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: ''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 (145 m). Main characteristics of the region are rural hilly lan ...

, the hilly southern part of the province of

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, 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 (; french: Grammont, ) 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 prop ...

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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The original church building had one nave and was made out of

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. 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 Oosterzele () is a municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders, in Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of , , , , Oosterzele proper and . In 2021, Oosterzele had a total population of 13,740. The total area is 43.12&nbs ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, a brick octagonal

crossing tower A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church. In a typically oriented church (especially of Romanesque and Gothic styles), the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, ...

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 churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

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, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

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 co ...

. It later moved into the hands of Capittel of the

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

Cathedral and the Abbey of Anchin (both located in nowadays northern France). The

Government of Flanders The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) 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, a ...

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 soci ...

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

Colors= id:a value:gray(0.9) id:b value:gray(0.7) id:c value:rgb(1,1,1) id:d value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:520 height:298 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:800 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:b increment:100 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:a increment:20 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:c BarData= bar:1806 text:1806 bar:1816 text:1816 bar:1830 text:1830 bar:1846 text:1846 bar:1856 text:1856 bar:1866 text:1866 bar:1876 text:1876 bar:1880 text:1880 bar:1890 text:1890 bar:1900 text:1900 bar:1910 text:1910 bar:1920 text:1920 bar:1930 text:1930 bar:1947 text:1947 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1970 text:1970 bar:1976 text:1976 bar:1991 bar:2005 text:2005 PlotData= color:d width:20 align:left bar:1806 from:0 till: 511 bar:1816 from:0 till: 532 bar:1830 from:0 till: 695 bar:1846 from:0 till: 694 bar:1856 from:0 till: 596 bar:1866 from:0 till: 627 bar:1876 from:0 till: 661 bar:1880 from:0 till: 690 bar:1890 from:0 till: 642 bar:1900 from:0 till: 658 bar:1910 from:0 till: 687 bar:1920 from:0 till: 623 bar:1930 from:0 till: 630 bar:1947 from:0 till: 609 bar:1961 from:0 till: 537 bar:1970 from:0 till: 516 bar:1976 from:0 till: 496 bar:2005 from:0 till: 565 PlotData= bar:1806 at: 511 fontsize:s text: 511 shift:(-10,5) bar:1816 at: 532 fontsize:S text: 532 shift:(-10,5) bar:1830 at: 695 fontsize:S text: 695 shift:(-10,5) bar:1846 at: 694 fontsize:S text: 694 shift:(-10,5) bar:1856 at: 596 fontsize:S text: 596 shift:(-10,5) bar:1866 at: 627 fontsize:S text: 627 shift:(-10,5) bar:1876 at: 661 fontsize:S text: 661 shift:(-10,5) bar:1880 at: 690 fontsize:S text: 690 shift:(-10,5) bar:1890 at: 642 fontsize:S text: 642 shift:(-10,5) bar:1900 at: 658 fontsize:S text: 658 shift:(-10,5) bar:1910 at: 687 fontsize:S text: 687 shift:(-10,5) bar:1920 at: 623 fontsize:S text: 623 shift:(-10,5) bar:1930 at: 630 fontsize:S text: 630 shift:(-10,5) bar:1947 at: 609 fontsize:S text: 609 shift:(-10,5) bar:1961 at: 537 fontsize:S text: 537 shift:(-10,5) bar:1970 at: 516 fontsize:S text: 516 shift:(-10,5) bar:1976 at: 496 fontsize:S text: 496 shift:(-10,5) bar:2005 at: 565 fontsize:S text: 565 shift:(-10,5) *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