Kortrijk

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Kortrijk

Kortrijk (official name in Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic languages spoken by over 22 million people as a first language, and about 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is very small. Most native...
; ; ) is a Belgian

Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
city

City

A city is an urban area with a high population density and a particular administrative, legal, or historical status.Large industrialized cities generally have advanced systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, house, and transportation and more....
and municipality located in the Flemish

Flemish Region

The Flemish Region is one of the three official Communities and regions of Belgium of the Kingdom of Belgium alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region....
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 Constitution of Belgium....
West Flanders

West Flanders

West Flanders is the westernmost Provinces of regions in Belgium of Flemish Region, in Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands, the Flemish Region province of East Flanders and the Wallonia province of Hainaut in Belgium, on France, and the North Sea....
. The wider municipality comprises the city of Kortrijk proper and the towns of Aalbeke, Bellegem, Bissegem, Heule, Kooigem, Marke, and Rollegem. With about 74,000 inhabitants Kortrijk is the seventh largest

List of Belgian municipalities by population

This is a list of Belgium municipality by population, as of January 1, 2007:The Brussels-Capital Region comprises the following municipalities:...
city in the Flemish region

Flemish Region

The Flemish Region is one of the three official Communities and regions of Belgium of the Kingdom of Belgium alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region....
.

The city is situated on the River Lys, 42 km (26 miles) southwest of Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region, Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys River and became in the Middle Ages one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe....
and 25 km (15 miles) northeast of Lille

Lille

Lille is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Urban Community of Lille M?tropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille....
in France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
.

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Encyclopedia

Kortrijk (official name in Dutch

Dutch language

Belgium

City

Flemish Region

The Flemish Region is one of the three official Communities and regions of Belgium of the Kingdom of Belgium alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region....
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 Constitution of Belgium....
West Flanders

West Flanders

List of Belgian municipalities by population

This is a list of Belgium municipality by population, as of January 1, 2007:The Brussels-Capital Region comprises the following municipalities:...
city in the Flemish region

Flemish Region

Ghent

Lille

France

Eurodistrict

A eurodistrict is a European administrative entity that contains Agglomeration which lie across the border between two or more states. A eurodistrict offers a program for cooperation and integration of the towns or Commune in France which it comprises: for example, improving transport links for people who live and work on different sides of...
urban area

Largest urban areas of the European Union

This is a list of all the urban areas of the European Union which have more than 750,000 inhabitants in 2005.This list is an attempt to present a consistent list of population figures for urban areas in the European Union....
with around 1,900,000 inhabitants.

The arrondissement of Kortrijk

Arrondissement of Kortrijk

The Arrondissement of Kortrijk is one of the eight administrative Arrondissements of Belgium in the Provinces of Belgium of West Flanders, Belgium....
is both a judicial and an administrative arrondissement

Arrondissements of Belgium

The federalized country Belgium geographically consists of 3 regions, of which only Flemish Region and Walloon Region are subdivided into 5 provinces of regions in Belgium each; the Brussels-Capital Region is neither a province nor is it part of one....
.

History

Origins to the 13th century

Cortoriacum was a typical Gallo-Roman vicus

Vicus

In the history of the Roman empire, a vicus was an ad hoc provincial civilian settlement that sprang up close to and because of a nearby official Roman site, usually a military garrison or state-owned mining operation....
at an important crossroads near the Lys River

Lys River

The Leie or Lys is a river in France and Belgium, and a left tributary of the Scheldt. Its source is in Pas-de-Calais, France, and it flows into the river Scheldt in Ghent, Belgium....
(Dutch

Dutch language

Tongeren

Tongeren is a city and Arrondissement_of_Tongeren located in the Provinces of Belgium of Limburg , Flanders, Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium....
and Cassel and Tournai

Tournai

Tournai is a Walloon Region city and Municipalities in Belgium of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut ....
and Oudenburg

Oudenburg

Oudenburg Latin: Aldenburgensis is a municipality located in the Belgium province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenburg itself and the towns of Ettelgem, Roksem and Westkerke, Belgium....
. In the ninth century, Baldwin II, Count of Flanders

