The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 January 2003. The former municipalities of Oostburg and Sluis-Aardenburg merged on that date. The latter of these two municipalities was formed from a merger between the previous municipality named Sluis and the former municipality of Aardenburg in 1995.
History
The town received city rights in 1290. In 1340 the Battle of Sluys was fought nearby at sea during the Hundred Years' War. There is a record of one of the first lotteries with money on 9 May 1455 of 1737 florins (US$170,000, in 2014).
Sint Anna ter Muiden, with a population of only 50 (2001), is a small village about 1 km west of the town of Sluis, located on the westernmost point of the Netherlands.
Johan Hendrik van Dale (1828 in Sluis - 1872), a Dutch teacher, archivist and lexicographer
Ernst Oppler (1867–1929), German impressionist painter, lived for some years in Sluis
Jan Eekhout (1900 in Sluis - 1978), a Dutch writer, poet, translator and Nazi
Herman Wijffels (born 1942 in Turkeye), a retired Dutch politician and businessman
Hans Wijers (born 1951 in Oostburg), a retired Dutch politician and businessman
Ate de Jong (born 1953 in Aardenburg), a Dutch film director[5]
Sport
Willem van Hanegem (born 1944 in Breskens), a Dutch former football midfielder with over 50 caps and 600 appearances in the top flight of association football
^"College B&W" [Board of mayor and aldermen] (in Dutch). Gemeente Sluis. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
^"Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
^"Postcodetool for 4501BD". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
^"Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.