The Waasland is a

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 languag ...

region. It is part of the Belgian provinces 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

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. The other borders of the Land van Waas are with 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 ...

and

Durme The Durme is a 23.8 km river in Belgium. The left tributary of the Scheldt, it is created by the confluence of the Zuidlede and the Moervaart near Daknam, Lokeren. It passes through Lokeren, Waasmunster and borders Zele, it merges in the Scheldt ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s. The (informal) capital and major city of the region is

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; french: Saint-Nicolas, ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and . Sint-Nikl ...

. It is also called the ''Land van Waas'' (Land of Waas); Waas most likely refers to the soggy soil of the region although the exact

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

is unknown. One possibility is a connection to the

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 ...

word "wasteland". The swamps that characterized it have long been drained although many fields are still noticeably convex; the result of many years of plowing the topsoil towards the center to improve drainage. Historically, on account of its waterlogged, poor soils the region was thinly populated in comparison to the rest of Belgium and agriculture was by necessity based on holder farms using innovative techniques not usually applied elsewhere even if the farmers had ready markets nearby in the cities of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

and

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Charles Townshend Charles Townshend (28 August 1725 – 4 September 1767) was a British politician who held various titles in the Parliament of Great Britain. His establishment of the controversial Townshend Acts is considered one of the key causes of the Ame ...

(1674–1748), one of the proponents of the early agricultural revolution, was an explicit advocate of agricultural practices first developed here in Belgium, such as the use of

turnip The turnip or white turnip (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ' ...

s in

crop rotation Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...

, and the region for some time attracted study trips by early agriculturists in his wake. The epic tale of

Reynard the Fox Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, as ...

is set in the region. The surname "Waas" and variants thereof is quite common in Belgium and refers to this region.

Communities in the Waasland

In the province of East-Flanders: *

Beveren Beveren () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders which comprises the towns of Beveren, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene. The port of the Waasland (Dutch: ''Waaslandhaven'') is in Beveren ...

Kruibeke Kruibeke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Bazel, Kruibeke proper and Rupelmonde. On 1 January 2018, Kruibeke had a total population of 16,657. The total area is 33.42&n ...

Lokeren Lokeren () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second ...

Moerbeke-Waas Moerbeke () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian province of East Flanders. It is sometimes unofficially called Moerbeke-Waas () to distinguish between this place and in Geraardsbergen. The municipality comprises ...

Sint-Gillis-Waas Sint-Gillis-Waas (;Every word in isolation: . french: Saint-Gilles-Waes) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of De Klinge, , Sint-Gillis-Waas proper and . On 1 January 2018, Sin ...

Stekene Stekene () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. Since 1976, the municipality has comprised the towns of Kemzeke, Klein-Sinaai and Stekene proper. It also includes the village Koewacht. In 2021, Stekene had a total p ...

Temse Temse (; french: Tamise ) is a municipality in East Flanders, Belgium. The name Temse is derived from the Gallo-Roman/Gaul Tamisiacum or Tamasiacum. This is also reflected in the French name for the town, Tamise. The main sights include the Ch ...

Waasmunster Waasmunster () is a municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders, in Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Waasmunster proper. In 2021, Waasmunster had a total population of 10,912. The total area is 31.93 km2. ...

In the province of Antwerp: * Zwijndrecht

Gallery

File:Sint niklaas.jpg,

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

File:Sint-laurentius kerk.jpg, Church of Saint Laurence,

File:Rupelmonde Graventoren2.jpg, Graventoren,

Rupelmonde Rupelmonde is a village in the municipality of Kruibeke, in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It stands on the bank of the river Schelde opposite the confluence of the eponymous Rupel, and is famed for its sundials as well as having what is ...

File:Temse O-L-Vrouwekerk 22-01-2012 13-43-13.png, Church of Our Lady,

File:WissekerkeZuid4.JPG,

Wissekerke Castle The Wissekerke Castle is situated in the village of Bazel of Kruibeke municipality in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Although a castle stood at this site since 10th century, the present castle was largely built in the 15th century with la ...

Bazel Bazel is a village in Belgium, in the municipality of Kruibeke in the province of East Flanders. The village is home to the Wissekerke Castle. The municipality of Bazel merged into Kruibeke in 1977. Overview The parish church was founded in the ...

File:15271 parochiekerk Sint Andreas.jpg, St Andrew and Ghislenus Church,

Belsele Belsele is a village and a deelgemeente of the municipality of Sint-Niklaas, which is situated in the Belgian province of East Flanders. History Belsele was first mentioned in 870. In 1217 Belsele became an autonomous parish. In that time Bel ...

, Sint-Niklaas File:Onroerenderfgoed 17941 Lokeren.jpg, Baroque palace in Lokeren File:Onze-Lieve-Vrouwkerk - Daknam - Lokeren.jpg, Church of Our Lady,

Daknam Chandrabindoo (often spelled Chandrabindu), based in Kolkata, is a Bengali band known for satirical, colloquial lyrics, with references to current affairs and cultural phenomena. The band is chiefly popular in the Indian city of Kolkata, and i ...

, Lokeren File:Kasteel Blauwendael met vijver en fontein, Waasmunster.jpg,

Blauwendael Castle Blauwendael Castle ( nl, Kasteel Blauwendael) is a castle in the East Flemish town of Waasmunster, located at Kerkstraat 21. The De Neve de Roden family owned a domain here, and in 1607-1608 Pieter de Neve built a moated mansion, known as the ''H ...

File:EXAERDIENSIS 05.JPG, Church of Our Lady of the Ascension, Eksaarde, Lokeren File:CortewalleZuid.JPG, Cortewalle Castle File:Walburg-2021-5.jpg, Walburg Castle, Sint-Niklaas File:Sint-Niklaas - Grote Markt 2.jpg, Sint-Nicolaaskerk, with the '' Parochiehuis'' and the '' Cipierage'', seen from the Grote Markt {{coord, 51.250, N, 4.202, E, display=title, source:nlwiki Areas of Belgium Regions of Flanders Geography of Antwerp Province Geography of East Flanders