Sleidinge is a village in the municipalities of

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. Demo ...

in the province of

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 ...

. It is located about north-west of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest i ...

History

Sleidinge was originally located in a large heath and forest area. The village was first mentioned in 1220 as Scleidingha. The etymology is unclear. In 1248, the area was cut in two. The eastern part belonged to the Abbey of St. Bavo in Ghent. The western became the possession of the

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the ...

. The parish used to belong to the

Diocese 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 ...

until 1559 when it was transferred to the

Diocese of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent (Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels ...

. The

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

resulted in the reunification of both parts into a single municipality. In 1861, the

Sleidinge railway station Sleidinge is a railway station in Sleidinge, East Flanders, Belgium. The station opened on 25 June 1861 on the Belgian railway line 58, Line 58. The train services are operated by NMBS/SNCB. Train services The station is served by the followin ...

opened on the railway line from

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Scienc ...

. From the 1880s onwards, Sleidinge started to industrialise and contained five textile factories. During the 20th century, the village developed into a commuter's town. Sleidinge was an independent municipality until 1977 when it was merged into

Buildings

The first St Joris and St Godelieve Church was built between 1260 and 1280, and burnt down in 1662. The current three aisled hall church was built in 1664. The tower was added in 1715, and in 1740, it received its needle spire. The church has an organ from around 1750 built by organ builders and is a protected monument.

Notable people

* Johan De Muynck (born 1948), former professional road racing cyclist * Alfred Delcourt (1929–2012), football referee *

Johan Geirnaert Johan Geirnaert (born 9 January 1951) is a Belgian long-distance runner. He competed in the marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an ...

(born 1951), long-distance runner *

Wilfried Martens Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian People's Party, during his premiership ...

(1936–2013), politician and former prime-minister *

Jan Roegiers Jan Roegiers (1944–2013) was a professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and also university archivist, librarian and curator. He specialised in early modern academic history, and in particular the history of the pre-1797 University of L ...

(1944–2013), professor, university archivist and librarian

Gallery

File:Sint-Joriskerk (Sleidinge) (34407) 2-06-2019 13-38-37.jpg, St Joris and St Godelieve Church File:Sleidinge (Evergem - Belgium) - Former Town hall.jpg, Former town hall File:Herenwoning - Weststraat - Sleidinge.jpg, Villa in Sleidinge File:Standbeeld Wilfried Martens - Sleidinge (1).jpg, Wilfried Martens statue

References

{{Authority control Evergem Populated places in East Flanders