Zoute

Zoute ( " Het Zoute" in Dutch) belonged to the commune of Knokke-Heist, in Belgium. Located at a few kilometers hardly of the Belgo-Dutch border, it is one of the seaside resorts among most attended Flemish coast.

Economy

Zoute is a rich city, where one does not pay local taxes, and where the many shops of luxury and restaurants, drain thousands of visitors.

A famous seaside resort for its snobbery

To preserve the prestige of the seaside resort, the count Leopold Lippens, burgomaster of Knokke, actions of dissuasion in the Années 1980 against many the " took; frigobox" , i.e. people who came to pass from the one day stays, often via the Railroad. He also proposed in this direction to move the station with several kilometers of his current site.

The Albert place was ironically baptized by the tourists place show-off , because the holiday makers enjoy to be seen there while making thunder the engines from their glowing 4 × 4 which turn inlassablement around the Albert place. This fact is often caricatured in the Sketch are of the humorist Richard Ruben.

Many Belgian personalities have one second residence in the seaside resort or took the practice to remain there during August, like the artist Roger Nellens or the dressmaker Edouard Vermeulen.

History

genesis.

The history of Zoute is closely related to the history of the Compagnie of Zoute and its founders, Lippens. Indeed, it is on May 1st, 1908, which the Lippens family founds the Company of Zoute, whose management is ensured by Raymond and Maurice Lippens. By creating this company, Lippens avoided a dispersion of the properties of the family. At the beginning of its existence, the company will impose an urban and architectural vision, aiming at protecting the typical landscape from the area. But, the Lippens family had not launched out only in this adventure, indeed, another family of landowners, the family Piers de Raveschoot also contributed to the foundation of the company.

benefits of the littoral.

It is at the beginning of the XXe century, that British nationals played a big role in the blooming of Zoute, in particular, while going to be established along the littoral, on the continent. Because at that time, the quality of the sea air was recognized and the rich of British origin sought a certain quality of life. These emigrated British imported towards the other shore of the North Sea their national sports, such tennis and the golf, as testifies some still today, the Royal Tennis Club of Zoute and the Royal Zoute Golf Club. There also exists, in Knokke, a small church Anglican, vestige of this completed time. The Lippens family quickly foresaw the tourist opportunity, which this new phenomenon could constitute and knew to exploit it.

an urban design of charm.

As an urban originator, but a also lotissor, the Company of Zoute had imposed very strict regulations, aiming “to obtain and protect a vision architectural from unit in diversity ”, as it is made by it mention on Internet site of the company. It has been for this time, that Knokke-Le-Zoute has its contemporary aspect, i.e. a vast whole of villas and residential buildings of Anglo-Norman style, located near an exceptional nature. The company also was at the origin of the basic infrastructures, the such network of underground draining, but also of entertaining infrastructures, like the swimming pool, the club of tennis, or the golf. Thus, that places of worship as the various churches which one finds in Zoute. The station also accommodates Synagog S, because it is a place of villégature appreciated by the Belgian Jewish community, where this one was structured in an authentic and recognized community.

During the XXe century, many personalities of national and international fame remained in Zoute, of which King Léopold III, the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and the US president Herbert Hoover.

Culture

Knokke-le-Zoute owes a certain cultural radiation with the presence of its casino, its arts center Scharpoord and its many art galleries, of which several of international repute.

This balneal city is regularly a place of great exposures, in particular in its casino. Man Ray, Picasso, Dali, Chagall, Ernst, César and much of others attended the places, leaving many traces besides. Keith Haring, like good before him Rene Magritte and Paul Delvaux, decorated the rooms with the casino, vast steamer built by the architect Rene Stynen, in 1930. Recently, the municipality retained five international architects, of which the office Parisian Jacob and MacFarlane, to work out a new project, modernistic and daring, likely to drain cultural tourism under development full and to allow this high place of prestige to continue its expansion.

One also finds in the garden of the artist and collector Roger Nellens a house in the multicoloured shape of dragon, realized by Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely. With the passing of years, the municipality acquired works, sculptures and installations of an unequal interest and an unquestionable originality which one can discover while walking in the city.

Each year, of the specialists in the cartoon originating of more than sixty countries go to Zoute in order to take part in it in the International festival of the Cartoon. From June 18th to September 3rd, 2006, the laughter fills up the arts center then Scharpoord, where the caricatures of the international topicality are exposed.

Environment

The natural reserve of the Zwin, a zone of salted meadows, where the storks nest and, where, the zwinneblomme, with the rare flowers, cover the ground of a purple carpet in summer, near Zoute in particular possibilities of walks offer to foot and bicycle. Zoute presents villas cossues of white color, streets sinuous and courses of golf.

Royal Zoute Golf Club counts among the most prestigious golfs of Europe. In 1992 and 1993, its course was elected the best of Europe. Its situation, among the old dunes of Zoute, is extraordinary. According to many professional golfeurs, the quality of the ground is really exceptional. It has two courses of 18 holes, which were drawn by architect HS Colt, and it had the honor to accommodate several Open of Belgium.

Many operations of real estate speculations entâchent the town planning of certain parts of the seaside resort. Along the dam of sea ( Zeedijk ) traditional constructions tend to make place at imposing buildings with apartments or studios for estival hirings.

External bonds

Site of the Consistory Jew of Belgium - the community Jew of Knokke
official Internet site of Royal Zoute Golf Club
Internet site of the town of Knokke
Knokke-le-Zoute, art with the beach in Le Monde

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