Houthulst (; vls, Oetulst, ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the

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 ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

. The municipality consists of the sub-municipalities Houthulst, Jonkershove,

Klerken Klerken is a village in Province of West Flanders in Belgium. It forms a part of the commune of in Houthulst. It was first mentioned in a letter by Arnulphus the Elder from 961 and the village's archives survive from as early as 1653. Notable buil ...

and

Merkem Merkem is a town in the Belgian province West Flanders. It is a part ( deelgemeente) of the municipality of Houthulst. Notable people * François Mabilla (1898-1918) died during the Battle of Merkem during the First World War World War ...

. On January 1, 2006, Houthulst had a total population of 9,051. The total area is 55.89 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 162 inhabitants per km².

Landmarks

* The ''Sint-Jan Baptistkerk'' (Church of Saint John the Baptist) is the church of Houthulst. It was rebuilt in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

after being completely 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 ...

. * The , containing the

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...

s of almost 1800 Belgian soldiers killed during World War I. The cemetery also contains 81

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

graves. Most of the

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s who have been buried here were killed during the final assault on the Germans on September 28, 1918, to liberate the Vrijbos forest. Houthulst - Military Cemetery 1

References

External links

*
Official website
- Available only in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Municipalities of West Flanders {{WestFlanders-geo-stub