Plompetoren

The Plompe Toren is a church tower on the Oosterschelde, a few kilometers south of Burgh-Haamstede. The tower is the only remnant of Koudekerke, a village on Schouwen-Duiveland that has now disappeared in the Oosterschelde. The tower stands just inside the dike and in the profile of the dike: in the inner side slope of the Oosterschelde dike a hollow has been made around the foot.

In 1468, Louis of Gruuthuse bought the craft "Coudekerk". He built a new church, because the old one was falling into disrepair. Around 1550 the Oosterschelde began to advance northward and ate away at the southern part of Schouwen. Already in 1583 workmen demolished the church, but the tower was left standing. It served as a beacon for the busy shipping on the Oosterschelde. All ships sailing to Antwerp then sailed along this route. The Oosterschelde, however, continued to advance and even before 1700 the whole village was washed away.

At the initiative of jonkheer C. A. van Citters, mayor of the village Noordgouwe, restoration took place in 1935. During the Second World War the tower sustained quite some damage. A new restoration followed in 1962. In 1974, the city of Zierikzee had the exterior of the tower restored. Later, the tower came under the management of the foundation Het Zeeuwse Landschap. Since 1997, the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten has been the operator. The owner is the Renesse Foundation, which owns several monuments on Schouwen-Duiveland. The Plompe Toren is a special tourist attraction in an area that is unique to the Netherlands.