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Mariakerke, East Flanders

Sub-municipality of the city of Ghent, Belgium

Summary

Sub-municipality of the city of Ghent, Belgium

Field	Value
name	Mariakerke
settlement_type	Sub-municipality of Ghent
image_skyline	Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Geboortekerk (Mariakerke) 3.jpg
image_caption	Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Geboortekerk
mapframe	yes
mapframe-marker	none
map_caption1	Location of Mariakerke in Ghent
pushpin_map	Belgium#Belgium East Flanders
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name
subdivision_type1	Community
subdivision_name1	Flemish Community
subdivision_type2	Region
subdivision_name2	Flemish Region
subdivision_type3	Province
subdivision_name3	East Flanders
subdivision_type4	Arrondissement
subdivision_name4	Ghent
subdivision_type5	Municipality
subdivision_name5	Ghent
coordinates
area_total_km2	5.20
population_as_of	2020-01-01
population_total	17241
population_density_km2	auto
postal_code_type	Postal codes
postal_code	9030
area_code_type	Area codes
area_code	09

|mapframe-marker = none Mariakerke () is a sub-municipality of the city of Ghent located in the province of East Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1977. On 1 January 1977, it was merged into Ghent.

History

In the 17th century, Mariakerke was divided in two because of the construction of the "Brugse Vaart", a canal that connects the cities of Ghent and Bruges. The west side is Mariakerke center. The east side of Mariakerke is known as Kolegem. Because of the hundreds of years of separation, both halves developed their own unique atmosphere.

Mariakerke obtained the status of independent village in 1793, after which a bridge was constructed to connect both halves of the village. The bridge has been destroyed several times during war, which makes that the actual bridge was put up in 1964.

Besides the bridge, Mariakerke only had one main road which connected the village with the city of Ghent. This road was very important for the village, and still exists today under the name "Brugse Steenweg".

Later in the 18th century, a trade route was constructed from Ghent to Eeklo, and Mariakerke became a stop along this important road. Nowadays the road is better known as the N9, one of Ghent's most busy avenues. This new street had a significant impact on the 18th century Mariakerke.

The people from Mariakerke became more involved in the city life of Ghent once the industrial era had begun. A lot of villagers found a job at the many factories of Ghent, and a lot of rich industrials constructed castles and mansions in the rural Mariakerke. These castles can still be visited today, and add a special atmosphere to the village.

Mariakerke finally lost its rural character after World War II. A lot of city people moved to the country side, and Mariakerke witnessed a real population boom. In the 1970s, the city of Ghent started expanding again, slowly but surely absorbing the village of Mariakerke into its urban borders. 1976 saw the fusion of Mariakerke with Ghent, and ever since it has been part of the urban area of Ghent.

Castles

Castle Claeys-Bouüaert
Castle de Hemptinne
Castle ter Beken
Castle Kervyn d'oudt Mooregem
Castle van Tieghem de ten Berghe
White castle or Henri Story
Castle les Cygnes

Kolegem

Kolegem is the eastern part of Mariakerke. Kolegem is separated from the rest of Mariakerke by a canal named Brugse Vaart, a canal between Ghent and Bruges. Some famous buildings in Kolegem are the former municipality house of Mariakerke (now containing only the administrative services), the Kollekasteel and the restaurant De Groene Staak.

References

"LISTE ALPHABETIQUE DES COMMUNES - Fusions de 1963 à 1977".

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.

sub-municipalities-of-ghent former-municipalities-of-east-flanders

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