Skip to content
Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/municipalities-of-west-flanders

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Kuurne


FieldValue
nameKuurne
pictureKuurne Marktplein.JPG
mapKuurne West-Flanders Belgium Map.svg
map-legendLocation of Kuurne in West-Flanders
armsWapen van Kuurne.svg
flagKuurne vlag.svg
provinceWest Flanders
arrondissementKortrijk
nis34023
mayorFrancis Benoit (CD&V)
majorityCD&V, N-VA, Vooruit-Groen
postal-codes8520
telephone-area056
webwww.kuurne.be
coordinates

|picture-legend = |map-legend = Location of Kuurne in West-Flanders |postal-codes = 8520 |telephone-area = 056 Kuurne () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Kuurne proper. On January 1, 2006, Kuurne had a total population of 12,591. The total area is 10.01 km2 which gives a population density of 1258 inhabitants per km2. The Leie functions as a natural border between Kuurne and Harelbeke.

Inhabitants from Kuurne are nicknamed 'donkeys'. This is said to be a term of derision given to them by the people of nearby Kortrijk because traders from Kuurne habitually set off for the Kortrijk market at an early hour, their ass-drawn carts laden with vegetables. Awoken by the rattle of the cart wheels and the braying of the asses, the people of Kortrijk exclaimed: "It's those asses from Kuurne again!"

An alternative, more legendary explanation originates from the tale of a priest who had to hold a funeral on Ash Wednesday. He asked the sacrister to take over his regular service, but the latter couldn't remember the Latin words "Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris" (Remember, man, that dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return), which are to be proclaimed while applying a cross of ash to the foreheads of the churchgoers. Later the priest spoke to him in exasperation, saying: "You were born an ass, and you will die an ass!" "Aha," said the sacrister, "I'll remember that!" and so saying, he continued giving the people of Kuurne their crosses of ash.

The best-known donkey in Kuurne is 'Ambroos' (Ambrose), a larger-than-life and somewhat stylised statue in front of the town hall. The winner of the annual pro road cycling race Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne received a big bouquet and a soft toy version of 'Ambroos' to wave from the stage.

At 50.87257 N 3.26302 E, there was a mediumwave transmitter of BRT, which worked on 1188 kHz with a power of 5 kW.

Twin towns

  • EST Kuressaare, Estonia (1998)
  • ROM Chiuza, Romania (1999)
  • FRA Marcq-en-Baroeul (1945)

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.

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Kuurne — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report