Terneuzen () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland. History First mentioned in 1325, Terneuzen was a strategically located port on the waterways to Ghent, in present-day Belgium. It received city rights in 1584. Tradition has it that Terneuzen was once the home of the legendary Flying Dutchman, Van der Decken, a captain who cursed God and was condemned to sail the seas forever, as described in the Frederick Marryat novel The Phantom Ship and the Richard Wagner opera The Flying Dutchman. Before 1877, the city was often called Neuzen. Geography The city of Terneuzen is located on the southern shore of the Western Scheldt estuary. The municipality of Terneuzen consists of the following population centres: Economy The Ghent–Terneuzen Canal is still an important shipping route connecting the Port of Ghent. The port of Terneuzen is the third-largest in the Netherlands, after those of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The largest plant of Dow Chemical Company outside of the United States is located at Terneuzen, on the west side of the Ghent–Terneuzen Canal. Transport Terneuzen can be reached from the rest of the Netherlands via the Western Scheldt Tunnel, which opened in March 2003. Terneuzen is not linked to the rest of the Netherlands by rail, although the Dow Chemical plant is served by a freight-only line to Ghent in Belgium (Terneuzen's passenger rail service was withdrawn in 1951). Notable residents Lupus Hellinck (1493 or 1494 – 1541) a Flemish composer of the Renaissance Sir Bernard de Gomme (1620–1685) a Dutch military engineer Pieter Paulus (1753–1796) a Dutch jurist, fiscal (prosecutor) of the Admiralty of the Maze and politician Francien de Zeeuw (1922–2015) a Dutch resistance fighter during WWII and the first female member of the Dutch armed forces Lodewijk van den Berg (1932–2022) astronaut on a Challenger Space Shuttle mission Jacques Hamelink (born 1939 in Driewegen) a Dutch poet, novelist and literary critic Klaas de Vries (born 1944) a Dutch composer, co-founded the Rotterdam School of music Eric van Damme (born 1956) a Dutch economist Jos de Putter (born 1959) a Dutch film director, film critic and screenwriter Mark Janse (born 1959 in Sas van Gent) research professor in Asia Minor and Ancient Greek at Ghent University Erik de Bruyn (born 1962) film director and actor