A very nice site on the boundary markers of the Sluis-Aardenburg
municipality, in the extreme south-western corner of the Netherlands.
Especially the triplet is very nice: the border was in the middle of
the Zwin sea branch, so on both shores a marker was placed. Later the
area was reclaimed and became the Willem-Leopoldpolder (perhaps named
after the two kings of the Netherlands and Belgium at the time?). So
in the middle of the now dry Zwin the marker was put on its rightful
spot, but the other two were not removed and can still be seen. A
rare occason of three border markers that don't form the border; only
the middle one is on the border.
A translation of the site:
Municipality of Sluis-Aardenburg
Historical markers
In Sluis-Aardenburg, different kinds of markers are witnesses of an
interesting past: markers that mark a property, be it of a state
(expulsion precinct, limit, boundary markers) or of a private or semi-
private property (fence and pavement markers).
Along the Eedeweg, to the south of Aardenburg, there are two markers,
that marked until the French period the so-called expulsion mile, the
juridical territory of the Aardenburg city government. The markers
were placed in 1652.
One of them carries the letters EV, possibly the initials of the
stone carver.
Another marker, also from this year, is on the Hogeweg, near the
Elderschans.
Near the St. Bavo church there are two fence markers, crowned by the
castle of Aardenburg.
Although all along the boundary there are cast-iron boundary markers,
boundary marker 348 at Eede deserves special attention, because it
was at this spot that Queen Wilhelmina set foot on Dutch soil on
March 13, 1945, for the first time since her forced exile of almost 5
years in London.
Apart from this, just south of Eede four curious auxiliary boundary
stones from 1952 are located. These stones mark the contours of a
former house, that formed the border until its destruction in 1944.
A unique and very typical solution for a boundary demarcation in the
Netherlands is formed by the "triplet of Retranchement".
The markers can be found when you walk from the Markt (Market Square)
in the direction of the Belgian border, across the bridge that is
close to the village, and then past the bridge to the left along the
canal.
About 500 m after the bridge, in the middle of the land, on the
right, across the ditch, there are two boundary markers of the
triplet.
The third one is on the left, on the other side of the canal, in the
middle of the central defence wall (courtine) on the footpath near
the former Nassau Fort.
A signposted walking route goes past this point.
When the Zwin was still flowing here, it was impossible to mark the
right place of the state boundary here, because this sea branch was
the boundary.
This is why on approx. 200 m an "informer" was placed on the defence
wall of the fort.
Another one was placed at the same distance in the Zwin saltings on
Belgian territory.
In 1873 the "real" boundary marker, no. 364 (the one in the middle),
was put on the right location.
The other two were left at their spot, as "silent guards, retired".
On the Kaai (Quay) in Sluis there is a "quintuplet" of markers.
These are four limit markers and a jurisdiction marker.
The limit markers can be recognised by the Austrian two-headed eagle
and the Netherlands lion and the inscription "Oostenrijk" ("Austria")
and "Haar Hoog Mogende" ("Their High Powers").
They were probably placed here short after the Fontainebleau Peace
Treaty of 1785.
They were used at the time as boundary markers between the Austrian
Netherlands and Estates-Flanders (today Zealand Flanders).
The jurisdiction marker (the middle one) was placed after an
agreement between the Free (Land) of Bruges and the Sluis city
government on some controversial points and on the jurisdiction of
both governments (1660).
The inscriptions are "'t Vrije" and "Sluys". In Sluis there are also
some fragments of pavement markers, one in the Smeestraat and one on
the Kaai (Quay), near the entrance of the 's Heeren Boudewijnstraat.
The site is at
http://www.sluis-aardenburg.nl/hist7.htm
Peter S.