At Knocke
and others of the older watering-places everything was sacrificed
to the purpose of making money speedily out of every available
square inch of sand, and the first thing done was to destroy the
dunes. But at Duinbergen the good example set by the founders of
La Panne has been followed and improved upon, and nothing could
be more _chic_ than this charming little place, which was planned
by Herr Stuebben, of Cologne, an architect often employed by the
King of the Belgians, whose idea was to create a small garden city
among the dunes. The dunes have been carefully preserved; the roads
and pathways wind round them; most of the villas and cottages have
been erected in places from which a view of the sea can be obtained;
and even the _digue_ has been built in a curve in order to avoid
the straight line, which is apt to give an air of monotony to the
rows of villas, however picturesque they may be in themselves,
which face the sea at other places. So artistic is the appearance
of the houses that the term 'Style Duinbergen' is used by architects
to describe it. Electric lighting, a copious supply of water rising
by gravitation to the highest houses, and a complete system of
drainage, add to the luxuries and comforts of this _plage_, which
is one of the best illustrations of the wonders which have been
wrought among the dunes by that spirit of enterprise which has
done so much for modern Flanders during the last few years.
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