hendrik-Geeraertplein square
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  Fishing ship from Nieuwpoort
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  Tower of the Notre-Dame church in Nieuwpoort

Part of the plot in Cecelia Holland's historical novel The Sea Beggars is laid in Nieuwpoort, in the preliminary states of the Eighty Years' War - with the sailor protagonists feeling oppressed under the harsh Spanish rule and eventually joining the rebellious Watergeuzen.^{[citation needed]}

• Jean-Marie Dedecker (born 1952), Belgian politician
• Dixie Dansercoer (1962–2021), Belgian explorer
• Alain Desaever (1952–2014), Belgian racing cyclist
• Freddy Maertens (born 1952), Belgian racing cyclist
• Olivier Marteel (born 1969), Belgian snooker referee
• Jan Simoen (born 1953), Belgian footballer
• Jeline Vandromme (born 2007), Belgian tennis player^[5]

• Operation Hush