Campveerse Tower

The Campveerse Tower stands on the harbour of Veere, a small town on the shore of the Veerse Meer in Zeeland. It is one of the most distinctive buildings of the town, a heavy stone tower at the edge of the water, and it has watched over the harbour entrance for centuries. Its name refers to the old ferry, the veer, which crossed from here to the opposite shore of the water. The tower was part of the defences of Veere, which was an important port and a rich town in the Middle Ages and the early modern period.

Veere owed its wealth to trade with Scotland. From the sixteenth century, Scottish merchants held staple rights in the town, which meant that Scottish goods such as wool and hides had to be unloaded here, and the arrangement made the town one of the main links between the Low Countries and Scotland. The merchants built houses and left traces in the town that remain today. A tower at the harbour was both a defensive structure and a symbol of this prosperous port, guarding the entrance and the approach by water.

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries brought change. Veere declined as trade moved elsewhere, and the lake behind it was cut off from the sea by a dam in the 1960s, turning it into a quiet lake used for sailing. Artists discovered the town and its light in the late nineteenth century, and painters stayed here in summer, which gave the tower and the harbour a place in the history of Dutch art. Today the tower is best known as a hotel and restaurant, Auberge De Campveerse Toren, whose rooms and dining spaces occupy the old building and neighbouring houses. Guests can stay in rooms with views over the lake and the harbour, and the restaurant serves regional dishes in an atmospheric setting.

The exterior is free to see at any time, and a stroll along the harbour brings the tower into view from several angles, particularly lovely in the evening when the stone glows in the low sun. The rest of the town is compact. The Gothic town hall, the great unfinished church of Our Lady, the Scottish houses and the old streets are all within a short walk, and the lake offers sailing and walking.

The tower suits couples, photographers and history lovers. A look from outside takes a few minutes. Book ahead for a meal or a night's stay, especially in summer.