Overslag is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the municipality of

Wachtebeke Wachtebeke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Wachtebeke proper, and a smaller town: Overslag. In 2021, Wachtebeke had a total population of 7.769. The total area is 34.53 ...

in 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 ...

. The original village was cut in two by the

Belgium–Netherlands border The Belgium–Netherlands border separates Belgium and the Netherlands and is long. Belgium and the Netherlands are part of the Schengen Area. This means there are no permanent border controls at this border. On the Belgian side, the border is ...

. The eponymous village in the Netherlands is part of the municipality of

Terneuzen Terneuzen () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland. History First mentione ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1542 as "ten Overslach", and means place where goods could be transferred. It was located where the canal from Axel (Netherlands) and canal from

(Belgium) were close together. In 1547, the Sassevaart was dug and Overslag become obsolete for the transfer of goods. Overslag is a border village which was cut in two by the Belgium–Netherlands border. The parish church is located on the Belgian side. During World War I, it was not possible to completely shut the border and the

Wire of Death The Wire of Death ( nl, Dodendraad, german: Todesdraht, french: Fil De La Mort) was a lethal electric fence created by the German military to control the Dutch–Belgian frontier after the occupation of Belgium during the First World War. Termi ...

, a lethal electric fence, ran through the village. The Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Geboorte Church was built in 1692 as a replacement of a chapel in a barn. A

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

was added in 1844, and the church was enlarged 1851 and again in 1898 when the tower was added.

Gallery

File:Overslag - Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Geboortekerk 2.jpg, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Geboorte Church File:Onroerenderfgoed 34383 1.jpg, School in Overslag File:Onroerenderfgoed 34383 3.jpg, House in Overslag File:Overslag - Border 1.jpg, View on the Dutch side

References

Populated places in East Flanders Wachtebeke Belgium–Netherlands border crossings {{EastFlanders-geo-stub