Ostend - Belgian Railways

The careless joy of a summer day at the beach is shown in this charming 1920s poster promoting travel to Ostend, Belgium with Belgian Railways. A man in the foreground catches the eye of a brunette flapper who is walking the beach with her blonde friend. The duo's towels billow in the wind like capes. The Victorian architecture of Ostend curves along the coastline in the distance. The port of Ostend is situated in Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium. The port services freight transport between Ostend and Ramsgate, Ipswich and North Killingholme Haven. As part of the city of Ostend, the port was founded in 1584 when the sand dunes were pushed back to create the beginnings of the modern basin. Twenty years later Ostend had been transformed from a sleepy fishing village into a fortified, moated and important port. It became a haven for privateers until the eighteenth century. Charles VI briefly granted it a license to trade with the far east as the Oostendsche Companie. This enriched t