The cityscape of De Haan has a flair of wealth and prosperity in many places. — Tourism De Haan/dpa
Playful windows and turrets, beautifully decorated latticework on balconies: Stroll through De Haan and you can imagine you’ve been transported back to the 19th century.
It’s a charming seaside resort and you’ll discover all manner of stories in a historic 3km stroll named the Erfgoedwandelroute.
It’s a circular route and there is plenty to discover right from the starting point, which is a streetcar stop where you can read “Cocq sur mer”.
The writing in the charming bus shelter dates back to the Belle Époque period when French was spoken on the coast, in the late 19th century.
This was the time when aristocrats and well-heeled industrialists from Antwerp, Bruges and Brussels discovered the appeal of summer resorts on the North Sea.
Back then, tourists had an arduous journey, starting with a rail trip to Oostende, then switching to a horse-drawn carriage and bumping along the uneven road to the village of De Haan.
All that changed in 1885 with the opening of the steam tram line between Oostende and Blankenberge. Just a year later, De Haan became accessible by streetcar. That transformed what was once an obscure spot known only to coastal fishermen into an upscale seaside resort.
Back then, what people did was stroll along De Haan’s beach promenade. Seeing and being seen was what counted during the Belle Époque: Making conversation with old friends and new acquaintances, maybe doing some business and enjoying family time.
Visitors valued the invigorating effect of the fresh sea air. Soon, impressive hotels were built between the beach and the Cocq sur mer streetcar stop. A few hundred meters away, the Grand Hôtel Bellevue opened its doors in 1912, followed by the Hotel Astoria with Art Deco elements on its facade in 1929. Both are still in operation, offering spacious rooms and upscale service in an imposing ambience.
Heading along the heritage trail leads you to the heart of that late 19th century period when resourceful entrepreneurs from Antwerp, Bruges and Ostend anticipated the boom in seaside vacations on the North Sea coast.
On May 27, 1889, the Belgian state, as landowner, provided them with an approximately 50ha dune area with a lease for 90 years.
That allowed individuals to lease plots of land from the entrepreneurs and build vacation villas there. Aachen architect and urban planner Josef Stübben, who was also behind the development of parts of Cologne, designed the entire villa district in 1910.
Stübben designed what became known as the Concessie quarter, inspired by English villa parks. The central square was the circular La Potinière, with several tennis courts, miniature golf courses and playgrounds.
The houses were to be built in a fusion of the country’s typical red tiled roofs and white stone facades, together with the Anglo-American style with half-timbering, corner turrets and Art Deco elements popular at the time. High-rise buildings were strictly forbidden.
Builders looked to the French luxury seaside resort of Arcachon, near Bordeaux, as a model for the architectural style.
The leasehold contract then expired in 1979 and the Concessie district reverted to state ownership, prompting some uncertainty. Many feared investors would grab the dune-dotted landscape and build concrete-grey apartments, as they did in other areas along the coast.
Local residents and tourists protected their district from the fate that befell many areas nearby. And investors gave De Haan a wide berth due to the ban on profitable high-rises.
Gradually, in the years that followed, the Concessie district, several historic buildings and the bus shelter at the streetcar stop all became listed buildings. – dpa
