place

Kieldrecht Lock

Buildings and structures in AntwerpLocks of Belgium
Haven van Antwerpen Kieldrechtsluis
Haven van Antwerpen Kieldrechtsluis

The Kieldrecht Lock (Dutch: Kieldrechtsluis), referred to as the Deurgank Dock Lock (Dutch: Deurgankdoksluis) during construction, is the largest lock in the world when only considering water volume. The Kieldrecht Lock is the newer of two locks that give access to the left-bank docks of the Port of Antwerp in Belgium, between the Scheldt river and the Waasland Canal. The creation of the Kieldrecht lock has relieved the amount of traffic for the Waasland Canal that the Kallo Lock was experiencing. The lock, situated in the municipality of Beveren, was opened on 10 June 2016 in the presence of King Philippe of Belgium.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Kieldrecht Lock (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Kieldrecht Lock
Sint-Antoniusweg,

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Kieldrecht LockContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.279 ° E 4.2477 °
placeShow on map

Address

Sint-Antoniusweg

Sint-Antoniusweg
9130
East Flanders, Belgium
mapOpen on Google Maps

Haven van Antwerpen Kieldrechtsluis
Haven van Antwerpen Kieldrechtsluis
Share experience

Nearby Places

Battle of Kallo
Battle of Kallo

The Battle of Kallo was a major field battle fought from 20 to 21 June 1638 in and around the forts of Kallo and Verrebroek, located on the left bank of the Scheldt river, near Antwerp, during the second phase of the Eighty Years' War. Following the symbolic recovery of Breda during the 1637 campaign, the Dutch Republic agreed with the French Crown, with whom it had allied in 1635, to besiege a major city in the Spanish Netherlands during the 1638 campaign. The commander of the Dutch States Army, Frederick Henry of Orange, planned an approach over Antwerp from the two sides of the Scheldt. Count William of Nassau-Siegen was entrusted to land in the Spanish-controlled Waasland region, west of Antwerp, to seize the forts of Kallo and Verrebroek, along with several other key fortifications, to invest Antwerp from the west. In the meantime, Frederick Henry would advance on the opposite bank to complete the blockade of the city while the armies of France invaded the Spanish Netherlands from the south to oblige the Spanish Army of Flanders to divide its forces. The Dutch operation proceeded well at first, since the force under Nassau-Siegen easily captured Kallo and Verrebroek. However, it was unable to gain further progress, so the count entrenched his troops and asked for reinforcements. The governor of the Catholic Netherlands, the cardinal-infante Ferdinand, younger brother to Philip IV of Spain and victor of the Battle of Nördlingen, with an army consisting of tercios and other troops from several garrison duties, launched a counter-attack over the Dutch positions the night of 20–21 June. Advancing along three narrow fronts, the Spanish forces drove the States' soldiers from a series of outer works, but were unable to dislodge them from the two main forts. However, exhaustion and lack of supplies and reinforcements led Nassau-Siegen to order the re-embarkation during the next night. Ferdinand launched a second assault while the retreat was ongoing, and, as panic ensued among the Dutch ranks, the entire force was defeated. The Dutch commander escaped with a few hundred men, while many other drowned attempting to save themselves or were captured. Along with the successful defense of Saint-Omer and Geldern that same year, the victory of Kallo proved that the Spanish tercios were still a formidable field force. Additionally, it was interpreted in terms of Catholic propaganda and became subject of paintings, poems and popular songs.

Waasland
Waasland

The Waasland (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋaːslɑnt]) or Land van Waas (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈlɑnt vɑn ˈʋaːs]) is a historic region in northern Belgium. It is part of the Belgian provinces of East Flanders and Antwerp. The other borders are with the Scheldt and Durme rivers (east and south) and, to the north, the border with the Dutch region of Zeelandic Flanders. The (informal) capital and major city of the region is Sint-Niklaas. Waas most likely refers to the soggy soil of the region although the exact etymology is unknown. One possibility is a connection to the English word "wasteland". The swamps that characterized it have long been drained although many fields are still noticeably convex; the result of many years of plowing the topsoil towards the center to improve drainage. Historically, on account of its waterlogged, poor soils the region was thinly populated in comparison to the rest of Belgium and agriculture was by necessity based on holder farms using innovative techniques not usually applied elsewhere even if the farmers had ready markets nearby in the cities of Ghent and Antwerp. Charles Townshend (1674–1748), one of the proponents of the early agricultural revolution, was an explicit advocate of agricultural practices first developed here in Belgium, such as the use of turnips in crop rotation, and the region for some time attracted study trips by early agriculturists in his wake. The epic tale of Reynard the Fox is set in the region. The surname "Waas" and variants thereof is quite common in Belgium and refers to this region.