Sluis
Sluis is a city and municipality located in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western Dutch province of Zeeland.
The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 January 2003. The former municipalities of Oostburg and Sluis-Aardenburg merged on that date. The latter as formed in 1995 from a merger between the previous municipality of Sluis and the former municipality of Aardenburg.
History
The town received city rights in 1290. In 1340 the Battle of Sluys was fought nearby at sea during the Hundred Years' War. There is a record of one of the first lotteries with money on 9 May 1455 of 1737 florins.During the Eighty Years' War in 1587 the town was captured by Spanish troops under the Duke of Parma and was retaken in 1604 by a Dutch and English force under Maurice of Nassau.
From 2006 until its closure in 2013, Oud Sluis was one of only two Michelin three-starred restaurants in the entire country.
Geography
In addition to the town of Sluis itself, the municipality is made up of the following population centres:Sint Anna ter Muiden, with a population of only 50, is a small village about 1 km west of the town of Sluis, located on the westernmost point of the Netherlands.
Demography
The population of the municipality is 23,098 as of 2025.| Year | Number of inhabitants | % difference |
| 1996 | 24,258 | –0.18% |
| 1997 | 24,326 | +0.28% |
| 1998 | 24,331 | +0.02% |
| 1999 | 24,209 | −0.50% |
| 2000 | 24,253 | +0.18% |
| 2001 | 24,594 | +1.41% |
| 2002 | 24,755 | +0.65% |
| 2003 | 24,828 | +0.29% |
| 2004 | 24,596 | −0.93% |
| 2005 | 24,605 | +0.04% |
| 2006 | 24,357 | −1.01% |
| 2007 | 24,325 | −0.13% |
| 2008 | 24,238 | −0.36% |
| 2009 | 24,156 | −0.34% |
| 2010 | 24,089 | −0.28% |
| 2011 | 23,979 | −0.46% |
| 2012 | 23,892 | −0.36% |
| 2013 | 23,886 | −0.03% |
| 2014 | 23,820 | −0.28% |
| 2015 | 23,747 | −0.31% |
| 2016 | 23,639 | −0.45% |
| 2017 | 23,658 | +0.08% |
| 2018 | 23,526 | −0.56% |
| 2019 | 23,386 | −0.60% |
| 2020 | 23,210 | −0.75% |
| 2021 | 23,166 | −0.19% |
| 2022 | 23,141 | −0.11% |
| 2023 | 23,243 | +0.44% |
| 2024 | 23,150 | −0.40% |
| 2025 | 23,098 | −0.22% |
Transport
A ferry connection across the Westerschelde exists between Breskens and Vlissingen. After the opening of the Westerschelde tunnel near Terneuzen in 2003, the ferry now carries only pedestrian and bicycle traffic.Notable people
- John Crabbe l a Flemish merchant, pirate and soldier
- Joost de Soete, a Dutch nobleman and Field Marshal
- Jacob van Loo, a painter of the Dutch Golden Age
- Joan Blasius, a Dutch poet, playwright, translator and lawyer
- Johanna Jacoba van Beaumont, a politically active journalist, feminist and editor
- Johan Hendrik van Dale, a Dutch teacher, archivist and lexicographer
- Ernst Oppler, German impressionist painter, lived for some years in Sluis
- Hermine Moquette, Dutch archivist, born in Sluis
- Jan Eekhout, a Dutch writer, poet, translator and Nazi
- Herman Wijffels, a retired Dutch politician and businessman
- Hans Wijers, a retired Dutch politician and businessman
- Ate de Jong, a Dutch film director
Sport
- Willem van Hanegem, a Dutch former football midfielder with over 50 caps and 600 appearances in the top flight of association football
- Annabel Kosten, a retired freestyle swimmer, bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics