Zwin Natuur Park, Nature reserve and bird sanctuary in Knokke-Heist, Belgium.
Zwin Nature Park spreads across salt marshes, mud flats, and dunes right along the Belgian coast. The area is home to diverse wildlife and shaped by daily tidal movements that constantly reshape its habitats.
The Zwin is the remnant of a sea arm that once linked the North Sea to Bruges. In 1924 it was ceded to the Compagnie Het Zoute, and in 1939 it became a protected landscape. Count Léon Lippens declared it Belgium's first nature reserve in 1952. The 1953 storm reopened the sea channel, and in 2019 the international dike was breached, enlarging the reserve by 120 hectares.
The Zwin's emblem flower is the sea lavender, called Zwinneblomme in Dutch; when it blooms the salt marshes turn mauve. Guided walks and the bird park by the inner dike show rescued birds to the public, and the reserve has been a Ramsar wetland since 4 March 1986.
The area is best explored on foot with marked paths that keep you dry while walking through marshes and dunes. Bring weather-appropriate clothing, especially for wind and moisture, since the site sits exposed to coastal conditions.
The Zwin is Belgium's largest salt marsh area, and its mudflats and salt meadows are flooded by the sea at high tide. The reserve is crossed by the Belgian-Dutch border, marked by two boundary posts. The plant statice, called Zwinneblomme in Dutch, is the reserve's emblem flower and turns the area mauve when it blooms.
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