Domburg

Domburg opened a bath house in 1837 and became the first and most fashionable seaside resort in Zeeland, drawing a German and Belgian clientele from the late nineteenth century. From about 1900 it also drew painters: Jan Toorop settled here for summers and organised exhibitions, and Piet Mondrian came repeatedly between 1908 and 1916, painting the dunes, the church tower and the sea in the luminist manner that preceded his abstraction - several of the works that show him moving toward the grid were made on this coast. The light off the sea and the wide horizon are the usual explanation. There is a museum on the Domburg painters. The village behind the dyke has a small centre, a beach with clubs, and Roman material - a temple to the goddess Nehalennia stood nearby and altars from it have been found on the beach.

History

People have lived here since at least 4,000 BCE. In 1647 storms uncovered a sanctuary on the beach with about 40 Roman-era stones carved for gods, most of them for the local goddess Nehalennia, set up by traders and captains after safe voyages; coins from 650 AD onwards, including Anglo-Saxon sceattas, have also been found on the beach (Wikipedia, Domburg).

Highlights

• The oldest Zeeland resort - a bath house from 1837 and a fashionable clientele.
• Where Mondrian painted - the dunes and church tower, in the years before abstraction.
• A painters' museum - the Domburg group and Toorop's summers here.
• Roman altars - from the Nehalennia temple, found on and near the beach.

When to go

April to September. A day.

Good to know

Busy and expensive in season, with a strong German and Belgian holiday trade. The North Sea is cold. Museum hours are seasonal. Parking is charged and fills.

Nearby

Westkapelle is south-west; Middelburg and Veere are inland.