Melden is a village belonging partly to the municipality of

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; french: Audenarde ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heu ...

and partly to the municipality of

Kluisbergen Kluisbergen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, along the Scheldt river. The municipality comprises the towns of , Kwaremont, and which fused in 1971. In 2021, Kluisbergen had a total population of 6,682. The ...

. It is located 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 ...

History

The village is located on an elevation near the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

River. During canalisation efforts, remains on a Roman site were discovered. The village was conquered by the Count of Flanders in 1030. The economy was mainly based on animal husbandry and wool production. In 1960, the N8 was widened which resulted in the demolition of many house along the road. Melden was an independent municipality until 1971 when it was merged into Oudenaarde.

Koppenberg

The Koppenberg is a hill near Melden which is known for cycling races in general and 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 ...

in particular. The road to the top of the hill is a steep, narrow

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...

street which is serious challenge often forcing professionals to dismount.

Notable people

Jan Verroken Jan Verroken (30 January 1917 – 24 July 2020) was a Belgian politician. Biography Born on 30 January 1917, Verroken served as burgomaster of Oudenaarde, President of the Christelijke Volkspartij in the Belgian Parliament, and a Deputy for the ...

(1917–2020), politician.

References

External links

*
Webpage at Internet Archives
Kluisbergen Oudenaarde Populated places in East Flanders {{EastFlanders-geo-stub