Saturday, May 22, 2010
Knokke, Belgium
Knokke, Belgium has been a beach resort for over a hundred years. The town is located near the Dutch border, and still attracts wealthy visitors. Knokke looks very quaint and charming in these pictures. I can't say the same for the modern pictures I've seen. But then again, I have never been there, so maybe there is some attraction besides Knokke's casino that I am missing. The entire beachfront is lined with buildings, which are unattractive to me, but indicate that there are indeed a lot of visitors. I do know that there are some lovely nature areas between Knokke and the Dutch border.
In the last postcard you can see the bathing machines, changing rooms on wheels that were used to preserve the modesty of bathers. Click here to see a previous post that shows the bathing machines in the water.
I remember going to Knokke-LeZoute on vacation as a kid living in Paris. Had the feeling of glamour mostly left behind, occasionally still present. As a teenager, I thought it was mostly cold, dark, damp, typical teenage responses. Now I would say 'elegant but empty'. Seemed an odd place. This would have been late 1970's...Interesting to have it brought back by your post. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreat word to use in Scrabble if you need to dump some K's!
ReplyDeleteI've been to Knokke and agree that it's a weird mixture of shabby and modern-industrial. You're right about the buildings on the beach - it's as if the architects planned them without knowing the location, perhaps they thought they were going in the middle of a downtown . . .
ReplyDeletethe bathing machines look so quaint. I wonder what modern postcards of this place look like.
ReplyDeleteThey are almost majestic like buildings with all their decoration. Very interesting to see.
ReplyDelete