Sint-Maria-Oudenhove is a village 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 ...

and 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 was formerly an independent municipality. In 1977 the main part of the settlement became part of the municipality of

Zottegem Zottegem (, Sotteghem and Sottegem in older English and French language sources) is a municipality located in Belgium and more particularly in Flanders, in the province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Zottegem proper and ...

, with a smaller section joining the municipality of Brakel.

History

From the middle of the 12th century, Sint-Maria-Oudenhove was part of the Land of Aalst in loan by the Lords of Zotegem. In 1675, it became a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

. The Castle of Lilare is located near the . The original castle was plundered and set on fire by the troops of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

during the

War of Devolution In the 1667 to 1668 War of Devolution (, ), France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comté, both then provinces of the Holy Roman Empire (and properties of the King of Spain). The name derives from an obscure law known ...

in 1667. The castle was rebuilt in the late 17th century. In 1933, the castle was bought by the sisters of Saint Francis of Opbrakel and turned into a girl

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

. The castle is still in use as a school. During the 20th century, Sint-Maria-Oudenhove became mainly a commuter's community. In 1977, most of the municipality merged into

with a small area awarded to Brakel. The municipality was home to 2,971 people and covered an area of .

Gallery

File:Kasteel van Lilare 07.jpg, The Castle of Lilare File:Wijndomein Carrijn 02.jpg, Vineyard File:Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ten-Hemelopneming (Sint-Maria-Oudenhove) 02.jpg, View on the church File:PM 119487 B Sint Maria Oudenhove.jpg, House in Sint-Maria-Oudenhove

References

External links

* {{Authority control Brakel Zottegem Populated places in East Flanders Former municipalities of East Flanders