Neeltje Jans

Neeltje Jans is an artificial island in the mouth of the Oosterschelde, midway between Noord-Beveland and Schouwen-Duiveland, and it exists because of the barrier it was built to construct. The Oosterscheldekering is the largest of the Delta Works, the chain of dams and storm surge barriers raised in answer to the North Sea flood of 1953, and this was the yard from which it was assembled. The working island has since become an exhibition site explaining how the country holds back the sea, with a nature reserve alongside it. The 2015 Tour de France finished a stage here.