Doel: the deserted city
Doel is a village in the Belgian province of East Flanders and a sub-municipality of Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht. Doel is located in the far north-east of the province, on the left bank of the Scheldt, in the polders of the Waasland, close to the Dutch border. In the Waasland dialects, the village is called 'Den Doel'. Doel has been known since the 1960s for the expansion plans for the port of Antwerp, which would cause the village to disappear. Since 1998, there have been plans for a new dock across the village. In March 2022, an agreement was finally reached allowing the port expansion to go ahead without Doel having to disappear or become uninhabitable. The ferry between Lillo and Doel will also be restored. In mid-August, the first new residents moved into the village.
