Watervliet is a village in the Belgian 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 ...

and suburb of the town of

Sint-Laureins Sint-Laureins (; Dutch for Saint Lawrence) is a municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders, in Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Eur ...

. Watervliet is part of the

Meetjesland The Meetjesland is a historical region in the north-west of the province East Flanders in Belgium. Etymology There are many legends surrounding the origin of the name. The most known is the one of Emperor Charles V (Charles V) who was known for h ...

, and is adjacent to the Dutch border. It was a separate municipality until 1977.

History

Watervliet started as a medieval village. In 1377, the village was lost in a flood. Around 1500,

Hieronymus Lauweryn van Watervliet Count Hieronymus Lauweryn or Jerome Laurinus of Watervliet was a courtier at the court of Philip the Handsome, (Lord of the Netherlands and Duke of Burgundy then briefly King of Castile) to whom Lauweryn was treasurer. He was also a courtier at t ...

commissioned the poldering of the land, and rebuilt the village. Even though Lauweryn was of common origins, he was awarded lordship of Watervliet by

Philip the Handsome Philip the Handsome, es, Felipe, french: Philippe, nl, Filips (22 July 1478 – 25 September 1506), also called the Fair, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands and titular Duke of Burgundy from 1482 to 1506, as well as the first Habsburg Ki ...

in 1507. In 1501, the Our Lady-Church was built, and was consecrated in 1503. Watervliet was planned to become a major harbour, hence the large size of the church. The church is commonly referred to as the "Cathedral of the North". In 1977, the municipality merged into

Gallery

File:Ketterijstraat 2, Watervliet.jpg, House in Watervliet File:Burgerhuis, Stee 2, Watervliet.jpg, House in Watervliet File:Gemeentepomp, Watervliet.jpg, Village pump File:Watervliet 674.jpg, Former town hall

References

External links

* Former municipalities of East Flanders Populated places in East Flanders Sint-Laureins {{EastFlanders-geo-stub