Bevere is a village in the municipality of

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality ...

. It is located in the

Flemish Ardennes The Flemish Ardennes (Dutch language, 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 (151 m). Main characteristics of the region ar ...

, the hilly southern part of the province of

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In the mid-19th century, it started to form a single urban area with Oudenaarde, but retained some rural parts.

History

Bevere is situated on the left bank of the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

. The village used to be surrounded by areas which were flooded annually. Settlements from the

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

have been discovered near Bevere. The village was first mentioned in 966 as Buerna, and probably means "brook with

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

s". The village was an independent ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch language, Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and Judiciary, judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking ...

''. Bevere was frequently damaged by war due to its location near the city walls of Oudenaarde. In 1579, the church and many houses were demolished for an extension of the city's fortification. In 1708, the Battle of Oudenarde was partially fought in Bevere. In 1845, plans were made for the construction of railway lines. At the time, the fortification of Ouenaarde were considered important, and it was decided to build the station in Bevere. In 1856, was constructed. The railway lines, and the demolition of the city walls in 1859, resulted in Bevere forming a single urban area with its neighbouring city. Bevere was an independent municipality until 1965, when it was merged into

Buildings and sights

The Vierschaar is a protected monument which served as an open air court of law in the Middle Ages. Jurisdiction originally rested with the Count and Lords, but during the Middle Ages it shifted to the ''

schout In Dutch language, Dutch-speaking areas, a ''schout'' was a local official appointed to carry out administrative, law enforcement and prosecutorial tasks. The office was abolished with the introduction of administrative reforms during the Napoleon ...

'' and ''

schepenen A schepen (Dutch, ; . ') or échevin (French, , ) or Schöffe (German, ) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands, where it has been replaced by the (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''échevin'' ...

'' who held an open air court underneath a

tilia ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...

tree. Four ropes which laid out, and inside the ropes the trial took place. The original bench for the judges is still present in the field. The St Peter Church is a three aisled basilica-like church. The foundations of the church are from the Early Middle Ages. The current church was built between 1872 and 1876 in

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. Unlike most churches it is oriented to the south-east. The church was severely damaged in November 1918, and restored between 1921 and 1923.

Notable inhabitants

Hendrik Cornelis Hendrik "Rik" Cornelis (September 18, 1910–1999) was a Belgian colonial civil servant who served as the final Governor-General of the Belgian Congo from 1958 to 1960. His term ended with the independence of the Republic of the Congo. Cornelis ...

(1910–1999), last

Governor-General of the Belgian Congo This is a list of European colonial administrators responsible for the territory of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). International Association of the Congo Prior to the creation of the Congo ...

Gallery

File:Station Oudenaarde Gebouw oud.jpg, Oudenaarde railway station in Bevere File:Vierschaar Moregem.JPG, Vierschaar File:Bevere - Sint-Petruskerk 2.jpg, St Peter Church File:PM 120926 B Bevere.jpg, Corner house

References

External links

* {{Authority control Oudenaarde Populated places in East Flanders