Woesten is a rural

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 ...

village in the

Vleteren Vleteren () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Oostvleteren, Westvleteren and Woesten. On January 1, 2006, Vleteren had a total population of 3,636. The total area is 38.15& ...

municipality 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 ...

province. The town is close to the city of

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

. The centre of the city is located on a road junction of the N8 between

and

Veurne Veurne (; french: Furnes, italic=no, ) is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , , , , Houtem, , , Wulveringem, and . History Origins up ...

and the Poperingestraat to

Poperinge Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ； vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge pr ...

. left, De Sint-Rectrudiskerk - Toren van de 15de eeuw. left, The presbytery.

History

The name Woesten comes from "Wastina", meaning "deserted sprawl". In the 12th century, the village was mentioned as "solitudo renyngensis", meaning the "deserted sprawl of

Reninge Reninge is a town in north-west Belgium in the province of West Flanders with approximately 1,000 inhabitants. Since the reforms of 1977, it is located in the municipality of Lo-Reninge and is part of the Arrondissement of Diksmuide. Its postcode ...

". The name "Wastina" was first mentioned in the 13th century.

Landmarks

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

are named after Saint-Rictrude. The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church of Saint-Rictrude dates from the 15th century. The church was destroyed during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, but was rebuilt in 1922/23. Until 1916, there was a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

(built in 1850) where the marketplace is now. The brewery belonged to the Seynhaeve-family, later the Florimond Van Neste-family and eventually the Decaestekere-family. During

, the brewery was destroyed; it was later rebuilt a couple hundred meters away. On the marketplace, there's still an old water pump that used to belong to the brewery.

References

Populated places in West Flanders {{WestFlanders-geo-stub