Testerep

On our coast was once an island, called Testerep, with East on one side, West ende on the other and Middle Church in the middle. It was flooded in the 13th and 14th centuries and the city of Ostend moved a bit inland. On the coastal side is a narrow inlet, a ijde or yde, a suitable landing site that allows fishermen to pull their boats ashore. Here lies the fishing village of Raversijde. In the beginning it is called Walraversijde. A lot of research has been done here. In the dunes, a medieval fishing village has been rebuilt on the basis of archaeological research. It is actually the second location, because the first original village was further out sea, now under the beach of Raversijde. This early village Walravensyde-op-Testerep is already mentioned in the 13th century. It is overwhelmed by the sand under the influence of the large storm surges. Until the early 70s one could occasionally see traces of structures of this village (peat extraction and remains of houses) at low tide on the beach of Raversijde, but due to the construction of breakwaters and later sand spraying, the level of the beach was higher and everything is now under 1 to 2 meters of sand.

Dromos