Torhout (; french: Thourout; vls, Toeroet) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

province of

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of

Wijnendale Wijnendale is a village located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It belongs to the municipality of Torhout. Wijnendale is situated at 4 km from the city center of Torhout, halfway in between this city center and Ichtegem. The villag ...

and Sint-Henricus, and the hamlet of De Driekoningen. On January 1, 2012, Torhout had a total population of 20,149. The total area is 45.23 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 445 inhabitants per km².

People associated with Torhout

Rimbert Saint Rimbert (or Rembert) (''c.'' 830 - 11 June 888 in Bremen) was archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, in the northern part of the Kingdom of East Frankia from 865 until his death in 888. He most famously wrote the hagiography about the life Ansgar, th ...

, saint *

Josse van Huerter Joost De Hurtere (1430 in Torhout – 1495 in Horta), also known by several transliterations (such as ''Josse van Huerter, Josse van Hurtere'', ''Josse De Hurtere'' or ''Joss van Hürter'', and later in Portuguese, ''Joss de Utra'' or just ''D ...

, first settler, and captain-major of the island of Faial in the Portuguese

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. *

Karel Van Wijnendaele Karel Van Wijnendaele, pseudonym of Carolus Ludovicius Steyaert (Torhout, 16 November 1882 - Deinze, 20 December 1961), was a Flemish sports journalist. He was the founder and first organizer of the Tour of Flanders cycling classic. Biography Van ...

(Founder of

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 ...

(Tour of Flanders)) *

Benny Vansteelant Benny Vansteelant (19 November 1976 – 14 September 2007) was a Belgian duathlete. For the first decade of the 21st century he was the uncontested icon of Duathlon, winning more than 80% of the races he started at. Life He was born in Torhou ...

(Multiple World Champion

Duathlon Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally. Distance and format ...

) and Joerie Vansteelant * Luk Descheemaeker, winner at the 2nd Holocaust cartoon contest in Tehran, 2016. *

Hilde Crevits Hilde Urbanie Julia Crevits (born 28 June 1967, in Torhout) is a Belgian politician from Flanders and member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party who is currently the Flemish minister of Economy, Innovation, Work, Social economy and Ag ...

, Vice Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish minister of Economy, Innovation, Work, Social economy and Agriculture; and former mayor of Torhout (2016-2018) *

Brahim Attaeb Brahim Attaeb better known by his stage name and mononym Brahim (born in Torhout, Belgium on 24 February 1984), is a Belgian R&B singer and presenter of Moroccan descent. Music career Brahim became famous when he participated in Belgian fir ...

, R&B singer and presenter

Festivities

Torhout-Werchter was until 1999 one of the largest annual pop festivals in Europe. Efforts were made to have a world music festival in Torhout after Torhout Werchter became Rock Werchter, held in Werchter only.

Sports

The main club of the city is

Torhout 1992 KM Koninklijke Maatschappij Torhout is a Belgian football club currently playing in the third division A. The club is based in Torhout, West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Wes ...

Sights

Kasteel d'Aertrycke (DSCF9933).jpg, Aertrycke castle Torhout, de Sint Pietersbandenkerk oeg87619 foto5 2015-09-26 15.45.jpg, Church: Sint Pietersbandenkerk File:Berg op Zoom. watertoren oeg 87306 foto5 2015-09-26 16.10.jpg, Watertower in Berg op Zoom

References

External links

* * - Information available in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and limited information available in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Municipalities of West Flanders {{WestFlanders-geo-stub