Zeeland (pronunciation (help·info)), also called Zealand in English, is a province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands (hence its name, meaning "sea-land", although the origin could also be from "Suaven"-land, a Germanic tribe) and a strip bordering Belgium. [hotels]

Its capital is Middelburg. Its population is about 380,000 and its area is about 2930 km², of which almost 1140 km² is water. Large parts of Zeeland are below sea level. The last great flooding of the area was in 1953. Tourism is an important economic activity. Its sunny beaches make it a popular holiday destination in the summer. Most tourists are Germans. In some areas, the population quadruples in the summer. The coat of arms of Zeeland shows a lion half-emerged from water, and the text "luctor et emergo" (Latin for "I struggle and I emerge").

The province of Zeeland is in fact a large river delta situated at the mouth of several major rivers. Most of the province lies below sea level and was reclaimed from the sea by inhabitants over time. What used to be a muddy landscape, flooding at high tide and reappearing at low tide, became a series of small man-made hills that stayed dry at all times. The people of the province would later connect the hills by creating dikes, which led to a chain of dry land that later grew into bigger islands and gave the province its current shape. The shape of the islands has changed over time at the hands of both man and nature. The North Sea flood of 1953 inundated vast amounts of land that were only partially reclaimed. The subsequent construction of the Delta Works also changed the face of the province. The infrastructure, although very distinct by the amount of bridges, tunnels and dams, has not shaped the geography of the province so much as the geography of the province has shaped its infrastructure. The dams, tunnels and bridges that are currently a vital part of the province's road system were constructed over the span of decades and came to replace old ferry lines. The final touch to this process came in 2003 when the Westerschelde tunnel was opened. It was the first solid connection between both banks of the Westerschelde and ended the era of water separating the islands and peninsulas of Zeeland.

Constituent parts
From north to south, it consists of

Schouwen-Duiveland
Tholen
Noord-Beveland
Walcheren, Zuid-Beveland
Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (Zealands Flanders)

Municipalities

Map of the Netherlands, linking to the province pages; the red dots mark the capitals of the provinces and the black dots other notable cities or towns
Satellite image of the Scheldt estuaryA list of the municipalities, with links to maps:

Borsele
Goes
Hulst
Kapelle
Middelburg
Noord-Beveland
Reimerswaal
Schouwen-Duiveland
Sluis
Terneuzen
Tholen
Veere
Flushing (Vlissingen)