Abele (also spelled Abeele) is a small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the city of

Poperinge Poperinge (; , ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises ...

, in the Belgian province of

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

. The village is located on the territory of Poperinge proper and its "

deelgemeente A (, literally ''sub-municipality''), or section (), is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 January 1961 bu ...

Watou Watou is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders and a district of the town of Poperinge. The village has a population of 1,900. It lies on the border with France. The hamlet Abele (village), Abele is part of Watou. Poperinge is situat ...

, but is also partly located on French territory. Abele has about 600 inhabitants, of whom about 100 are French. The main street coincides with the border between Belgium and France, so houses located on different sides of the street are located in a different country. The

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

of Abele is located on French territory, but the services are organized by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bruges. The of Watou and the local authorities of

Boeschepe Boeschepe () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France, next to the Belgian border. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of th ...

are responsible for its maintenance. Abele used to be an import

border crossing Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

. In 1713, a

tollhouse A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...

was set up, but it disappeared during the French Revolution. The old Belgian customs office was renovated and now serves as a retro-café with a small exhibition. Abeele Aerodrome Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery is outside the village, on the site of a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

military airfield.

Gallery

File:Abeele Aerodrome Military Cemetery on the Belgian side of the French border - Redvers.jpg, Abeele Aerodrome Military Cemetery File:Abele - Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Onbevlekt Ontvangenkerk 2.jpg, The

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

R C church

References

External links

Abele website
{{coord , 50.8222, N, 2.669, E, region:BE_type:city, display=title Populated places in West Flanders Poperinge