Damme () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located 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 ...

, six kilometres northeast of Brugge (

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

). The municipality comprises the city of Damme proper and the villages of Hoeke,

Lapscheure Lapscheure is a town in Damme, a municipality in the province of West Flanders, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the N ...

Moerkerke Moerkerke is a town in the Belgium, Belgian province West Flanders and a part (deelgemeente) of the city of Damme External linksMoerkerke @ City Review
Populated places in West Flanders Damme {{WestFlanders-geo-stub ...

Oostkerke Oostkerke (Dutch, 'East church') is a town in Diksmuide, West Flanders, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherl ...

Sijsele Sijsele is a village in the municipality of Damme, a part of the province of West Flanders, Belgium. It is also known as 'Sijsele-City' for the locals in and around Sijsele. File:Sijsele, de Sint Martinuskerk oeg78954 foto6 2015-08-10 14.27.jpg, ...

, , and . On 1 January 2006, the municipality had a population of 10,899. The total area is 89.52 km², giving a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 122 inhabitants per km². In the 13th century, Damme was the port for Bruges, to which it was linked by the river Reie. The river has now been

canalised River engineering is a discipline of civil engineering which studies human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit. People have intervened in the natural course and be ...

into the long, straight, treelined and picturesque Damse Vaart, which continues across the Dutch border to

Sluis Sluis (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Sluus ; french: Écluse) is a town and municipality located in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western Dutch province of Zeeland. The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 January ...

. The line of the town's star-shaped fortifications can still be traced by lines of tall poplar trees and in places by a moat. It was the site of the

Battle of Damme The Battle of Damme was fought on 30 and 31 May 1213 during the 1213–1214 Anglo-French War. An English fleet led by William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury accidentally encountered a large French fleet under the command of Savari de Maulé ...

, fought on 30 and 31 May 1213, when an English fleet under the Earl of Salisbury captured scores of French ships and their cargo of gold, silver, wine and other victuals. Well-known Damme inhabitants include

Jacob van Maerlant Jacob van Maerlant (c. 1230–40 – c. 1288–1300) was a Flemish poet of the 13th century and one of the most important Middle Dutch authors during the Middle Ages. Biography Jacob van Maerlant was born near Bruges. He becam ...

, a medieval poet and the town clerk of Damme until his death in around 1300, and Karel Verleye, co-founder of the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

, who died in Damme in 2002.

Tourism

Today, Damme is a popular side trip for tourists who are visiting Bruges and is a popular venue for eating out, and a destination for boat trips. Damme has more recently become known as a

book town A book town is a town or village with many used book or antiquarian bookstores. These stores, as well as literary festivals, attract bibliophile tourists. Some book towns are members of the International Organisation of Book Towns. List of boo ...

, with numerous bookshops and regular book fairs. The most popular ways of traveling to Damme are by canal boat that runs during the summer high season or all year round by bus or bicycle. The bicycle route is along the canal path taking the same route that the canal boat takes.

Maps

File:Damme, Belgium ; Deventer map.jpg, Damme on the

Deventer map Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

(around 1558) File:Damme - Dammvm (Atlas van Loon).jpg, Damme on the Atlas van Loon (around 1649) File:Damme, Belgium ; Ferraris Map.jpg, Damme on the

Ferraris map The Ferraris map or map of the Austrian Netherlands is a historical map created between 1770 and 1778 by the count Joseph de Ferraris in response to a request by Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine. It is the first systematic, large scale map ...

(around 1775)

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Municipalities of West Flanders