Diksmuide
Encyclopedia
Diksmuide (ˌdɪks.ˈmœy̯.də) is a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 and municipality in the Flemish
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as Flanders, of which it is the institutional iteration within the context of the Belgian political system...

 province
Provinces of Belgium
Belgium is divided into three regions, two of them are subdivided into five provinces each.The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution...

 of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Diksmuide proper and the former communes of Beerst
Beerst
- External links :*...

, Esen, Kaaskerke
Kaaskerke
Kaaskerke is a town in Diksmuide, a part of Belgium.See also: West Flanders-External links:*...

, Keiem
Keiem
Keiem is a small town situated some 7 km north of Diksmuide in West Flanders, Belgium. Administratively it forms part of Diksmuide Municipality....

, Lampernisse
Lampernisse
Lampernisse is a town in Diksmuide, a part of Belgium.See also: West Flanders-External links:*...

, Leke
Leke
Leke is a town in Diksmuide, a part of Belgium in the province of West Flanders....

, Nieuwkapelle
Nieuwkapelle
Nieuwkapelle is a town in Diksmuide, a part of Belgium.See also: West Flanders-External links:*...

, Oostkerke
Oostkerke
Oostkerke is a town in Diksmuide, West Flanders, Belgium.Its name translates from the Dutch as east church.-External links:*...

, Oudekapelle
Oudekapelle
Oudekapelle is small village in the Belgian province of West-Flanders and a part of the municipality of Diksmuide. Oudekapelle is a small village with only about ten houses around the church and farms on its territory...

, Pervijze
Pervijze
Pervijze is a small rural village in the Belgian province of West-Flanders, and a part of the municipality of Diksmuide. Pervijze has an area of 12.23 km² and almost 900 inhabitants...

, Sint-Jacobs-Kapelle, Stuivekenskerke
Stuivekenskerke
Stuivekenskerke is a town in Diksmuide, a part of Belgium.See also: West Flanders-External links:*...

, Vladslo
Vladslo
Vladslo German war cemetery is about three kilometres north east of Vladslo, near Diksmuide, Belgium. Established during World War I, the cemetery holds 3,233 wartime burials. In 1956, burials from many smaller surrounding cemeteries were concentrated in Vladslo, and it now contains the remains of...

 and Woumen
Woumen
-External links:*...

.

Most of the area west of the city is a polder
Polder
A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...

 riddled with drainage trenches. The major economical assets of the region are agriculture and farming, producing the famous butter of Diksmuide.

Medieval origins

The 9th-century, Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 settlement of Dicasmutha laid at the mouth of a stream near the Yser
Yser
The Yser is a river that finds its origin in the north of France, enters Belgium and flows into the North Sea at the town of Nieuwpoort.-In France:The source of the Yser is in Buysscheure, in the Nord département of northern France...

 (IJzer in Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

). By the 10th century, a chapel and market place were already established. The city’s charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...

 was granted two centuries later and defensive walls built in 1270. The economy was already then based mainly on agriculture and farming, with milk products and linen driving the economy. From the 15th century to the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, Diksmuide was affected by the wars that confronted the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, with a corresponding decline in activity. The 19th century was more peaceful and prosperous.

Marked by World War I

At the outset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 troops crossed the Belgian border near Arlon, then proceeded hurriedly towards the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

 to secure the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 ports of Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....

 and Dunkirk. The Battle of the IJzer started in October 1914. Thanks to the water the Belgians could stop the Germans. At the end of October the Belgians had opened the gates of the Yser river and flooded the area. As a result, the river became a front line throughout the First World War. The city was first attacked on October 16, 1914 and defended by Belgian and French troops, which marked the beginning of the Battle of the Yser
Battle of the Yser
The Battle of the Yser secured part of the coastline of Belgium for the allies in the "Race to the Sea" after the first three months of World War I.-Strategic Context:As part of the execution of the Schlieffen Plan, Belgium had been invaded by Germany...

. Colonel Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude
Jules Marie Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude
Jules Marie Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude was a Belgian general.He founded Albertville in Congo in 1894. His role in The Congo Free State was questioned in the Casement report....

 led the troops that prevent Diksmuide from being taken by the German Army. By the time the fighting ended, the town had been reduced to rubble. It was, however, completely rebuilt in the 1920s.

