Zwevezele (Pronunciation:
weːvəzeːlə) is a town in the Belgian province of
West Flanders. It has been part of the
Wingene municipality since 1 January 1977. Zwevezele has over 5,000 inhabitants.
Between Zwevezele and Wingene there is a hamlet called
Hille, with its
St. Joseph
Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...
Parish. The hamlet has since grown with Zwevezele itself.
History
The name ''Sweveseele'' is probably derived from the root, the
Sueves, which was already mentioned by
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
. In 1949. the name Sweveseele changed officially in Zwevezele. Although there is no official source to prove this, as the name "Zwevezele" was used in birth records stemming back to the 1700s. In fact, a map dating from the 1750, has the spelling "zwevefeele". A map from 1630 has the spelling "Zwevele". It is safe to say that the origin of the name came from Sweveseele, which the root was
Sueves. This city has 1000 years of history.
During the
First World War, several bomb attacks were committed by the
Germans in Zwevezele, in which dozens of civilians died. At the
Hille was a German airfield.
During the
Second World War, Zwevezele was occupied again by the
Germans. The first Polish armored division had landed on the beaches of
Normandy in June 1944. Under the capable leadership of
General Maczek they advanced via
Ypres,
Roeselare to reach Zwevezele. The church was taken without bloodshed. After all, the Germans had fled to
Ruiselede via
Wingene. On this retreat they were heavily attacked by a group of '
Typhoon' aircraft in which there were many deaths among the German soldiers. To commemorate the Zwevezeel victims, a monument for the fallen soldiers is on the Markt. There is also a Polish
Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name)
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a tank
Sherman may also refer to:
Places United St ...
tank and a Canadian
Halifax to honor the foreign liberators.
Sights
* The Sint-Aldegondis Church is located in the village center. The church has an eight-sided
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 ...
15th-century
lantern tower and a
choir in 1768. The five-aisled nave from the 15th century was demolished in 1964 and rebuilt in a modern style.
* The Castle Park in Zwevezele, with the coach house and bathhouse. The castle itself was demolished.
* The statue of the ''Carnavalvierders'' made by Jef Claerhout in honor of the annual event 'Carnaval Zwevezele' since 1968, on the Market Square
* War memorial commemorating the victims of the
First World War and the
Second World War, on the corner of Bruggestraat and Marktplein.
* The restored old town hall of Zwevezele on the Market Square.
* ''Munkebossen'', north of the
Hille, including ''Castle Munkegoed'', and ''Castle Raepenburg'' and ''Castle Lakenbossen'' (Red Castle) just outside the border of Zwevezele.
Gallery
File:Zwevezele - Sint-Aldegondiskerk 3.jpg, Saint Aldegonde Church
File:Koetsenhuis Kasteelpark Zwevezele.JPG, Restored coach house of the former castle of Zwevezele
File:Zwevezele-Carnavalvierders.jpg, Statue 'Carnavalvierders' (Carnaval celebrators)
File:Hille - Sint-Jozefskerk 1.jpg, Saint Joseph Church in Hille
References
{{reflist
Former municipalities of West Flanders