Heuvelland () is a

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

located in the Belgian 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 ...

. The municipality comprises the villages of Dranouter, Kemmel, De Klijte, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and Wulvergem. Heuvelland is a thinly populated rural municipality, located between the small urban centres of

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...

and Poperinge and the metropolitan area of

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larges ...

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

along the E17. On 1 January 2006 Heuvelland had a total population of 8,217. The total area is 94.24 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

of 87 inhabitants per km². The name ''heuvelland'' is Dutch meaning "hill country", as the municipality is characterized by the different hills on its territory.

Geography

Landscape

The municipality is located in an area known as the West-Flemish Hills. The highest hill in Heuvelland is the Kemmelberg (156 m); followed by the Vidaigneberg (136 m), the Rodeberg (129 m), the Scherpenberg (125 m) and a lower hill in Wijtschate (82 m). On the border with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

is the Zwarteberg. File:Kemmelberg.JPG, Kemmelberg, seen from the west Image:Heuvelland - Loker (Rodeberg).jpg, Landscape, with the village of Loker, as seen from the Rodeberg Image:MapHeuvelland.svg, Heuvelland, "deelgemeenten" and neighbouring villages. The yellow areas are urban areas.

Municipality parts

The municipality Heuvelland consists of eight small rural villages. The "

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 Ja ...

s" of Dranouter, Kemmel, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and Wulvergem were independent municipalities before the merger in 1977. De Klijte wasn't independent, but was a part of

Reningelst Reningelst is a rural village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, and a "deelgemeente" of the municipality Poperinge. The village has about 1405 inhabitants. The deelgemeente of De Klijte used to be a part of Reningelst (then independen ...

(then independent, now part of Poperinge). Kemmel, Wijtschate, Nieuwkerke and Westouter are the largest centres, with more than 1000 inhabitants each. The town hall and municipal administration are located in Kemmel, as are the police office and post office. The rest home, municipal sports hall and main library are located in Wijtschate. The municipal container park is found in Nieuwkerke. The four other villages are smaller and accommodate less facilities. Besides the village centres, a number of smaller residential areas are scattered on the territory. On top of the crest of the Rodeberg and Zwarteberg small residential development, mixed with small shops, tourist businesses and restaurants are found. The city centre of Mesen also expands a little on the territory of Wijtschate in Heuvelland. :Source: Ruimtelijk structuurplan Heuvelland

Neighbouring villages and towns

Because of its relative extensiveness, the municipality of Heuvelland borders a large number of villages and towns: *a. Poperinge (city of Poperinge) *b.

(city of Poperinge) *c. Dikkebus (city of Ypres) *d. Vlamertinge (city of Ypres) *e. Voormezele (city of Ypres) *f. Hollebeke (city of Ypres) *g. Houthem (city of Comines-Warneton) *h. Bas-Warneton (city of Comines-Warneton) *i. Warneton (city of Comines-Warneton) *j. Mesen (city of Mesen) *k. Ploegsteert (city of Comines-Warneton) *l. Nieppe (France) *m. Bailleul (France) *n. Saint-Jans-Cappel (France) *o.

Boeschepe Boeschepe () is a commune in the Nord department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geogra ...

(France)

History

World War I

The area experienced many major battles during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, as part of the

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...

area. The front-line ran through the area of Wytschaete, which was captured and held several times by both sides during the course of the war. Spanbroekmolen was an important German stronghold, and on 30 April and 17 June 1916, the area was the site of two German gas attacks on British troops at Wulverghem. The Kemmelberg was important during the Battle of the Lys, and German units maintained a trench system (''Bayernwald'') within view of Ypres at Croonaert Wood. Nowadays, the ''Bayernwald'' trenches can be visited as an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

. There are a number of war cemeteries in the municipality, including Godezonne Farm, RE Farm, Spanbroekmolen,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

, Klein Vierstraat and Kemmel Number 1 French Cemetery.

Notable people

*The cartographer and astronomer

Petrus Plancius Petrus Plancius (; 1552 – 15 May 1622) was a Dutch-Flemish astronomer, cartographer and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders. He studied theology in Germany and England. At the age of 2 ...

was born in Dranouter in 1552. *Singer

Geike Arnaert Geike Arnaert (; born 13 September 1979) is a Belgian singer, best known for being the lead vocalist of the band Hooverphonic from 1997 until 2008 and again since 2020. Geike was born in Poperinge and grew up in Westouter, a town that is close ...

Hooverphonic Hooverphonic is a Belgian band that formed in October 1995. Though originally categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be described as a singular genre, but rather encompass altern ...

was born and raised in Westouter.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of West Flanders