Michiel de Ruyter, Vlissingen

The statue of Michiel de Ruyter stands on Boulevard de Ruyter in his birthplace of Vlissingen, in the Dutch province of Zeeland. The 1841 cast iron statue is by the Flemish sculptor Louis Royer. The statue shows De Ruyter standing on a ship's deck with his back to the steering wheel, holding a pair of binoculars and the other hand at his side. For years the story has circulated in Vlissingen that De Ruyter, as a joke of the sculptor, has a small dog under his arm. Presumably, however, this is a roll of paper. The sculpture is affectionately known as 'Michieltje'. The Hungarian city of Debrecen also has a statue of the Vlissingen sea hero. On February 11, 1676, De Ruyter saved 26 Hungarian Reformed ministers, who were on a Spanish galleon in the Mediterranean, from slavery.