Bellem is a village and ''

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 ...

'' (sub-municipality) in the municipality of

Aalter Aalter () is a municipality located between Bruges and Ghent in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Aalter, Bellem, , , Knesselare and . It is bordered on the north by Maldegem, on the east by Zomerge ...

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

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

. The village was originally called ''Bethlehem''. Bellem is located about west of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

History

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Bellem was founded around 1240 as Bethlehem. It was first mentioned as Bellem in 1291. The village was a ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800. ...

'', but used to contain five enclaves containing farms belonging to Schuurvelde. In 1577, Bellem and Schuurvelde were merged into a single ''heerlijkheid''. Around 1650, a castle was built, and Bellem was elevated to

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

in 1655. Between 1613 and 1623, the was dug and two forts were constructed by the Spanish near Bellem. This resulted in frequent attacks first by the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

and from 1648 onwards by

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 arrival of the railway and later the motorway E40 did not result in significant growth, and Belem remained a rural agricultural village.

Buildings and sights

The Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Geboorte Church is a three aisled church without

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 ...

s with a built-in tower. The original church was built in the second half of the 16th century, and the lower part of the tower is still original. In 1847 and between 1870 and 1874, the church was enlarged and received its current shape. The church burnt down on 10 September 1944 and was rebuilt in 1950 according to its original design. Mariahoeve Castle was originally an estate of the Lord of Bellem and Schuurvelde. Around 1650, a castle was built. The castle had turned to ruin by the mid 18th century. In 1808, the domain was bought by the industrialist who rebuilt the castle in 1815. The building was redesigned in neoclassic style between 1855 and 1860. In 1963, the castle was bought by the congregations of Sisters of the

Diocese of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent (Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') 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-Brussel ...

who use it as a retirement home and have renamed the castle Mariahove.

Notable people

Flor Grammens Flor(imond) Grammens (born Bellem 13 April 1899: died Deinze, 28 March 1985) was a Belgian politician and Flemish activist. He campaigned for the Belgian language laws and the formalisation of the country's language frontier, establishing legal ...

(1899–1985), politician and Flemish activist

Gallery

File:Dorpswoning Bellemdorpweg 20.JPG, Little supermarket File:Hof Krekelhoek.jpg, Farm in Bellem File:Weg naar vaart oude foto.JPG, Old postcard (before 1940) File:Kasteel Bellem - België.jpg, Mariahoeve Castle

References

{{Authority control Aalter Former municipalities of East Flanders Populated places in East Flanders