Maarke-Kerkem is a village 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 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 ...

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 formed by two hamlets, Maarke and Kerkem, and is incorporated in the municipality of

Maarkedal Maarkedal () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , f ...

. It is hosting the Saint Vincent Chapel, which was first erected around 1100. In 1822, Maarke and Kerkem formed a municipality. The two villages are located in the hilly countryside of the

which varies in height from 30 to 100 metres. Maarke was first mentioned in 1063 and means "swampy settlement". In 1129, the parish became part of the

Liessies Abbey Liessies Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in the village of Liessies, near Avesnes-sur-Helpe, in the Archdiocese of Cambrai and the ''département'' of Nord, France. First foundation It was founded in 751 and dedicated to Saint Lambert. It s ...

. Kerkem means "settlement near a church", and developed in the Early Middle Ages. The municipality was merged into

in 1977.

Places of interest

Image:SintVincentiuskapelMaarkekerkem 22-06-2009 18-31-20.JPG, Image:Sint-Petruskerk Kerkem.jpg, Image:Maarkekerkem 22-06-2009 18-26-24.JPG, File:Romansmolen 01.jpg, Romansmolen

References

External links

Webpage at Reocities
Populated places in East Flanders Maarkedal {{EastFlanders-geo-stub