Belgium's naturists will have more room under the sun from next summer after a coastal town announced the creation of the country's second nudist beach.
After having to skip a trip to the beach this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic, nudism enthusiasts will be able to plop down in Middelkerke, after the municipality decided to reserve parts of its coastal strip to the country's nudist community.
This summer, authorities closed down the country's only nudist beach in Bredene as they sought ways to enforce social distancing among the large crowds expected to flock to the Belgian coast as a blistering hot summer coincided with cancelled holidays due to the pandemic.
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Middlekerke will open its future nudist haven in Lombardsijde a beach strip just north of the resort town of Niuewpoort and some 40 kilometres from Brugges.
The area was chosen because it is a secluded location with no apartment complexes nearby which is also shielded from curious onlookers since the IJzermonding natural reserve cuts it off from the Nieuwpoort crowds, according to De Standaard.
"The location is indeed good," Middelkerke Mayor Jean-Marie Dedecker said, adding that the creation of the beach would draw in nudist tourism and could give a boost the local economy.
"The German naturist movement is large and wealthy," he said. "In the Netherlands, some Germans even bought an apartment to stay in."
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
