Knokke is known for its glorious past, and nothing seems to stand in the way of a glorious future for the fashionable seaside resort - which thrives on luxury, with a high density of brand-name stores, top restaurants and a golf course among the red-tiled roofs - either.
Text: Ivo Weyel | Online Editor: Natasha Hendriks
Image: Herman van Heusden
Knokke used to be chic. Back then it was called Knocke, with ck, and it said Sur Mer after it. That was in the nineteenth, early twentieth century. Now it is called Knokke, with double k and without Sur Mer, and is mostly expensive. Two bite-sized shrimp croquettes cost 24 euros at Rubens. The Rolex is worn pink this year. The bag à la mode is (on repeat) the Kelly by Hermès. For men, a cashmere sweater in a pastel shade by Éric Bompard is a must; it is hung loosely over the shoulder, the sleeves closed at the front by a Knokse button. The belt (his/hers) is, without exception, by Hermès. No wonder then that there is always a line in front of the Hermès store on Coastal Avenue (the shopping mecca), where only five people at a time are allowed inside because of corona. The hand pump of disinfectant in front of the door is wrapped in a suede orange Hermès bag.
Knokke has a glorious past. It was the chicest seaside resort on the North Sea coast, where the nobility mixed with the greatest celebrities of those years, who performed in the then world-renowned Casino, a true palace of art à la mode. Marlene Dietrich, Ella Fitzgerald, Charles Aznavour, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, you name it. The stately villas and apartment buildings along the seafront promenade had names like Au Grand Chic, Bellevue, Eden Roc, Beausite, Monte-Carlo, Villa la Rève and Beau Lac. Not a word of Flemish was there then. The elegant Hotel La Réserve, once the place to be, where everyone who was anyone stayed, was razed to make way for a behemoth of a conference hotel with luxury apartments.
Those who have their eye on a house, preferably detached, can't get anywhere for that amount. Knokse villas are notoriously expensive. And almost without exception, they are white (and white means snow-white, because a bit of flaking paint indicates overdue maintenance, which in turn translates into no-money-for-the-painter, and no one here wants to be accused of that), with a red tiled roof. This is in fact mandatory, especially in Le Zoute (pronounced "le zoet"), the most exclusive neighborhood. It was once instituted by decree to keep the townscape monotonous, and Mayor Lippens still personally enforces it with a hard hand; no exceptions are tolerated.
In all the opulent luxury of Knokke, it is good to sober up for a moment. After all, the past wasn't all glamour and partying crowned heads what beat the clock. During World War II, one of the bloodiest battles in Belgian history raged here: the liberation of West Zeeuws-Vlaanderen and Northwest Flanders, known as Operation Switchback. In the all-worthwhile For Freedom Museum, battle scenes are recreated with accompanying loud-sounding bomb and machine-gun fire, the faithful dolls dressed in original uniforms riddled with bullet holes and other wartime traces, gruesome and touching (because of the almost childlike simulations) at the same time.
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