Geraardsbergen (; french: Grammont, ) 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

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 ...

and in 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

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 municipality comprises the city of Geraardsbergen proper and the following towns: :, , , , , , , , , , , Viane, , and . In 2021, Geraardsbergen had a total population of 33,970. The total area is 79.71 km². The current mayor of Geraardsbergen is

Guido De Padt Guido De Padt (born 23 May 1954) is a Belgian politician and Senator for the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats. Since December 2011, he also is the mayor of Geraardsbergen, an office he also held from 2001 until 2006. He started his national ...

, from the (liberal) party

Open VLD french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts , abbreviation = Open Vld , logo = , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert , foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld) , predecessor = ...

History

Geraardsbergen is one of the oldest cities in Belgium. It came into existence close to the settlement of Hunnegem and in 1068 was one of the first communities in Western Europe to be granted

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...

. The city was destroyed in 1381 by

Walter IV of Enghien Walter IV of Enghien (died 1381), Hainault nobleman and soldier, was the son of Sohier of Enghien. He was Count of Brienne as Walter VII and Lord of Enghien in 1364–1381. Appointed Marshal of Flanders by Louis II of Flanders, he energetically ...

and his troops. According to legend, during the siege local people threw some of their left over food over the city wall to show that they had sufficient food to survive a long siege. This bravado notwithstanding, the city was still captured by Enghien's troops. Every year the city organizes the ''krakelingenworp'' carnival on top of the hill at Oudenberg () to celebrate this historical event. On 29May 1815, shortly before the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and Blücher reviewed the Allied cavalry here. Some 6,000 troops were paraded in meadows on the banks of the

Dender The Dender (Dutch, ) or Dendre ( French, ) is a 65-kilometre (40 mi) long river in Belgium, the right tributary of the river Scheldt. The confluence of the two rivers is in the Belgian town of Dendermonde. The Western or Little Dender is 22 kilome ...

between Geraardsbergen and Jedeghem.

Places of interest

*Manneken Pis, the oldest such statue, older than the more famous one in Brussels. *The ''

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

'', a steep street paved with cobblestones, climbed every year by cyclists during the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

. *''

Boelare Castle thumb Boelare Castle is a castle near the village Nederboelare, Geraardsbergen municipality, in the province of East Flanders, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in North ...

'', seat of the former feudal domain Land (Barony) of Boelare. *''

Overboelare Airfield Overboelare Airfield ( nl, Vliegveld Overboelare, ) is a private use airport located near Geraardsbergen, East Flanders, Belgium. See also * List of airports in Belgium This is a list of airports (aerodromes and heliports) in Belgium, sorted b ...

'', small glider airfield with a Douglas C-54A Skymaster (DC-4) as gate guard. 0 Grammont - Manneke Pis (2).JPG, ''Manneke Pis'' is the most famous statue of Geraardsbergen Muur van Geraardsbergen.JPG, ''De Muur van Geraardsbergen'' (the Wall of Geraarsbergen) PriorijHunnegem.jpg, Priory of Hunnegem, 2005 0 Grammont - Chapelle N-D de la Vieille Montagne (1).JPG, Chapel of Our Lady of the Oudenberg (1724)

Mattentaart

Geraardsbergen is known for the , a type of sweet pastry. This is made with ''matten'' paste or cheese curd. The ''mattentaart'' was granted

Protected Geographical Indication Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG), promote and protect nam ...

status by the European Union in 2006, indicating they can only be made in Geraardsbergen or in the nearby municipality of

Lierde Lierde () is a municipality located in the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Deftinge, Hemelveerdegem, Sint-Maria-Lierde and Sint-Martens ...

Notable individuals

* (1116–1196) *

William of Moerbeke William of Moerbeke, O.P. ( nl, Willem van Moerbeke; la, Guillelmus de Morbeka; 1215–35 – 1286), was a prolific medieval translator of philosophical, medical, and scientific texts from Greek language into Latin, enabled by the period ...

(1215–1286), first translator of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

's works into

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

* (1415–1460), scrivenist and scribe Gabriel Grupello

Gabriël Grupello Gabriël Grupello (also Gabriël de Grupello or Gabriël Reppeli; 22 May 1644 – 20 June 1730) was a Flemish Baroque sculptor who produced religious and mythological sculptures, portraits and public sculptures. He worked in Flanders, France and ...

(1644-1730), Flemish Baroque sculptor *

Frans Rens Frans Rens (Geraardsbergen, 2 February 1805 – Ghent, 19 December 1874) was a Flemish writer. From 1823 up to 1843, he was an inspector of gold and silver work at Ghent, and head of lower education for the school area Lokeren. Bibliography * B ...

(1805-1874), Flemish scholar, active in the Flemish Movement *

Robert de Foy Robert Herman Alfred de Foy CBE (23 March 1893 in Geraardsbergen – 15 August 1960 in Brussels) was a Belgian magistrate, and head of the Belgian State Security Service, during the occupation of Belgium by the Nazis. This period of his life h ...

(1893–1960), Belgian magistrate, and head of the Belgian State Security Service *

Frans Van Coetsem Frans (Camille Cornelis) Van Coetsem (April 14, 1919 – February 11, 2002) was a Belgian (Flemish) linguist. After an academic career in Flanders and the Netherlands he was appointed professor at Cornell University in 1968, and consequently he em ...

(1919-2002), Belgian-born linguist and university teachers (

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

and

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

) * Cyriel Delannoit (1926-1998), boxer, European champion 1948 * Paul Van den Berghe (born 1933), Belgium Bishop in the Roman Catholic Church *

Ferdi Van Den Haute Ferdi Van Den Haute ( Deftinge, 5 July 1952) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer competing from 1976 to 1987. Major results ;1974 : National Amateur Track Pursuit Championship : National Amateur Track Madison Championship (with ...

(born 1952), cyclist *

(born 1954), politician * Jan Callebaut (born 1955), communication and marketing advisor and entrepreneur * Marie-Christine Deurbroeck (born 1957), long-distance runner *

Michaël Borremans Michaël Borremans (born 1963) is a Belgian painter and filmmaker who lives and works in Ghent. His painting technique draws on 18th-century art as well as the works of Édouard Manet and Degas. The artist also cites the Spanish court painter Di ...

(born 1963), painter and filmmaker *

Alain Van Den Bossche Alain Van Den Bossche (born 17 November 1965) is a former Belgian racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, ...

(born 1965), cyclist *

Dean Delannoit Dean Delannoit (born 27 January 1989) most known by the mononym Dean is the winner of ''Idool 2007'', in season 3 of the Belgian version of ''Pop Idol''. His first album, ''So Many Ways'', released in 2007, spent 11 weeks in the #1 spot in the Be ...

(born 1989), singer * Jan De Cooman (born 1893, painter

References

External links

*
Sightseeing in Geraardsbergen

{{Authority control Municipalities of East Flanders Populated places in East Flanders