1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Nieuport

NIEUPORT (Flem. Nieuwpoort), a town of Belgium in the province of West Flanders. Pop. (1904) 3780. It was the port of Ypres, and is situated on the Yser about 10 m. S. of Ostend. It was strongly fortified in the middle ages and its siege by the French in 1488–1489 is an episode of its heroic period. Under its walls in 1600 Maurice of Nassau defeated the Archduke Albert and the Spaniards. It contains an ancient cloth market, a fine town-hall and an old church, and outside is a lighthouse dating from 1289. Nieuport Bains, 2 m. from the town, is a fashionable seaside resort dating only from 1869. It has a fine pier extending 1500 yds. out to sea and flanking the entrance to the Yser, which has been canalized. The bathing is excellent, and in the season the place is largely frequented by visitors.