world.wikisort.org - Belgium

Search / Calendar

Eeklo (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈeːkloː] (listen)) is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Eeklo proper. The name Eeklo comes from the contraction of "eke" and "lo", two Old German words meaning oak and sparse woods (compare English Oakley).

Eeklo
Municipality
Eeklo town hall, church, and market square
Eeklo
Location in Belgium
Location of Eeklo in East Flanders
Coordinates: 51°11′N 03°33′E
CountryBelgium
CommunityFlemish Community
RegionFlemish Region
ProvinceEast Flanders
ArrondissementEeklo
Government
  MayorLuc Vandevelde (SMS Eeklo)
  Governing party/iesSMS EEklo, Open VLD, Groen
Area
  Total30.05 km2 (11.60 sq mi)
Population
 (2018-01-01)[1]
  Total20,890
  Density700/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Postal codes
9900
Area codes09
Websitewww.eeklo.be

History



Origins and Middle Ages


There are not many traces of early habitation in the Eeklo area. It is presumed that some oaks would have attracted the attention of travellers on the Roman road that ran along the local sandbar among the marshes. By 1240, a town had grown here and had already become important enough to warrant a civic charter by Jeanne of Constantinople, Countess of Flanders. Over the years, the marshes were drained to give place to fortified farms, some remnants of which can still be seen today (Groot Goed). Like most other cities in the County of Flanders, Eeklo's economy was based on the cloth industry, and commercial relations were established with the more powerful neighbouring cities, Ghent and Bruges.


16th century until now


Eeklo on the Ferraris map (around 1775)
Eeklo on the Ferraris map (around 1775)

During the second half of the 16th century, Eeklo was in the unfortunate position of being on the border between the Catholic south and the Protestant north, which resulted in so much destruction that the town was nearly abandoned by its inhabitants. At around that time the legend of "recooking" appeared, actually a rejuvenation recipe that involved drinking a youth elixir, cutting one's head off and baking it again. While the head was in the oven, a green cabbage took its place on the body, symbol of the empty head.

The 18th and 19th century were more favourable and the textile industry took off again. Most of the town's schools and neo-gothic buildings date from that period. Today, Eeklo is changing its vocation from an industrial town to one of services to the neighbouring communities.


Main sights



Famous inhabitants



Twin cities



References


  1. "Wettelijke Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2018". Statbel. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. "Belfries of Belgium and France". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 5 November 2021.



На других языках


[de] Eeklo

Eeklo ist eine belgische Stadt in der Region Flandern. Sie liegt in der Provinz Ostflandern und ist die zentrale Stadt im Meetjesland.[1] Sie ist Verwaltungssitz des gleichnamigen belgischen Arrondissements.
- [en] Eeklo



Текст в блоке "Читать" взят с сайта "Википедия" и доступен по лицензии Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike; в отдельных случаях могут действовать дополнительные условия.

Другой контент может иметь иную лицензию. Перед использованием материалов сайта WikiSort.org внимательно изучите правила лицензирования конкретных элементов наполнения сайта.

2019-2025
WikiSort.org - проект по пересортировке и дополнению контента Википедии