Baldwin II, Count of Flanders

Baldwin II , nicknamed Calvus was the second count of Flanders. He was also hereditary abbot of St. Bertin from 892 till his death. He was the son of Baldwin I of Flanders and Judith of Flanders, a daughter of Charles the Bald....
established fortifications against the Vikings. The town gained its city charter

Municipal charter

A city charter or town charter is a legal document establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the middle ages....
in 1190 from Philip, Count of Flanders

Philip, Count of Flanders

Philip of Alsace was count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. He succeeded his father Thierry, Count of Flanders....
. The population growth required new defensive walls, part of which can still be seen today (the Broeltorens

Broeltorens

The Broel Towers are a classified monument and a landmark in the Belgian city of Kortrijk. The towers are known as one of the most important symbols of the city....
).

In the 13th century, the battles between Fernando of Portugal, Count of Flanders

Infante Fernando, Count of Flanders

Infante Fernando of Portugal, Count of Flanders was a Portugal infante, fourth son of Portugal List of Portuguese monarchs Sancho I of Portugal and Dulce Berenguer....
and his first cousin, King Louis VIII of France

Louis VIII of France

Louis VIII the Lion reigned as list of French monarchs from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II of France and Isabelle of Hainaut....
, led to the destruction of the city. The Counts of Flanders had it rebuilt soon after. From that time, Kortrijk gained great importance as a centre of linen

Linen

Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
production.

Battle of the Golden Spurs

In 1302, the population of Bruges

Bruges

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
started a successful uprising against the French, who had annexed Flanders a couple of years earlier. On May 18, the French population in that city was massacred, an event that could not go unpunished. The famous ensuing Battle of the Golden Spurs

Battle of the Golden Spurs

The Battle of the Golden Spurs was fought on July 11, 1302, near Kortrijk in Flanders. The date of the battle is the official celebration day of the Flemish community in Belgium....
(Dutch: Guldensporenslag) between the Flemish people, mostly commoners and farmers, and Philip the Fair

Philip IV of France

Philip IV , called the Fair , son and successor of Philip III of France, reigned as List of French monarchs from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was List of Navarrese royal consorts and Counts of Champagne from 1284 to 1305....
’s knights took place near Kortrijk on July 11, resulting in a victory for Flanders. This date is now remembered as a national holiday by the whole Flemish community

Flemish Community

The term Flemish Community has two distinct, though related, meanings:# Culturally and sociologically, it refers to Flemish organizations, media, social and cultural life; alternative expressions for this concept might be the "Flemings" or the "Flemish nation" ....
.

Following a new uprising by the Flemish in 1323, but this time against their own Count Louis I, the French invaded again. These Flemish acquisitions were consolidated by the French at the Battle of Cassel (1328)

Battle of Cassel (1328)

The Battle of Cassel was fought on August 23, 1328 by Philip VI of France, the King of France, and first ruler of House of Valois , against the Peasant revolt in Flanders 1323-1328, led by Nicolaas Zannekin....
. Louis I’s son, Louis II

Louis II of Flanders

File:Louis II of Flanders-Lodewijk van Male .jpgLouis II of Flanders , also Louis III of Artois and Louis I of Palatine Burgundy, known as Louis of Male, was the son of Louis I of Flanders and Marguerite of France, and Count of Flanders....
, then Philip van Artevelde

Philip van Artevelde

Philip van Artevelde was a Flemings patriot, the son of Jacob van Artevelde. Because of his father's prominence he was godson of English queen Philippa of Hainault, who held him in her arms during his baptism....
briefly regained the city in 1381 but lost it again the following year at the Battle of Roosebeke

Battle of Roosebeke

The Battle of Roosebeke took place on November 27, 1382 on the Goudberg between a County of Flanders army under Philip van Artevelde and a French army under Louis II of Flanders who had called upon the help of the French king Charles VI of France after he had suffered a defeat during the Battle of Beverhoutsveld....
, resulting in a new wave of plundering and destruction.

Kortrijk

History

Origins to the 13th century

Battle of the Golden Spurs

15th century to modern times