Oostende
Places of Interest
Despite significant war damage in both world wars, Oostende still has some impressive old buildings that evoke the glory days of the city as a fashionable seaside resort. The train station was built in 1910 with a grand arched glass ceiling in a scenic harbourside location and looks magnificent when floodlit at night.
Just around the corner from the railway station is the impressive sandstone Church of St Peter and St Paul, a neo-gothic building with two majestic towering spires. Built in 1905, it contains the tomb of the first Queen of Belgium, Queen Louise-Marie, a popular royal who captured the hearts of the Belgian people. She died in Oostende in 1850.
Various Royals left their mark by building their own holiday residences. Leopold II in particular had several mansions in the city, such as the Royal Villa by the Leopold II Promenade.
A little out of the city centre, the Fort Napoléon is the only surviving Napoleonic fortress in Europe. It was built in 1812 in the coastal dunes in the north of the city by Oostende bricklayers and Spanish prisoners of war during the French occupation of Belgium. It still stood strong in the Second World War, when it was used as a barracks by the occupying German forces.
Other reminders of the impact of the world wars of the 20th century on Belgium include the Atlantikwall, a labyrinth of bunkers and trenches built by the German armies in both world wars. These imposing fortifications are situated in the tranquil surroundings of the Raversijde Domain nature reserve area of dunes and sea marshes.
Just around the corner from the railway station is the impressive sandstone Church of St Peter and St Paul, a neo-gothic building with two majestic towering spires. Built in 1905, it contains the tomb of the first Queen of Belgium, Queen Louise-Marie, a popular royal who captured the hearts of the Belgian people. She died in Oostende in 1850.
Various Royals left their mark by building their own holiday residences. Leopold II in particular had several mansions in the city, such as the Royal Villa by the Leopold II Promenade.
A little out of the city centre, the Fort Napoléon is the only surviving Napoleonic fortress in Europe. It was built in 1812 in the coastal dunes in the north of the city by Oostende bricklayers and Spanish prisoners of war during the French occupation of Belgium. It still stood strong in the Second World War, when it was used as a barracks by the occupying German forces.
Other reminders of the impact of the world wars of the 20th century on Belgium include the Atlantikwall, a labyrinth of bunkers and trenches built by the German armies in both world wars. These imposing fortifications are situated in the tranquil surroundings of the Raversijde Domain nature reserve area of dunes and sea marshes.