Ottergem is a sub-municipality of

Erpe-Mere Erpe-Mere () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Aaigem, Bambrugge, Burst (village), Burst, Erondegem, Erpe, Mere, Be ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. It is located on the

Molenbeek ( French, ) or (Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

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 ...

, southeast 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 ...

and belongs to the

Arrondissement of Aalst An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'', ...

. The sub-municipality is bordered by the sub-municipalities of

Erondegem Erondegem is a sub-municipality of Erpe-Mere in Flanders. It is located on the Molenbeek in the Denderstreek, southeast of East Flanders and belongs to the Arrondissement of Aalst. It is bordered by the sub-municipalities of Erpe and Ottergem an ...

Erpe Erpe is a sub-municipality of Erpe-Mere in Flanders on the Molenbeek-Ter Erpenbeek in the Denderstreek in the southeast of East Flanders and belongs to Arrondissement of Aalst. The sub-municipality is bordered by the sub-municipalities of Mere, ...

Mere Mere may refer to: Places * Mere, Belgium, a village in East Flanders * Mere, Cheshire, England * Mere, Wiltshire, England People * Mere Broughton (1938–2016), New Zealand Māori language activist and unionist * Mere Smith, American televisi ...

Bambrugge Bambrugge is a sub-municipality of Erpe-Mere in Flanders. It is located on the Molenbeek (Erpe-Mere Bovenschelde), Molenbeek in the Denderstreek, southeast of East Flanders and belongs to the Arrondissement of Aalst. It is bordered by the sub-mu ...

(and its hamlet Egem) and

Vlekkem Vlekkem is a sub-municipality of Erpe-Mere in Flanders. It is located on the Molenbeek in the Denderstreek, southeast of East Flanders and belongs to the Arrondissement of Aalst. The sub-municipality is bordered by the hamlet Egem of the sub- ...

and the municipality

Sint-Lievens-Houtem Sint-Lievens-Houtem (; french: Hautem-Saint-Liévin, not officially recognized) is a Flemish Community of Belgium, Dutch-speaking Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Belgium. It is located in the Denderstreek and at the edge of the Flemish ...

(sub-municipality

Vlierzele Vlierzele is a village on the Molenbeek, in the Denderstreek, at the edge of the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of East Flanders, Belgium. It belongs to the municipality of Sint-Lievens-Houtem. Etymologically the name Vlierzele is deri ...

). Ottergem has 500 inhabitants as of 1 January 2003 and an area of 1.55 km. The population density is 322 inhabitants / km ².

History

Ottergem was one of the smallest villages of the district of Dendermonde at the beginning of the 19th century, with 155 hectares and 520 people, it was much smaller than the surrounding villages. The village was first mentioned in an official document in 1036. In this charter the emperor Koenraad II recognized the Abbey Sint-Pietersabdij in Ghent and their possessions, they spoke of "et in Bursinghem et terram in Ottringhem et terram in Flachem". Since the year 1142 they spoke of Ottergem, but the variations Ottrenghem, Ottregem and Oterghem were also known. The name is in the opinion of the historian De Smet derived from the otter (animal) but the opinion of his colleague Föstermann is that the name is derived from a personal name. Etymologically, Flemish locations ending with –gem refer to a Germanic compound with –haim, meaning 'home' or 'residence', and a derative ending with –inga. Towards the end of the 19th century there was a water mill and an oil mill.

Landmarks

* The "De Watermeulen" is located in the Ruststraat 10–12 on the Molenbeek Brook. It's an overshot watermill and it is Monumentenschildje blauw wit

protected
by law. It was originally a wheat mill and an oil mill, but later on it was only a wheat mill. * In Ottergem the Sint-Paulus-Bekering Church can be found. Ottergem belongs to deanery of Lede. File:De Watermeulen Ottergem vooraanzicht.JPG, Front view of the De Watermeulen at Ottergem File:De Watermeulen Ottergem achteraanzicht.JPG, Rear view of the De Watermeulen at Ottergem File:De Watermeulen Ottergem rad.JPG, Mill wheel of the De Watermeulen at Ottergem File:De Watermeulen Ottergem binnenwerk.JPG, The De Watermeulen inside at Ottergem File:Kerk Ottergem 1.jpg, The church of Ottergem front view File:Kerk Ottergem 2.jpg, The church of Ottergem side-view

Tourism

Through Ottergem runs the Molenbeekroute. The Molenbeekroute is a cycle track network, known primarily for the mills of the municipality Erpe-Mere and two brooks that can be found there, both of which have the name Molenbeek (mill brook). {{coord, 50, 56, N, 3, 57, E, display=title, region:BE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Sub-municipalities of Erpe-Mere Populated places in East Flanders