Baaigem is one of the six villages belonging to the municipality
Gavere
Gavere () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of , Baaigem, , Gavere, and . In 2021, Gavere had a total population of 13,007. The total area is 31.35 km2.
Sports
The ...
. It is located on the edge of the
Flemish Ardennes
The Flemish Ardennes (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Vlaamse Ardennen'') is an informal name given to a hilly region in the south of the province of East Flanders, Belgium. Highest summit is the Hotondberg (151 m). Main characteristics of the region ar ...
, the hilly southern part of the province of
East Flanders
East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, and used to be an independent municipality till the end of 1976.
Baaigem is 3.79 square kilometer large, and had 565 inhabitants on 31 December 2005. Its population is the smallest among the six villages of Gavere.
Places of interest
First record about the Saint-Bavo Church of Baaigem dates back to 1096. In that year, the Bishop of Cambrai (Kamerijk) allocated the patronage of the church to the Saint-Peters Abbey of Dikkelvenne, which moved then to the City of
Geraardsbergen
Geraardsbergen (; ) is a city and municipality located in the Denderstreek and in the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Geraardsbergen proper and the follo ...
to become the Saint-Adrian Abbey. In 1147 the patronage was transferred to the Abbey of
Anchin in northern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
The original church building had one nave and was made out of
Tournai
Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
. In the latter half of the 13th century, the nave was enlarged by 6 meters and at the west side of the church a new front arose. A Gothic style choir was added around 1300, using large blocks of
Balegem sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
, a brick octagonal
crossing tower around 1450, and a northern
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
just before the
religious troubles of the 16th century.
In 1913, architect Geirnaert realised the construction of a second,
Neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
building at the south side of the existing church. In 1988, the church underwent restoration.
The Government of Belgium assigned the oldest part of the Baaigem church as an important
cultural asset on 15 December 1942.
Opposite the church, an impressive farm estate is located, called "Hof ter Walle" (also "Hof te Baaigem"). It dates back to 1645, and originally belonged to the
Count of Flanders
The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the c ...
. It later moved into the hands of Capittel of the
Cambrai
Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river.
A sub-pref ...
Cathedral and the Abbey of
Anchin (both located in nowadays northern France). The
Government of Flanders
The Flemish Government ( ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, and the public adminis ...
assigned it to the list of
cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...
on 20 July 1982.
[Koenraad DE WOLF, ''Architectuurgids Zuid-Oost-Vlaanderen. Barok, Rococo & Classicisme (1625-1800)'', 1998, p. 61, an]
Tijdstafel Baaigem
(pdf-file a
www.gavere.be
Demographic evolution
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Source: National Institute for Statistics (NIS) of Belgium; Remark: from 1806 till 1970=census; 1976, 2005=inhabitants on 31 December
References
{{East_Flanders
Gavere
Populated places in East Flanders
de:Gavere#Baaigem