Oostkamp (; vls, Ôostkamp) 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 of

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 comprises the villages of

Hertsberge Oostkamp (; vls, Ôostkamp) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Hertsberge, Oostkamp proper, Ruddervoorde and Waardamme. On January 1, 2019, Oostkamp had a total populati ...

, Oostkamp proper,

Ruddervoorde Oostkamp (; vls, Ôostkamp) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Hertsberge, Oostkamp proper, Ruddervoorde and Waardamme. On January 1, 2019, Oostkamp had a total populat ...

and

Waardamme Oostkamp (; vls, Ôostkamp) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Hertsberge, Oostkamp proper, Ruddervoorde and Waardamme. On January 1, 2019, Oostkamp had a total populatio ...

. On January 1, 2019, Oostkamp had a total population o
23,698
The total area is 79.65 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 289 inhabitants per km².

History

The name Oostkamp comes from the Medieval name "Orscamp", meaning place of the horses. The old word ''ors'' is a cognate of the English word ''

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

''.

Oostkamp during World War II

The

Canadian 4th Armoured Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was reactivated as the 4th Canadian Infant ...

liberated the village on 8 September 1944 (

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 ...

) during the

Battle of Moerbrugge The Battle of Moerbrugge was a three-day battle during the Liberation of Belgium. The 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade was tasked to cross the Ghent Canal about five kilometers south of Bruges at the small village of Oostkamp in early Septemb ...

. A monument was erected by the Ghent-Bruges Canal to honour the 53 Canadian casualties.

Fusion of 1977

With the Belgian Unity Law the four villages of Oostkamp proper, Hertsberge, Ruddervoorde and Waardamme became the

of Greater Oostkamp.

Landmarks and Monuments

Churches

*Sint Pieters-in-de-Bandenkerk, a

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

with a Romanesque tower (12th century), a late

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

middle nave, and a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

organ from 1717. *Macieberrot, a Marian

grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...

from 1914

OostCampus

In 2012, all the different municipal services which had been accommodated over the years in a scattered collection of facilities, moved to a new complex: 'OostCampus'. On March 9, 2017, the mayor and the chairman of the Social Services (OCMW) also moved from their former site in 'Beukenpark' to OostCampus, which is now effectively the City Hall and Civic Centre of Oostkamp. The building, designed by Spanish architect

Carlos Arroyo Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez (born July 30, 1979) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player, and reggaeton singer. Arroyo had previously played in the National Basketball Association with the Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, U ...

, has received important awards, such as: *Gold Prijs Bouwmeester 2013 awarded by the Government of Flanders, in the category 'Renovation'. *Archdaily's 65 best new buildings in the world 2012 *Holcim Silver Award for Sustainable Construction in Europe 2011 *It was featured in the 14th edition of the

Venice Biennale of Architecture Venice Biennale of Architecture (in Italian Mostra di Architettura di Venezia) is an international exhibition of architecture from nations around the world, held in Venice, Italy, every other year. It was held on even years until 2018, but 202 ...

2012

''Kastelen'': Castles, Châteaux and Mansions

Oostkamp has about twenty outstanding examples of ''Kasteel'' (plural ''kastelen''), meaning castles, châteaux and mansions. These were erected as 'countryside retreats' of 'leisure houses' by the nobles and merchants of the area, many of them with permanent abodes in nearby

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

. Most ''kastelen'' are private property and therefore not to be visited. Many are visible from the public road.

Oostkamp

* Kasteel Gruuthuse (private residence), initially inhabited in the 13th century by the Gruuthuse family, now by the counts d'Ursel. * Kasteel de Breidels (private residence), inhabited by baron Albert Peers de Nieuwburgh. * Kasteel Newburgh (private residence), inhabited by the baron Snoy. * Kasteel Schoonhove (private residence), inhabited by baron Rotsart de Hertaing. * Kasteel Kevergem (private residence), inhabited by lady Lucie de Schietere de Lophem. * Kasteel de Herten, built by Baron van der Plancken, purchased by the Global Estate Group in 2012 * Kasteel de Cellen, built by knight de Bie de Westvoorde, now the premises of an insurance company * Kasteel Macieberg, built by the family Arents de Beerteghem, now decorated as the Freinetschool Ivy * Kasteel Beukenpark (former castle of Les Aubépines), built by the family Beaucourt de Noortvelde, until 2017 an administrative center of the municipality of Oostkamp * Villa 't Valkennest (Châlet Flore and Le Chenoy), built by the family Kervyn de Meerendré, now a youth centre. * Kasteel Cruydenhove, now the restaurant and reception rooms for the Van der Valk hotel.

Ruddervoorde

* Kasteel Pecsteen (private residence), inhabited by Baron Pecsteen. * Kasteel Raepenburg (private residence), inhabited by the family d'Udekem d'Acoz. * Kasteel Sint-Hubertus (private residence), built by the family van Outryve d'Ydewalle, now inhabited by the Knights de Schietere de Lophem. * Kasteel Lakenbos ''also Rood Kasteel'' (private residence), built by Knight Eugène-Augustin van Outryve d'Ydewalle, notorious for the murder of his son-in-law Jhr. Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz. * Kasteel De Akker (private residence), built by Jhr. Adhémar de Thibault de Boesinghe and Emma van Outryve d'Ydewalle. * Kasteel Doeveren (private residence), built by the family de Thibault de Boesinghe, later the property of families Arents de Beerteghem and Janssens de Bisthoven. * Kasteel Zorgvliet, built by marquis de Croester and later the property of Paul van Caloen de Basseghem. The castle was burned during a thunderstorm. * Landhuis Leegendael, built by Knight Guy de Schietere de Lophem, now a Bed and Breakfast.

Waardamme

* Kasteel de Woesten (private residence), built by the family Peers de Nieuwburgh and later owned by the family Mahieu-De Witte. * Kasteel Rooiveld (private residence), built in the 15th century as a hunting lodge by the family de Melgar de Breydelaere de Sporkinshove. Later inhabited by the family Janssens de Bisthoven

Hertsberge

* Kasteel van Hertsberge (private residence), built and inhabited by the family of baron Rapaert de Grass.

Moerbrugge

* Blauw Kasteel (private residence), is a protected medieval castle and probably the oldest preserved castle of Oostkamp. Previously owned by marquis Paolo Arconati-Visconti, the family Peers de Nieuwburgh bought the castle in 1979. In 2000, they sold the castle to the current owners who started a thorough restoration campaign.

Sister cities

* -

Chaumont Chaumont can refer to: Places Belgium * Chaumont-Gistoux, a municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant France * Chaumont-Porcien, in the Ardennes ''département'' * Chaumont, Cher, in the Cher ''département'' * Chaumont-le-Bois, in the C� ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

* -

Bad Langensalza Bad Langensalza (; until 1956: Langensalza) is a spa town of 17,500 inhabitants in the Unstrut-Hainich district, Thuringia, central Germany. Geography Location Bad Langensalza is located in the Thuringian Basin, the fertile lowlands along t ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

* -

Bad Nauheim Bad Nauheim is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. As of 2020, Bad Nauheim has a population of 32,493. The town is approximately north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a worl ...

References

External links

Official Website

Website of Heemkring Oostkamp: Studygroup of the local customs and folklore of Oostkamp

Oostkamp.org: A wiki by citizens
- The creators of this wiki try to preserve the friendly character of the municipality. {{Authority control Municipalities of West Flanders