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Houtem

Field	Value
official_name	Houtem
settlement_type	Village
image_skyline	File:Houtem Churchyard -1.JPG
image_caption	Assumption of Mary Churchyard
pushpin_map	Belgium
pushpin_label_position	right
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Belgium
pushpin_mapsize	250
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_type2	Province
subdivision_type3	Municipality
subdivision_name	Belgium
subdivision_name1	Flemish Region
subdivision_name2	West Flanders
subdivision_name3	Veurne
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	27.41
population_as_of	1999
population_footnotes
population_total	688
population_density_km2	auto
timezone	CET
coordinates

Houtem is a village in the municipality of Veurne in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The village is located near the French border. Until 1977, Houtem was an independent municipality. During World War I, it was home to the Headquarters of the Belgian Army.

Overview

Houtem was first mentioned in 1187 als Houthem. In 1588, the village was almost completely destroyed by the French army.

The vicarage of the village dates from 1636, and was part of the Sint-Niklaas monastery of Veurne. On 23 January 1915, the vicarage was transformed into the Great Headquarters of the Belgian Army. Albert I of Belgium became a frequent visitor of the village. On 5 January 1917, Félix Wielemans, the Chief of Staff, died in Houtem after having contracted pneumonia from the trenches. He was buried in the cemetery of Houtem.

In 1917, a civilian hospital was built in Houtem with the aid of the American Red Cross. After the war, it was used as a sanatorium and closed in 1926.

In 1977, the municipality was merged into Veurne. In 2007, Houtem was elected as one of the 50 nominees for .

A 243 metres high radio tower is located near Houtem. The tower was used by NATO for communication. In 2014, the tower was sold to Jump Trading for €5 million, because it was the shortest and fastest data route between London and Frankfurt.

References

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

populated-places-in-west-flanders veurne

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