Oostkerke is a Belgian

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

village and a borough of the West Flemish town of

Damme Damme () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, six kilometres northeast of Brugge (Bruges). The municipality comprises the city of Damme proper and the villages of Hoeke, Lapscheure, Moerkerke, Oostkerke, S ...

. Oostkerke is in size and has about 600 inhabitants.

Location

The small village center is surrounded by old whitewashed houses. Nearby there is Oostkerke Castle and two windmills, and several canals are also nearby. In 1974 Oostkerke was voted the most beautiful village in West Flanders.

Church

Oostkerke is one of the oldest church communities of West Flanders, and for some time the communities of Damme, Moerkerke, Westkapelle and Lapscheure were within the Oostkerke parish. According to legend, the Irish hermit and saint Guthagon died in or near Oostkerke. He came to be considered a minor patron of that place. After miracles occurred at his place of burial a chapel was erected. The

Bishop of Tournai The Diocese of Tournai is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. The diocese was formed in 1146, upon the dissolution of the Diocese of Noyon & Tournai, which had existed since the 7th Century. It is ...

placed the relics of his body in a shrine in 1159. The church's graveyard may still have graves from the 14th and 15th centuries. During the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the saint's relics were scattered, and only one tooth survived. The church was destroyed at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but was rebuilt to the original plan.

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oostkerke Damme Populated places in West Flanders