Zeebrugge

The church of Zeebrugge

Zeebrugge (Dutch: Zeebrugge, French: Zeebruges, "Seabruges" in literal translation) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with hotels, cafés and a beach.

Location

Located on the coast of the North Sea, the busiest sea in the world, its central location on the Belgian coast, short distance to Great Britain and close vicinity to densely populated industrialized cities makes Zeebrugge a crossroads for traffic from all directions. An expressway to Bruges connects Zeebrugge to the European motorway system; one can also get to and from Zeebrugge by train or tram.

The marina is Belgium's most important fishing port and the wholesale fish market located there is one of the largest in Europe.

Aside from being a passenger port with ferries to the United Kingdom, the harbour serves as the central port for Europe's automotive industry and is important for the import, handling and storage of energy products, agriculture products and other general cargo.

History

The harbour was the site of the Zeebrugge Raid on 23 April 1918, when the British Royal Navy put the German inland naval base at Bruges out of action. Admiral Roger Keyes planned and led the assault that stormed the German batteries and sank the ships in the harbour to block the entrance to the base for the last seven months of World War I.

Later, Zeebrugge's harbour was the scene of disaster when in 1987 the MS Herald of Free Enterprise passenger ferry capsized killing 193 people.

Passenger ferry routes

• P&O Ferries to Hull, England
• Zeebrugge - Rosyth ferry service operated by Norfolkline to Rosyth, Scotland (from May 2009) ^[1]

See also

• West Flanders
• Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zeebrugge

• www.brugge.be
• live weather in zeebrugge

Coordinates: 51°20′N 3°12′E / 51.333°N 3.2°E / 51.333; 3.2

References

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