Heritage
Centuries of living with the water
From medieval trading village to world capital of the oyster - the history of Yerseke is determined by the ebb and flow of the Oosterschelde.
- 966First mention
Yerseke is first mentioned as "Gersika" in a charter of Emperor Otto I; it is created as a village on the higher ground on the Scheldt.
- MiddeleeuwenTrading village
Yerseken residents trade in wheat, madder and darink (derrie), extracted from the salty soils.
- 1530St. Felix Flood
A devastating storm surge floods large parts of South Beveland and scars the landscape.
- 1870Birth of oyster culture
The first oyster plots are released; Yerseke is growing into a center of shellfish farming.
- 1884The mussel trade
The mussel auction and trade make Yerseke the undisputed mussel capital of the Netherlands.
- 1970Municipality of Reimerswaal
The independent municipality of Yerseke will be dissolved and merged into the municipality of Reimerswaal.
Origin and first mention
Yerseke arose on the higher, habitable land along the Scheldt and is first mentioned on 24 January 966, as "Gersika" in a charter of Emperor Otto I (mentioned again in 980 as "Gersicha"). The village was conveniently located on open water, which made it a place of trade and shipping from the start. Over the centuries, the tides, salt marshes and mudflats have formed both the basis of existence and the greatest threat to the village.
A medieval trading village
Yerseke has been known as a trading village since the Middle Ages. The inhabitants mainly traded in agricultural products such as wheat, and in two typical Zeeland raw materials: madder, from which a bright red dye was extracted, and darink (also called derrie or lees), salty peat soil that was excavated and burned for salt extraction. “Dark mining” generated money, but hollowed out the land and made the coast vulnerable to flooding.
Fight against the water
The low land behind the dikes was repeatedly hit by storm surges. The St. Felix Flood of 1530 drowned large parts of South Beveland, and centuries later the Flood of 1953 again severely affected the whole of Zeeland. These disasters eventually led to the Delta Works, including the Oosterscheldekering, which protect the area while maintaining the tide, which is crucial for Yerseke's shellfish farming.
The Birth of Oyster Culture (1870)
The big change came around 1870, when the government started allocating plots of land on the bottom of the Oosterschelde for the cultivation of oysters. The clear, nutrient-rich and tidally driven water proved ideal. In a few decades, Yerseke grew from a trading village to the beating heart of Dutch oyster culture, with oyster pits in which the shellfish are stored, sorted and watered for sale.
The mussel trade and the auction
In addition to oysters, the mussel became the other foundation of the local economy. Yerseke developed into the center of the Dutch mussel trade: here the mussels come together, are traded and from here they travel all over the world. The annual opening of the mussel season and the traditional auction are important events in the village to this day.
Yerseke today
Since January 1, 1970, Yerseke, together with Rilland-Bath, Krabbendijke, Kruiningen and Waarde, has been part of the municipality of Reimerswaal. The village combines a working fishing port with thriving tourism: visitors taste seafood, sail along the oyster wells and discover the rich history of the village and shellfish culture in the Oosterschelde Museum. Curious which families and companies are behind that shellfish culture? Read the shellfish families and companies of Yerseke.
Yerseke lives to the rhythm of the ebb and flow of the Oosterschelde.
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