Exploring a region with such a glorious past starts in suitable grandeur in a 15th century patrician’s house. Huyse De Grote Sterre, in the small but lively town centre of Damme houses a visitor centre that sets you on your way to discovering the exciting land between Knokke and Bruges.
You don’t need to read a history book to know that Damme was once an important town. Every visitor feels that every gable and cobble has a story to tell. But stones can’t speak. Instead, the visitor centre in Huyse De Grote Sterre does that for them. Through an enlightening display, it summarises the centuries of prosperity and decline of Damme and the Zwin region. Not only was there the unequal struggle with the water of the sea and the Zwin. The present border with the Netherlands was also a source of contention for centuries. Forts, embankments, dykes and lines in the landscape were constantly engaged in halting either the water or the troops. Today the Zwin region views visitors with less suspicion. In fact it welcomes them and these forts and fortifications are certainly worth a visit.
For opening hours and more information:
Huyse De Grote Sterre
Jacob van Maerlantstraat 3
B-8340 Damme
Tel: 0032 (0)50 28 86 10
Website: www.toerismedamme.be
E-mail: toerisme@damme.be
