Zeebrugge

Zeebrugge, port, West Flanders province, north-western Belgium. Zeebrugge is an artificial port on the North Sea, built between 1895 and 1907 to act as the port for Brugge (Bruges), to the south; the marine channel to Brugge had silted up. The 12 km- (7 mi-) long Boudewijn Kanaal links Zeebrugge with Brugge, and continues to Ghent. Today, Zeebrugge is a busy international cargo and passenger ferry port, with cross-Channel services to Britain and elsewhere. Because of its strategic value, Allied forces blocked Zeebrugge harbour in both world wars to prevent its use by German submarines. Zeebrugge town, itself, was extensively damaged by the retreating Germans in 1944, to hinder Allied landings. The harbour was reopened in 1957.