Burst is a sub-municipality of

Erpe-Mere Erpe-Mere () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Aaigem, Bambrugge, Burst (village), Burst, Erondegem, Erpe, Mere, Be ...

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 ...

. It is located on the

Molenbeek ( French, ) or (Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

in the

Denderstreek The Denderstreek or Denderland is a region in Belgium. It is named after the river Dender. Though the river stretches over three provinces, Hainaut, East Flanders and Flemish Brabant, the region called after the river is situated in East Flander ...

, southeast 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 ...

and belongs to the

Arrondissement of Aalst An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'', ...

. It is bordered by the sub-municipalities of

Bambrugge Bambrugge is a sub-municipality of Erpe-Mere in Flanders. It is located on the Molenbeek (Erpe-Mere Bovenschelde), Molenbeek in the Denderstreek, southeast of East Flanders and belongs to the Arrondissement of Aalst. It is bordered by the sub-mu ...

and

Aaigem Aaigem is a village belonging to the municipality of Erpe-Mere. It is located in the province of East Flanders, Belgium. The village has some 2000 inhabitants. Aaigem was an independent municipality with an area of 7.32 square kilometers till 19 ...

, as well as the municipalities of

Herzele Herzele () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of , Herzele proper, , , , , and . In 2021, Herzele had a total population of 18,414. The total area is 47.40 ...

(sub-municipalities Ressegem and Borsbeke) and

Sint-Lievens-Houtem Sint-Lievens-Houtem (; french: Hautem-Saint-Liévin, not officially recognized) is a Flemish Community of Belgium, Dutch-speaking Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Belgium. It is located in the Denderstreek and at the edge of the Flemish ...

(sub-municipalities

Zonnegem Sint-Lievens-Houtem (; french: Hautem-Saint-Liévin, not officially recognized) is a Dutch-speaking municipality of Belgium. It is located in the Denderstreek and at the edge of the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the province of East ...

and

Vlierzele Vlierzele is a village on the Molenbeek, in the Denderstreek, at the edge of the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of East Flanders, Belgium. It belongs to the municipality of Sint-Lievens-Houtem. Etymologically the name Vlierzele is deri ...

). Burst had 2968 inhabitants on 1 January 2003 and an area of 3.83 km. The population density was 776 / km ².

History

The name Burst was first found in a charter of the Sint-Pietersabdij (Abbey) in Ghent. In this document of 1042 it is said that the village Burste is in the neighbourhood of a river with the same name, the "Bursitia juxta fluviolum Burste". It was not until a century later however, in 1151, that Burst was described under its present name, and the village was in the following decades, also named in several documents as Borst, Bost and Bust. The village had 125 farms in 1846, including some large ones. At that time there was a wheat windmill, three breweries and three distilleries in the village. At the beginning of the 19th century, the village had 304 inhabitants, and by the beginning of the 20th century it had 963 inhabitants.

Landmarks

In Burst the Sint-Martinus Church can be found. Burst belongs to deanery of Lede. In 2011, there were still nine chapels, and most were still in good condition, but there were also some that are not maintained. There is also a cave in Burst. File:Kerk Burst 1.jpg, The church of Burst front view File:Kerk Burst 2.jpg, The church of Burst side-view File:Kapel halfweg Gentsestraat Burst.jpg, The little chapel halfway Gentsestraat File:Kapel einde Gentsestraat Burst.jpg, The little chapel at the end of Gentsestraat File:Kapel begin Dorent Burst.jpg, The little chapel at the begin of Dorent File:Kapel midden Dorent Burst.jpg, The little chapel halfway Dorent File:Kapel einde Dorent Burst 1.jpg, The little chapel at the end of Dorent File:Kapel einde Dorent Burst 2.jpg, The bad condition in the little chapel at the end of Dorent File:Burst kapel Kerkstraat.JPG, The little chapel at Kerkstraat File:Kapel Stationsstraat Burst.jpg, The little chapel at Stationsstraat File:Burst kapel Stokt.JPG, The little chapel at Stokt File:Kapel Akkerstraat Burst.jpg, The little chapel at Akkerstraat File:Burst grot Kerkstraat.JPG, The cave of Burst

Tourism

The Molenbeekroute cycle track network runs through Burst. Molenbeekroute is known primarily for the mills of the municipality Erpe-Mere and two brooks that are located there, both of which have the name Molenbeek (mill brook).

Sport

The football club KFC Olympic Burst is currently (2012) active in the third provincial league of the province of East Flanders. {{Authority control Sub-municipalities of Erpe-Mere Populated places in East Flanders