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Ostend (Oostende, ˌoːstˈɛndə; Ostende ɔstɑ̃d; Ostende ɔstˈʔɛndə; Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast. In the Early Middle Ages, Ostend was a small village built on the east-end (oost-einde) of an island (originally called Testerep) between the North Sea and a beach lake. Although small, the village rose to the status of "town" around 1265, when the inhabitants were allowed to hold a market and to build a market hall. The major source of income for the inhabitants was fishing. The North Sea coastline has always been rather unstable due to the power of the water. In 1395 the inhabitants decided to build a new Ostend behind large dikes and further away from the always-threatening sea. The strategic position on the North Sea coast had major advantages for Ostend as a harbour but also proved to be a source of trouble. The town was frequently taken, ravaged, ransacked and destroyed by conquering armies. The Dutch rebels, the Gueuzen, took control of the town. The Siege of Ostend, 1601 to 1604, of which it was said that "the Spanish assailed the unassailable and the Dutch defended the indefensible", cost a combined total of more than 80,000 dead or wounded, making it the single bloodiest battle of the Eighty Years' War. This shocking event set in motion negotiations that led to a truce several years later. When the truce broke down, it became a Dunkirker base. After this era, Ostend was turned into a harbour of some importance. In 1722, the Dutch again closed off the entrance to the world's biggest harbour of Antwerp, the Westerschelde. Therefore, Ostend rose in importance because the town provided an alternative exit to the sea. The Belgium Austriacum had become part of the Austrian Empire. The Austrian Emperor Charles VI granted the town the trade monopoly with Africa and the Far-East.

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Ostend

Antwerp

Antwerp (ˈæntwɜrp; Antwerpen ˈɑntʋɛrpə(n); Anvers ɑ̃vɛʁs) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 536,079, it is the most populous municipality in Belgium, and with a metropolitan population of around 1,200,000 people, it is the second-largest metropolitan region in Belgium, second only to Brussels. Going through Antwerp, is the river Scheldt. Antwerp is linked to the North Sea by the river's Westerschelde estuary.

Bruges

Bruges (bruːʒ , bʁyʒ; Brugge ˈbrʏɣə; Brügge ˈbʁʏɡə) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country. It is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amounts to more than 14,099 hectares (140.99 km2; 54.44 sq miles), including 1,075 hectares off the coast, at Zeebrugge (from Brugge aan zee, meaning 'Bruges by the Sea'). The historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO.