Abele (also spelled Abeele) is a small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the city of

Poperinge Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ； vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge pr ...

, in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

province of

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

. The village is located on the territory of Poperinge proper and its "

deelgemeente A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section ( French) is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 J ...

Watou Watou is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders and a district of the town of Poperinge. The village has a population of 1,900. It lies on the border with France. The hamlet Abele (village), Abele is part of Watou. Poperinge is situate ...

, but is also partly located on French territory. Abele has about 600 inhabitants, of whom about 100 are French. The main street coincides with the border between Belgium and France, so houses located on different sides of the street are located in a different country. The

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

of Abele is located on French territory, but the services are organized by the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Bruges The Diocese of Bruges (in Dutch Bisdom Brugge) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, which ...

. The of Watou and the local authorities of

Boeschepe Boeschepe () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France, next to the Belgian border. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the F ...

are responsible for its maintenance. Abele used to be an import

border crossing Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

. In 1713, a

tollhouse A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...

was set up, but it disappeared during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. The old Belgian customs office was renovated and now serves as a retro-café with a small exhibition.

Abeele Aerodrome Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery Abeele Aerodrome Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in pe ...

is outside the village, on the site of a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

military airfield.

Gallery

File:Abeele Aerodrome Military Cemetery on the Belgian side of the French border - Redvers.jpg, Abeele Aerodrome Military Cemetery File:Abele - Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Onbevlekt Ontvangenkerk 2.jpg, The

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

R C church

References

External links

Abele website
{{coord , 50.8222, N, 2.669, E, region:BE_type:city, display=title Populated places in West Flanders Poperinge