Big Bamberg

This farmhouse traces back to an outlying farm of the St. Peter's Abbey of Oudenburg from the second half of the 12th century, called Oude Bamburg. It was Philips of Elzas who donated this land to the abbey in 1173, triggering a neighborhood dispute at the time. By the end of the 12th century, Johannes of Westende was stubbornly resisting the rights that the St. Peter's Abbey of Oudenburg had obtained in 1173 over all new alluvial land between the IJzer River and the dunes of Westende. He contested the rights of the Oudenburg St. Peter's Abbey based on the belief that he had older rights to the alluvial land than the abbey. His claims were based on the old law stating that newly accreted land belonged to the owner of the old land adjoining the accretion. Ultimately, Johannes of Westende was financially compensated in 1187 for renouncing his claims, and in 1196 he was compelled by Count Baldwin of Constantinople to "voluntarily" relinquish the rights he claimed over the land assigned to the St. Peter's Abbey. Moreover, he had to guarantee the abbey free passage through his lands. However, in 1243 this farmhouse was burned down and was rebuilt a little further in the Bamburgpolder under the name Grote Bamburg. This farmhouse was not just a farm; it also had typical monastic buildings, such as a chapel and guest accommodations. During World War I, this site was unfortunately completely destroyed, so what is seen today is a farm built during the reconstruction. However, traces of the old fortifications have been preserved in the landscape. Along the Schuddebeurzeweg, the Gisteldijk has been preserved, the dike that marked the boundary between the land of Johannes of Westende and the Bamburgpolder.

Toerisme Middelkerke