Haasdonk 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) of

Beveren Beveren () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders which comprises the towns of Beveren, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene. The port of the Waasland (Dutch: ''Waaslandhaven'') is in Beveren, ...

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 ...

. Haasdonk was an independent municipality until 1 January 1977, when it merged with Beveren as part of the

fusion of municipalities in Belgium The fusion of the Belgian municipalities (French: ''fusion des communes'', Dutch: ''fusie van Belgische gemeenten'') was a Belgian political process that rationalized and reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium between 1975 and 1983. In 19 ...

. It is located about west of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

History

Haasdonk is a road village which developed on the Roman road to

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 ...

. The village was first mentioned in 1150 when it became an independent

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 ...

. In 1795, during the French period, Haasdonk became the seat of a canton and was governed by the infamous Jan Benedict de Kever. In 1798, all men between the age of the 20 and 25 were forcibly conscripted in the French Army which resulted in the

Peasants' War This is a chronological list of conflicts in which peasants played a significant role. Background The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including: ...

, and Haasdonk became one of the centres of revolt. The canton was dissolved in 1800. During the 20th century, Haasboek evolved from an agricultural community into a commuter's village. It used to be an independent municipality until 1977 when it was merged into

Buildings and structures

Between 1906 and 1914, was constructed as part of the National Redoubt to protect Antwerp against an attack from the west. The fortress saw no action during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and was taken by the Germans after the surrender of Antwerp. It was extended with bunkers against a possible attack by the Netherlands. The story repeated itself during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and

Flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

guns were added to fortress. In 1944, it was used by the Allied forces. Nowadays, it is private property and home to colony of bats. The St Jacobus de Meerdere Church was founded in the 12th century. It was destroyed by Spanish troops in 1576. In 1609, it was replaced by a wooden church which in turn was replaced by a stone church in 1719. Between 1845 and 1875, the church was extensively modified and rebuilt into a three aisled basilica-like 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 in

Gothic Revival 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 ...

style.

Notable people

Pascal Smet Pascal Smet (born 30 July 1967) is a Belgian politician, member of Vooruit. Personal life He was born in 1967 in Beveren-Waas. He earned a degree in Law at the University of Antwerp. He is openly gay. Career He was a member of the town counc ...

(born 1967), politician and Brussels Minister of Mobility and Public Works * Augustine Van de Vyver (1844–1911), priest and Bishop of Richmond, Virginia

Gallery

File:Sint-Jacobuskerk, Haasdonk - panoramio.jpg, St Jacobus de Meerdere Church File:Fort Haasdonk buiten4.jpg, Fort van Haasdonk File:Haasdonk Gemeentepomp.jpg, Village pump File:Vliet 02.jpg, Former brewery 't Vliet

References

{{Authority control Beveren Populated places in East Flanders