Sights

  • The belfry
    Siege tower
    A siege tower is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. The tower was often rectangular with four wheels with its height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on...

     contains a 30-bell carillon
    Carillon
    A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...

     and is one of the several Belfries of Belgium and France
    Belfries of Belgium and France
    The Belfries of Belgium and France is a group of 56 historical buildings designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, in recognition of an architectural manifestation of emerging civic independence in historic Flanders and neighbouring regions from feudal and religious influences, leading to a...

     that are recognized by UNESCO
    UNESCO
    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

     as World Heritage Site
    World Heritage Site
    A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

    s.
  • The City Hall and neighbouring Saint Nicolas Church were completely rebuilt after World War I in the Gothic
    Gothic architecture
    Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

     style of the 14th and 15th century.
  • The “Trench of Death” (Dodengang in Dutch
    Dutch language
    Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

    ), about 1.5 km from the center of the city, preserves the trench
    Trench warfare
    Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...

     setting where Belgian soldiers fought under the most perilous conditions until the final offensive of September 28, 1918.
  • A peace monument, the IJzertoren
    IJzertoren
    The IJzertoren is a memorial along the Belgian Yser river in Diksmuide. There have been two IJzertorens, the first built after the First World War by an organisation of former Flemish soldiers...

    , was built after the First World War in the twenties. This tower was destroyed by a bomb in 1946 because during the Second World War the IJzertower was the scene of ceremonies by Nazis and collaboration. The new tower was built in the 1950s. The tower houses a United-Nations
    United Nations
    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

    -owned, World War I museum, where you can, among other things, experience the odour of mustard gas. The IJzertoren is also the scene of the yearly IJzerbedevaart
    IJzerbedevaart
    The IJzerbedevaart is a yearly gathering of Flemings, at the IJzertoren in Diksmuide. This pilgrimage remembers the Flemish soldiers who died during the First World War and was first organised in 1920. It is at the same time a political meeting striving for Flemish political autonomy...

    , a celebration of peace and of Flemish political autonomy. During World War II, it was used for Nazi-inspired meetings. After the war it still had problems with neo-Nazis from all over Europe. However they were a minority, but the press emphasised this minority participation. But after long years the organisers succeeded in banning those radical neo-Nazis from the Yserpilgrimage. The more radical Flemish fraction now organizes the IJzerwake
    IJzerwake
    The IJzerwake is an organisation that split off from the IJzerbedevaart, and unites the more radical Flemish nationalists. Each year in August, they organise a commemoration of the victims of the two World Wars, combined with a rally for Flemish independence and a more conservative government policy...

    .
  • Several military cemeteries are located around Diksmuide, including the Vladslo German war cemetery, which is now the resting place for more than 25,000 German soldiers. Famous sculpture of the 'Mourning parents' by Käthe Kollwitz.

The Pax is a four-star hotel, the Polderbloem on the main square a 2 star one.

Notable inhabitants

  • Maria Doolaeghe
    Maria Doolaeghe
    Maria Doolaeghe was a Flemish writer.-Bibliography:* Nederduitsche letteroefeningen * Madelieven * De avondlamp...

    , (1803-1884), writer
  • Wim Vansevenant
    Wim Vansevenant
    Wim Vansevenant is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer.In his early years he was active mainly in Bovekerke - where he lived with his parents - and its surroundings...

    , Record three-time Tour de France
    Tour de France
    The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

     Lanterne rouge
    Lanterne rouge
    The Lanterne Rouge is the competitor in last place in a cycling race such as the Tour de France. The phrase comes from the French "Red Lantern" and refers to the red lantern hung on the caboose of a railway train, which conductors would look for in order to make sure none of the couplings had...

     winner

Twin cities

Ellesmere
Ellesmere, Shropshire
Ellesmere is a small market town near Oswestry in north Shropshire, England, notable for its proximity to a number of prominent lakes, the Meres.-History:...

, United Kingdom Ploemeur
Ploemeur
Ploemeur is a commune in the Morbihan department in the region of Brittany in north-western France.The inhabitants are called the Ploemeurois.-Breton language:...

, France Rottach-Egern
Rottach-Egern
Rottach-Egern is a municipality and town located at Lake Tegernsee in the district of Miesbach in Upper Bavaria, Germany....

, Germany Finnentrop
Finnentrop
Finnentrop is a community in Olpe district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Finnentrop lies near the forks of the rivers Bigge and Lenne in the Sauerland and is divided into the following constituent communities:- History :...

, Germany

External links

  • Official city web site (in Dutch
    Dutch language
    Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

    )
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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