| Ritthem | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Native Name Lang: | nl |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands Zeeland#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Zeeland |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Vlissingen |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 5.0 |
| Area Total Km2: | 0.31 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 385 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 4389 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 0118 |
| Coordinates: | 51.4514°N 3.6261°W |
Ritthem is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is located in the municipality of Vlissingen, about 4 kilometres east of the city.
The village was first mentioned in 1235 as Rithem, and means "settlement near reed".[3] Ritthem is an incomplete circular church village which developed in the Middle Ages on a ridge.[4]
The Dutch Reformed church is a single aisled church with a leaning tower from the 14th century. The 16th century nave was damaged in 1572 during the Dutch Revolt and rebuilt in 1611 without a choir.[4]
Ritthem was home to 362 people in 1840.[5] Ritthem was a separate municipality until 1966, when it was merged with Vlissingen.
Fort Rammekens was built between 1547 and 1556 by orders of Mary of Hungary to control the Westerschelde (Antwerp) and the former (Middelburg). The fort was a near triangular shape. It was modified and extended several times. The last modification was by Napoleon in 1810 who added nine casemates on the seaside. In 1863, it was decommissioned and used as a ammunition depot. During World War II, it was used by the Germans as part of Landfront Vlissingen and the Atlantic Wall. In 1944, the dyke was bombed by the Allies, and filled up with caissons in 1945.[4]