Sas van Gent is located on the canal from Ghent to Terneuzen and mainly owes its existence to this.
This canal was dug in the 16th century after the Lieve silted up and Emperor Charles V gave permission to break the dike here with a lock. The resulting settlement was soon attacked and set on fire by the Water Beggars. After this, one of the largest and strongest fortifications in the Netherlands was built around Sas van Gent. The fortress consisted of six strongholds, six ravelins, two lunettes and three city gates. During the high unemployment in the 1930s, the fortress, except for a few fragments, was completely demolished by unemployed people.
Nowadays Sas van Gent is a contemporary village where several activities are held every year. One of the examples of this is the Rock around the Bridge festival, which has been held here since 1992. During the carnival they call it Beteklopstad and the inhabitants are called Betekopen. Every carnival a lights parade is held here on Tuesday evening. The Flemish singer Louis Neefs wrote the song Annelies from Sas van Gent, this song has been covered by Rob de Nijs, among others. A major disadvantage of Sas van Gent is that due to its location on the canal, there is a lot of industry in the immediate vicinity of the village.