Editing Knokke-Heist (section)

==History==

===Middle Ages===
[[Image:Knokke-Heist Visscherkapelletje.jpg|thumb|left|Chapel of the fishermen in Heist]]
Originally, the marshy [[Zwin]] area was mostly settled by shepherds and fishermen.  With the encouragement of the [[Counts of Flanders]], several [[dyke (construction)|dyke]]s were built between the 11th and the 13th century and the land successfully [[Dewatering|dewatered]], giving rise to agriculture and further sheep breeding.  New parishes were founded and the early settlement of Sint-Anna-ter-Muiden, later made part of Westkapelle, obtained city rights in 1242.

The strategic importance of the Zwin harbour was recognized in 1301, during the war between Count [[Guy of Dampierre]] and the French King [[Philip IV of France|Philip the Fair]].  During the [[Hundred Years' War]] that followed shortly after, several battles were fought between France and England for supremacy of the area including the [[Battle of Sluys]] in June 1340.  The local population tried to remain neutral as it was politically tied to Flanders, then allied to France, but economically dependent on wool from England.  Under [[Philip the Bold]]’s leadership, it took advantage of the relative peace of the end of the century to fortify the canal linking the Zwin to the port of [[Bruges]].

===15th to 17th century===
The beginning of the 15th century witnessed several renewed English attacks on neighboring [[Sluis]], with devastating effects on the local economy, until a lasting peace was signed in 1439.  The end of the century was marked by internal rebellions against [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian of Austria]] and strategic flooding of the [[polder]]s.  The reign of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] in the following century saw peace coming back to the region.  This was also the time when the Zwin started silting and when apple [[orchard]]s were planted to supplement the local economy.

The [[French Wars of Religion|Wars of Religion]] of the late 16th century brought renewed floods and devastation, but the economy managed to come back to life after the [[Peace of Westphalia]] with the cultivation of [[rapeseed]] and [[potato]]es.  The strength of this agricultural rebirth and of the cattle trade allowed the local farmers to weather future economic crises relatively well.

===18th century until today===
Following the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] in 1713, the territory of Knokke was annexed to the [[Netherlands]], but the old border was reestablished at the Zwin a few years later.  After the [[Battle of Fleurus (1794)]], Bruges, Knokke and the neighboring municipalities were included in the [[130 departments of the First French Empire|department]] of the [[Lys (department)|Lys]].  The construction of the [[Leopold Canal (Belgium)|Leopold Canal]] in 1857 made the closing of the Zwin and its transformation in a natural reservation possible.  The development of Knokke and Heist as tourist destinations followed soon after.  The population of Knokke doubled between 1873 and 1914 to 3,326 inhabitants, then again from 1914 to 1930 and again to reach more than 14,000 in 1965 despite the heavy setbacks brought by [[World War II]].