In the 9th century, Ostend, then a hamlet, was situated at the eastern end (Oostende) of a sand-bar belonging to the powerful St. Bertin Abbey of St. Omer. Incursions by the Normans and the ravages of the sea had almost entirely annihilated it when, in the 9th century, Robert le Frison built a chapel to Our Lady there, around which a new village grew up. Thanks to the herring fisheries on the Flemish coast—a flourishing industry in the Middle-Ages, but since abandoned—Ostend grew and prospered. The construction of defence-works at the end of the 16th century, by Guillaume-le-Taciturne, conferred on the town the dangerous honour of becoming the last rampart of the Utrecht Confederation against the Spaniards of the southern provinces, and resulted in one of the longest and bloodiest sieges (1601-1603) recorded in history. This three years' struggle cost one hundred thousand lives and reduced the town to ruins.
Later, Ostend sustained further destructive sieges, e.g. by the English, under Marlborough, in 1706; by the French under Marshal Lowendhal in 1745. Meanwhile, and in the latter part of the 18th century, various factors helped to restore the town's former prosperity, i.e. the "Peace of Utrecht" (1713) which closed the Escaut, thus paralysing Antwerp in favour of Ostend; and the wealthy "Indian Company" founded there, but broken up ten years later for political reasons. The "Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle" (1748) having ceded the town to Austria, Joseph II caused the maritime installations to be completed, and made it a free port, into which the belligerent ships put during the American War. This revived prosperity was again annihilated by revolution and the Napoleonic wars.
In the 19th century, Ostend discovered a new and fruitful source of wealth in sea-bathing, and eventually developed into one of Europe's premier seaside resorts.
Under the impulsion of Leopold II, who frequently resided there, extensive works were carried out in the town and port at the beginning of the present century. The channel was widened, the jetties rebuilt, the port enlarged. A monumental bridge, the present maritime station, and the church of St. Peter and Paul were built. The dike was prolonged westwards and bordered with luxurious buildings. Parks and public gardens were laid out. To the east, the Lighthouse Quarter was transformed, and the Royal Road in the Dunes to Blankenberghe was made.
When, in August 1914, the Germans invaded Belgium, this "queen of watering-places" offered a strangely moving sight until the middle of October. British troops disembarked from the transports, marched in long files through the streets, and encamped in the surroundings. Refugees from all parts were temporarily housed in the bathing cabins. "Zeppelins" and "Taubes" completed the terror and panic caused by the approach of the invaders. The trains were crammed, and the maritime station crowded with thousands of people seeking to get across to Britain. The retirement of the Belgian Army along the littoral, after the fall of Antwerp, marked the end of the season of 1914.
On October 14, the Germans occupied the town, from which the visitors and part of the inhabitants had fled. Naval defences were organised, the dike and dunes armed, while the palaces and villas along the dike, the Kursaal, and other public buildings were occupied by the military staffs. The town suffered severely from this occupation. British shells and aeroplane bombs unavoidably increased the damage. The maritime station, and a number of hotels and private residences in the central and eastern districts were partly destroyed, while the glazed roof of the Banqueting Hall of the Kursaal collapsed.
Many public buildings were transformed into Hospitals, dressing-stations, and even stables. The furniture of the fine villas along the sea-front was either sent to Germany or burnt as firewood. The wine-cellars were emptied. Defilements, in accordance with Kultur's best practice, went hand-in-hand with the destructions. Reconstruction and cleansing will require much time and work. Yet, true to her past, Ostend will rise again, more beautiful than ever, from her ruins.
Itinerary for visiting Ostend (indicated by the thick lines): The Chalet Royal, Kursaal, Leopold Park, Chaussée de Thourout, Tirpitz Battery, Rue de Leffingue, Docks, Church of St. Peter and Paul, Outer Harbour, Wooden Pier, Hôtel-de-Ville, Marie-Henriette Park (on leaving), Napoleon Fort.