The Meetjesland is a historical region in the north-west of the province

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 ...

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 his sexual appetite. The story goes that when he traveled through the region people hid their daughters and their attractive young women, making emperor Charles think this region was full of old women (meetjes).

Geography

Due to its historical nature, "Meetjesland" is not a fixed region as such. Even so, it is widely accepted to comprise the following municipalities: *

Aalter Aalter () is a municipality located between Bruges and Ghent in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Aalter, Bellem, , , Knesselare and . It is bordered on the north by Maldegem, on the east by Zomerge ...

* Assenede *

Eeklo Eeklo () is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Eeklo proper. The name ''Eeklo'' comes from the contraction of "eke" and "lo", two Old German words meaning ''oak'' and ''sp ...

Evergem Evergem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of , Doornzele, Ertvelde, Evergem proper, , Kluizen, , Sleidinge and . In 2021, Evergem had a total population of 35,791. Demogra ...

Kaprijke Kaprijke () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Kaprijke proper and . In 2021, Kaprijke had a total population of 6,508. History The name Kaprijke comes from Gallo-Roman name "Cap ...

Knesselare Knesselare () is a village and ''deelgemeente'' in the municipality of Aalter and a former municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprised the towns of Knesselare proper and . The municipality's name is ...

Lovendegem Lovendegem () is a town and former municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the province of East Flanders. The municipality comprised the towns of Lovendegem proper and Vinderhoute. In 2018, Lovendegem had a t ...

Maldegem Maldegem (; vls, Moaldegem), earlier spelled Maldeghem, is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Maldegem, Adegem and . and have always been separate hamlets of Maldegem. ...

Nevele Nevele () is a village and former municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Hansbeke, Landegem, Merendree, Nevele proper, Poesele and Vosselare. In 2018, the municipality of Nevel ...

* Sint-Laureins *

Waarschoot Waarschoot () is a town and former municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders, in Belgium. The municipality comprised the towns of Waarschoot proper. In 2018, Waarschoot had a total population of 7,967. The total area is . Until ...

Wachtebeke Wachtebeke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Wachtebeke proper, and a smaller town: Overslag. In 2021, Wachtebeke had a total population of 7.769. The total area is 34.53 ...

Zelzate Zelzate () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality only comprises the town of Zelzate proper. In 2021, Zelzate had a total population of 13,124. The total area is 13.71 km2. Zelzate is divided in ...

Zomergem Zomergem () is a town and former municipality located in the Flanders and in the province of East Flanders, in Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Oostwinkel, Ronsele and Zomergem proper. On 1 January 2018, Zomergem had a total popul ...

is considered to be the capital of "Meetjesland".

Events

The official holiday of "Meetjesland" is celebrated on June 21.

External links

* * Areas of Belgium Regions of Flanders Geography of East Flanders Eeklo {{EastFlanders-geo-stub