Nehalennia: goddess of the seafarers
As early as Roman times there was a sanctuary near Domburg dedicated to Nehalennia, a local goddess who protected traders and seafarers.
- Thanks for a safe voyage: traders promised the goddess an offering if they returned safely from crossing the North Sea, and afterwards left a stone altar with a grateful inscription in the temple.
- Lost beneath the water: at the end of the 3rd century AD the sea level rose, the area became uninhabitable and the temple was lost, both literally and from memory.
- Rediscovered in 1647: on 5 January 1647 storms uncovered the remains of the sanctuary on the beach near Domburg, with some forty stones bearing Latin inscriptions, most of them dedicated to Nehalennia.
- Nehalennia lives on: a hotel, a street, a statue and an area of dunes in Domburg still bear her name, and some of the altar stones can be seen in museums.
Trading post and fortress in the early Middle Ages
In the early Middle Ages the coast near Domburg was a lively trading post, as shown by the many coins found on the beach.
- Coins on the beach: from around AD 650 countless coins were lost near Domburg, including Anglo-Saxon sceattas, a sign of busy trade across the North Sea.
- A ring fortress: around 875, shortly after raids by the Norsemen, a circular earthen fortress was built here, just as in Middelburg and Souburg; the name Domburg still recalls this burg.
- Swallowed by the sea: the old fortress and much of the early medieval settlement disappeared into the sea through coastal erosion, but archaeologists still found traces of the fortress in 1991.
A little town with town rights
In 1223 Domburg was granted town rights, remarkably early for a place that was really more of a village than a town.
- Herring and farming: from the 15th to the middle of the 16th century the inhabitants lived from herring fishing, farming, livestock and hunting.
- Binnen and Buiten: only in 1816 were Domburg-Binnen and Domburg-Buiten merged into one municipality, and in 1848 the last manorial rights were abolished.
Zeeland's oldest seaside resort
Day trippers from Middelburg were already visiting Domburg in the 17th century, but in 1834 it officially became a seaside resort offering a proper bathing cure.
- Fully booked (1860): by around 1860 Domburg was already too small to house all its visitors, and accommodation was often fully booked before the summer season had even begun.
- Words of praise (1867): in 1867 a report by the medical association in Zeeland praised the location, the beach and the sea water of Domburg's new sea bath.
- The Badpaviljoen of 1889: commissioned by the Domburgsche Zeebadinrichting, Johannes van Nieukerken designed a new pavilion in Dutch Neo-Renaissance style, with a concert and spa hall, billiard room, reading rooms and a terrace overlooking the sea.
Dr Mezger, the doctor with golden thumbs
Domburg owes much of its international fame to Dr Johann Georg Mezger (1838-1909), whose bust stands on 't Groentje.
- Pioneer of physiotherapy: Mezger, the son of an Amsterdam butcher, developed treatments based on massage and manipulation that laid the foundations of modern physiotherapy, earning him the nicknames Vorstenwrijver (masseur of monarchs) and the doctor with golden thumbs.
- Summers in Domburg: after marrying a woman from Middelburg in 1886 he spent his summers in Domburg, and in 1887 he had Villa Irma built on the Domburgseweg; it burned down in 1949.
- Royal patients: Mezger treated royals such as Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) of Austria, the future King Gustaf V of Sweden and Tsarina Maria Feodorovna of Russia, and many of his distinguished patients followed him to Domburg, staying at places such as the Badhotel, the Schuttershof and Hotel de l'Europe.
- A monument of gratitude: the bust by sculptor August Falise was unveiled in September 1910, a year after Mezger's death, by his "grateful patients and admirers".
Painters of the Zeeland light
From the early 20th century Domburg became the centre of a lively artists' colony around the painter Jan Toorop.
- Jan Toorop: the leading Dutch Symbolist regularly stayed in Domburg from the early 20th century and attracted many other artists.
- Piet Mondrian: Mondrian painted the Johanneskerk, the dunes, the pier and the sea in Domburg, taking important steps here on the road to the abstract art of De Stijl.
War and reconstruction
Both the First and the Second World War interrupted Domburg's heydays as a seaside resort.
- Walcheren under water: after Allied bombers breached the sea dyke at Westkapelle in October 1944, much of Walcheren was flooded.
- Liberation (November 1944): on 2 November 1944 No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando and No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, including a courageous Norwegian troop, reached the village, which was liberated after fierce fighting.
- Bomb craters on the golf course: many of the grass bunkers of the Domburgsche Golf Club were originally craters from wartime bombing.
- Swift reconstruction: after the war little was left of Domburg but rubble and buildings damaged by salt water, yet as early as 1948 some 3,271 visitors were counted again.
Domburg today: a resort with character
Today tourism is the main source of income, and Domburg is one of the most visited seaside resorts in the Netherlands.
- Municipal reorganisation: in 1966 Oostkapelle was added to the municipality of Domburg, and since 1997 Domburg has been part of the municipality of Veere.
- German guests: since the 1950s it has mainly been German holidaymakers who visit Domburg, and you still hear a lot of German in the Weststraat and Ooststraat today.
- Small village, big summer: Domburg has around 1,650 inhabitants, but in summer whole streets are let to visitors and the village is many times busier.
