Jabbeke is a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 located in the 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...

 province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Jabbeke proper, Snellegem

Snellegem

Snellegem is a town in Jabbeke, Belgium. The famous writer Jacob van Maerlant lived here.It is located between Jabbeke and Zedelgem. It is about 8 km from Bruges and has only two restaurants, a bakery, a butcher shop and a small church.-External links:...

, Stalhille

Stalhille

Stalhille is a village in Jabbeke, a municipality in Belgium.See also: West Flanders-External links:*...

, Varsenare

Varsenare

-External links:*...

 and Zerkegem

Zerkegem

Zerkegem is a town in Jabbeke, a part of Belgium.Romain Maes, winner of the Tour de France in 1935, was born here.See also: West Flanders-External links:*...

. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 13,572 inhabitants. The total area is 53.76 km² (20.76 sq mi), giving a population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 252 inhabitants per km².

Speed records

In the 1940s and 1950s it was renowned for the number of speed records set on a measured kilometer of highway. Not just absolute speed records, manufacturers wanted each model's maximum speed measured and certified by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium. E.g. the Jaguar XK120

Jaguar XK120

The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car which was manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since the SS 100, which ceased production in 1940.-History:...

 achieved an officially timed 126 mph (56.33 m/s); the "Jabbeke Speed Record" Triumph TR2

Triumph TR2

The Triumph TR2 is a sports car which was produced by the Standard Motor Company in the United Kingdom between 1953 and 1955, during which time 8,636 cars were produced....

 car was driven by Ken Richardson

Ken Richardson (race car driver)

William Kenneth "Ken" Richardson was a British racing and test / development driver from England....

; André Pilette

André Pilette

André Pilette , son of former Indy 500 participant Théodore Pilette, was a racing driver from Belgium. He participated in 14 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 17 June 1951. He scored 2 championship points...

 set a Belgian record in the 2 litre class in the Veritas

Veritas (Automobile)

Veritas was a famous West German post World War II sports and race car company, located in the village of Hausen am Andelsbach, near Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, later at Meßkirch and Muggensturm and moved finally to the Nürburgring....

 RS 206 km/h (128 mph); in 1952 the Rover

Rover

-Leyland companies:* Rover Company , a British motorcycle and car manufacturing company, absorbed into Leyland Motor Corporation in 1967* Austin Rover Group , a mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of Leyland...

 JET 1 turbine driven by Spen King

Charles Spencer King

Charles Spencer “Spen” King was a significant figure in the Rover Company and, after their takeover, in the British Leyland Motor Corporation.After leaving school in 1942, he was first apprenticed to Rolls-Royce...

 set the first speed record for gas turbine cars at 151.965 mph (67.93 m/s) over the flying kilometre; and the exotic Pegaso Z-102

Pegaso Z-102

The Pegaso Z-102 was a sports car coupé produced in Spain between 1951 and 1958.-Background:Pegaso was an established company noted for its trucks and motor coaches, but also produced sports cars for seven years...

 clocked 250 km/h (155.34 mph) to make it the 'fastest production car in the world'.

Famous inhabitants

• Romain Maes
  Romain Maes
  Romain Maes was a Belgian cyclist who won the 1935 Tour de France after wearing the yellow jersey of leadership from beginning to end....
  
  , winner of the 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...
  
   in 1935, was born in Zerkegem
  Zerkegem
  Zerkegem is a town in Jabbeke, a part of Belgium.Romain Maes, winner of the Tour de France in 1935, was born here.See also: West Flanders-External links:*...
  
   in 1913.
• Constant Permeke
  Constant Permeke
  Constant Permeke was a Belgian painter and sculptor who is considered the leading figure of Flemish expressionism.Permeke was born in Antwerp but when he was six years old the family moved to Ostend, where his father became curator of the Municipal Museum of Arts. Permeke went to school in Bruges...
  
   was a Belgian painter who is considered the leading figure of Flemish expressionism
  Expressionism
  Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
  
  .