Zegelsem is a village in the municipality of Brakel in 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 ...

. Zegelsem is an agricultural community 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 ...

. It is located about south 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 ...

Overview

Zegelsem is a part of the hilly landscape of the

. The hills are cut by several brooks, the most important being the Perlinkbeek. The village was first mentioned in 866 as "Sigulfi villa", and means "settlement of Sigiwulf (person)". The settlement used to be property of the

Lobbes Abbey Lobbes Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Wallonia in the municipality of Lobbes, Hainaut, Belgium. The abbey played an important role in the religious, political and religious life of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, especially around the year ...

. Around 881, the village and church were destroyed by the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

. The parish church which was later built, was dedicated to Ursmar, the first abbot of the Lobbes Abbey. Zegelsem is known for its street paved with

sett A sett or set is a badger's den. It usually consists of a network of tunnels and numerous entrances. The largest setts are spacious enough to accommodate 15 or more animals with up to of tunnels and as many as 40 openings. Such elaborate setts ...

and is nicknamed ''kasseidorp'' (sett village). As a result, it is featured in road cycling races like the

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 ...

. In the late 20th century, many streets were repaved. Between 1998 and 1999, all the streets in the village were renewed and relaid with sett stones. Zegelsem was an independent municipality until 1971, when it was merged into Brakel.

Buildings

The St Ursmarus Church is a three aisled neoclass church from 1783. The tower was built around 1525, but contains 13th century elements. The church has an organ built in 1753 by Lambert Van Peteghem, and a

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

Louis XIV style The Louis XIV style or ''Louis Quatorze'' ( , ), also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the officia ...

Notable people

Herman Teirlinck Herman Louis Cesar Teirlinck (Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, 24 February 1879 – Beersel-Lot, 4 February 1967) was a Belgian writer. He was the fifth child and only son of Isidoor Teirlinck and Oda van Nieuwenhove, who were both teachers in Brussels. As a ...

(1879–1967), author. Born in

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek ( French, ) or (Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

, but spent most of his life in Zegelsem. *

Isidoor Teirlinck Isidoor Teirlinck (Zegelsem, 2 January 1851 - Forest, Brussels, 27 June 1934) was a Belgian writer. He is best known for his work on folklore. Isidoor Teirlinck went to school in Lier. He married with Oda van Nieuwenhove and he was the father of ...

(1851–1934), author.

Gallery

File:Herenhuis - Zegelsem - België.jpg, House in Zegelsem File:Zegelsem - Haaghoek 3.jpg, Sett street in Zegelsem File:Zicht op Zegelsem in 2007.jpg, View on Zegelsem File:Zegelsem PM 082220 B.jpg, St Ursmarus Church

References

External links

*
Official site
(in Dutch) {{Authority control Brakel Populated places in East Flanders