From Testerep to fishing town (814 to 1500)
Ostend began as a small village of shepherds and fishermen on the eastern tip of the island of Testerep, the oost-ende or east end.
- Shepherds and fishermen: in the 9th and 10th centuries shepherds and fishermen lived on the salt marsh island of Testerep; in 814 the little village was given to the abbey of Saint Bertin in Saint-Omer.
- No longer an island: in the 11th century the channel between Testerep and the mainland was reclaimed, so the village could grow.
- Town rights (1267): in 1267 Countess Margaret of Constantinople granted Ostend town rights and the right to its own market hall.
- Swallowed by the sea: storm floods in 1334 and 1394 swallowed most of the old town; remains of it were rediscovered in 2016 some 200 metres off the coast.
- A new harbour (1445): the new Ostend rose a little further inland, and in 1445 Duke Philip the Good gave permission to build a harbour.
The Siege of Ostend and the Ostend Company (1489 to 1815)
Because of its strategic harbour, Ostend was for centuries a fortified town fought over by the Spanish, Dutch, English, Austrians and French.
- Plundered (1489): in 1489 Ostend was plundered and set on fire by supporters of Emperor Maximilian of Austria; in 1572 the town got a ring of fortifications.
- The Siege (1601 to 1604): as the last Protestant stronghold in the Spanish Netherlands, Ostend was besieged by Archduke Albert from 5 July 1601 to 22 September 1604, one of the bloodiest sieges of the Eighty Years' War with tens of thousands of dead.
- The harbour channel: during the siege the Noorderdijk was breached, creating the large tidal channel that is now Ostend's harbour channel.
- The Ostend Company (1723): on 11 August 1723 the Ostend Company was founded, bringing goods from China and India to Ostend until international pressure led to its abolition in 1731.
- Free port (1781): the first trading dock opened in 1776, and in 1781 Emperor Joseph II made Ostend a free port.
- Line to Dover (1818): in 1818 a regular boat service between Ostend and Dover was set up, bringing many English visitors to Ostend.
Queen of the Seaside Resorts (1830 to 1914)
In the 19th century the fortified town turned into Belgium's best known seaside resort, with Kings Leopold I and Leopold II as its great promoters.
- Railway to Brussels (1838): in 1838 the railway between Ostend and Brussels opened, and the royal family chose Ostend as their summer residence.
- No longer a fortress (1865): in 1865 Ostend lost its status as a fortress, the ramparts were demolished and the town expanded rapidly.
- Steam fishing: the first fish auction came in 1877, and in 1884 the Prima, the first steam fishing boat, sailed into port.
- Leopold II: the builder king made Ostend the Queen of the Seaside Resorts, with a racecourse, the Leopoldpark, a new theatre and wide boulevards.
- Trams along the coast: in 1885 the first steam tram ran from Ostend to Middelkerke, and in 1897 the first electric line followed, the forerunner of the Coastal Tram.
Two world wars
The two world wars marked the end of Ostend as a Belle Époque town.
- Submarine base (1914 to 1918): in the First World War Ostend was a German base for submarines that sailed to sea along the canal from Bruges.
- The British raids (1918): on 23 April and 9 May 1918 the Royal Navy tried to block the harbour channel, as it did in Zeebrugge.
- Lighthouse destroyed (1915): in September 1915 the lighthouse of 1860 was hit by English naval guns and reduced to rubble.
- Kursaal demolished (1943): in the Second World War the Germans demolished the Kursaal to build a gun position of the Atlantic Wall.
- Bombing (1940 to 1945): Allied bombing of the Atlantic Wall, the harbour and the railway almost completely destroyed the promenade.
Reconstruction and City by the Sea
After 1945 Ostend was rebuilt, and the Belle Époque villas increasingly made way for apartments with sea views.
- Mass tourism: with mass tourism and apartment building much of the Belle Époque architecture disappeared, but Ostend grew into a modern seaside town.
- From Queen to City by the Sea: around the turn of the millennium the town swapped its nickname Queen of the Seaside Resorts for City by the Sea, although the old name is still often used.
The Lange Nelle lighthouse
The Ostend lighthouse, locally called Lange Nelle, has a long line of predecessors.
- The Vlaggenstok (1771): in 1771 a stone lighthouse was built on the site of the later National Monument to Seamen; the Germans demolished it in 1944.
- The tower of 1860: on 12 January 1860 the light of a new 60 metre tower on the east bank shone for the first time; it was destroyed in 1915.
- Blown up (1944): its concrete successor was blown up by the retreating Germans on 3 September 1944.
