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Scheldt

River in France, Belgium and the Netherlands

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
5 min read
Source updated August 29, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

The Scheldt (/ʃɛlt, skɛlt/ SHELT, SKELT; French: Escaut [ɛsko] ⓘ; Dutch: Schelde [ˈsxɛldə] ⓘ) is a 435-kilometre-long (270 mi) river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old English sċeald ("shallow"), Modern English shoal, Low German schol, West Frisian skol, and obsolete Swedish skäll ("thin").

01Course

The headwaters of the Scheldt are in Gouy, in the Aisne department of northern France. It flows north through Cambrai and Valenciennes, and enters Belgium near Tournai. Ghent developed at the confluence of the Lys, one of its main tributaries, and the Scheldt, which then turns east. Near Antwerp, the largest city on its banks, the Scheldt flows west into the Netherlands toward the North Sea.

Originally there were two branches from that point: the Oosterschelde (Eastern Scheldt); and the Westerschelde (Western Scheldt). In the 19th century, however, the Dutch built a dyke that cuts the river off from its eastern (northern) branch and connects Zuid-Beveland with the mainland (North Brabant). Today the river continues into the Westerschelde estuary only, passing Terneuzen to reach the North Sea between Breskens in Zeelandic Flanders and Vlissingen (Flushing) on Walcheren.

The Scheldt is an important waterway, and has been made navigable from its mouth up to Cambrai. Above Cambrai, the Canal de Saint-Quentin follows its course. The port of Antwerp, the second-largest in Europe, developed on its banks. Several canals (including the Scheldt-Rhine Canal connecting Antwerp to Rotterdam, the Albert Canal connecting it to Liège and the Brussel-Scheldt, Brussels and Brussels-Charleroi canals connecting it to Charleroi via Brussels) connect the Scheldt with the basins of the Rhine, Meuse, and Seine rivers, and with the industrial areas around Brussels, Liège, Lille, Dunkirk, and Mons.

The Scheldt flows through the following departments of France, provinces of Belgium, provinces of the Netherlands, and towns:

The Scheldt at Antwerp, photochrom, ca. 1890-1900
The Scheldt at Antwerp, photochrom, ca. 1890-1900
"View of Antwerp with the frozen Scheldt" (1590) by Lucas van Valckenborch
"View of Antwerp with the frozen Scheldt" (1590) by Lucas van Valckenborch

02History

The Scheldt estuary has always had considerable commercial and strategic importance. Called Scaldis in Roman times, it was important for the shipping lanes to Roman Britain. Nehalennia was venerated at its mouth. The Franks took control over the region about the year 260 and at first interfered with the Roman supply routes as pirates. Later they became allies of the Romans. With the various divisions of the Frankish Empire in the 9th century, the Scheldt eventually became the border between the Western and Eastern parts of the Empire, which later became France and the Holy Roman Empire.

This status quo remained intact, at least on paper, until 1528, but by then, both the County of Flanders on the western bank and Zeeland and the Duchy of Brabant on the east were part of the Habsburg possessions of the Seventeen Provinces. Antwerp was the most prominent harbour in Western Europe. After this city fell back under Spanish control in 1585, the Dutch Republic took control of Zeelandic Flanders, a strip of land on the left bank, and closed the Scheldt for shipping. That shifted the trade to the ports of Amsterdam and Middelburg and seriously crippled Antwerp, an important and traumatic element in the history of relations between the Netherlands and what was to become Belgium.

Access to the river was the subject of the brief Kettle War of 1784, and during the French Revolution shortly afterwards, the river was reopened in 1792. Once Belgium had claimed its independence from the Netherlands in 1830, the treaty of the Scheldt determined that the river should remain accessible to ships heading for Belgian ports. Nevertheless, the Dutch government would demand a toll from passing vessels until 16 July 1863.

In 1848, the Scheldt was used as the setting for Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin.

The Question of the Scheldt, a study providing "a history of the international legal arrangements governing the Western Scheldt", was prepared for the use of British negotiators at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

In the Second World War, the Scheldt estuary once again became a contested area. Despite Allied control of Antwerp, German forces still occupied fortified positions in September 1944 throughout the Scheldt estuary west and north, preventing any Allied shipping from reaching the port. In the Battle of the Scheldt, the Canadian First Army successfully cleared the area, allowing supply convoys direct access to the port of Antwerp by November 1944.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman and Secretary of State James F. Byrnes wave at HMS Hambledon while on board the USS Augusta on the river Scheldt as they head to the Potsdam Conference on 15 July 1945
U.S. President Harry S. Truman and Secretary of State James F. Byrnes wave at HMS Hambledon while on board the USS Augusta on the river Scheldt as they head to the Potsdam Conference on 15 July 1945

03Tributaries and sub-tributaries

Aerial view of the Scheldt estuary, looking toward Antwerp from the northwest
Aerial view of the Scheldt estuary, looking toward Antwerp from the northwest
The Scheldt in Antwerp at sunset
The Scheldt in Antwerp at sunset

05Ferry crossings

Between Ghent and the Scheldt estuary, the river is crossed by several ferry services. Several of these have existed since the High Middle Ages. Going downstream, the first ferry is that of Schellebelle; the last before the mouth are Sint-Anna and Lillo-Doel in Antwerp.

Ferry near Sint-Amands
Ferry near Sint-Amands
Watch videos about ScheldtExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Scheldt”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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Scheldt-Rhine Canal

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