Mariakerke () is a

sub-municipality A (, literally ''sub-municipality''), or section (), is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate ...

of the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

located in the province of East Flanders,

Flemish Region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

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 ...

. It was a separate

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

until 1977. On 1 January 1977, it was

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

into Ghent.

History

In the 17th century, Mariakerke was divided in two because of the construction of the "Brugse Vaart", a canal that connects the cities of

and

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

. The west side is Mariakerke center. The east side of Mariakerke is known as Kolegem. Because of the hundreds of years of separation, both halves developed their own unique atmosphere. Mariakerke obtained the status of independent village in 1793, after which a bridge was constructed to connect both halves of the village. The bridge has been destroyed several times during war, which makes that the actual bridge was put up in 1964. Besides the bridge, Mariakerke only had one main road which connected the village with the city of Ghent. This road was very important for the village, and still exists today under the name "Brugse Steenweg". Later in the 18th century, a trade route was constructed from Ghent to

Eeklo Eeklo () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises only the city of Eeklo proper. The name ''Eeklo'' comes from the cont ...

, and Mariakerke became a stop along this important road. Nowadays the road is better known as the N9, one of Ghent's most busy avenues. This new street had a significant impact on the 18th century Mariakerke. The people from Mariakerke became more involved in the city life of Ghent once the industrial era had begun. A lot of villagers found a job at the many factories of Ghent, and a lot of rich industrials constructed castles and mansions in the rural Mariakerke. These castles can still be visited today, and add a special atmosphere to the village. Mariakerke finally lost its rural character after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A lot of city people moved to the country side, and Mariakerke witnessed a real population boom. In the 1970s, the city of Ghent started expanding again, slowly but surely absorbing the village of Mariakerke into its urban borders. 1976 saw the fusion of Mariakerke with Ghent, and ever since it has been part of the urban area of

Castles

* Castle Claeys-Bouüaert * Castle de Hemptinne * Castle ter Beken * Castle Kervyn d'oudt Mooregem * Castle van Tieghem de ten Berghe * White castle or Henri Story * Castle les Cygnes

Kolegem

Kolegem is the eastern part of Mariakerke. Kolegem is separated from the rest of Mariakerke by a canal named Brugse Vaart, a canal between Ghent and Bruges. Some famous buildings in Kolegem are the former municipality house of Mariakerke (now containing only the administrative services), the Kollekasteel and the restaurant De Groene Staak.

References

{{Authority control Sub-municipalities of Ghent Former municipalities of East Flanders