Boondijk

From the Badenlaan, we can see a dike that runs parallel to the current Duinenlaan. The name of the dike, Boondijk, is a corruption of the original name Bovendijk. The dike was constructed 'above,' i.e. 'north of' the settlement, specifically for protection against sand drift from the dunes. This dike is approximately 800 meters long and 25 meters wide. Drifting dune sand was a serious problem along the entire coastline. However, here in Westende, they were timely in the construction of this Boondijk, so the damage remained limited. Further east, in Walraversijde, the dunes were only reinforced after the dramatic dune drift in 1394 that caused the entire village to vanish under the sand. It was then that Philip the Bold took measures to protect the dunes around 1395: he addressed the rabbit infestation (rabbits completely undermined the dunes, causing them to lose their stability) and issued a ban on leasing the dunes as agricultural land or pasture. The Boondijk is depicted on the map of Brugse Vrije by Pourbus and is believed to have been built before 1459. This dike has largely been preserved, but as a landscape element, it is not protected, which is why part of it disappeared under a housing development in 2001.

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