Yourcenar Trail

The name of this path refers to the writer Marguerite Yourcenar. Her internationally known novel (The Hermetic Black) is partly set in the dunes near the Zwin. Until the end of the 19th century, this dune, forest and meadow area was still in constant evolution due to the influence of the sea. It looked like the current Zwin with mudflats, salt marshes and gullies.

The name of the path refers to the writer Marguerite Yourcenar (1903-1987). Her internationally renowned novel 'Het Hermantisch Zwart' is partly set in the dunes near the Zwin, more specifically in the 16th century when the landscape here looked very different. It looked like the clear zwin with mud flats, salt marshes and gullies that alternate with each other and a belt of dunes on the seaward side.The story describes the tragic fate of the physician Zeno. The nature restoration project ZENO (Zwinduinen Ecological Nature Development) that took place here in 2006-2010 was named after this main character.
The Zwinduinen and polders took on their homely form when the International Dike was rebuilt in 1872-1873 and the area was closed off from the sea. All recognizable points are indicated here on signs. This way you can orient yourself in the Zwin region.Source: information board on site