Oosterland

As you enter Oosterland, you’ll be surprised by the many beautiful villas with large gardens; the village has a distinguished entrance. The windmill also immediately catches the eye, and if you continue all the way down the road, you suddenly find yourself in front of the Sint Judocus Church. Although Oosterland has suffered greatly from several floods, including during the Second World War and the North Sea Flood of 1953, a number of monuments have still been preserved and are well worth discovering.

Church and National Monument

Oosterland is not only notable for its villas. The church is also different from those in other villages. As you will see, the tower of Sint Judocus Church, built around 1400, has a saddle roof, which was very unusual at the time. Due to a fire in 1612, part of the church burned down, and the tower now stands separate from the rest of the church. Although many buildings have been lost, Oosterland still has 16 national monuments, including the church and tower, the guesthouse and the windmill.

Guesthouse

A beautiful building with a lovely façade is the former poorhouse, thanks to a remarkable resident of Oosterland: craftswoman Suzanne Maria Lonque. She married Johan Cau, the mayor of Zierikzee, but was widowed at a young age. She did not give up; she meant a great deal to Oosterland. For example, she arranged for the construction of the poorhouse in 1754. In this poorhouse, known as the Gasthuis, fourteen families were allowed to live free of charge. In the garden, there is a small statue of its founder, Suzanne Lonque.

Windmill
Windmill

The windmill dates from 1752 and was long owned by local lords. It may have one of the more beautiful mill beards. The beard hangs high against the sail cross and usually contains the year and the name of the windmill. Some parts of the mill beard in Oosterland are even gilded and feature the coats of arms of Oosterland and Sirjansland.
Nature tower
Nature tower

One of the old and now unused transformer towers in Oosterland has been converted into a nature tower. The insect hotel you see here was built by local schoolchildren. The surrounding area has also been improved with a new woven hedge and a widened ditch. The tower has been designed for various animal species, such as sparrows, swallows, bats and insects.
De Geule and the Maire
De Geule and the Maire

Remnants of the Marevliet creek can still be seen south of Oosterland, behind the row of pollard willows, the moat and the dike. The nature reserve is now known as De Geule. Further south lies the Maire nature reserve, which includes a duck decoy. This area is owned by the Stichting der Heerlijkheden Oosterland, Sirjansland en Oosterstein and is not freely accessible.