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. Demogra ...

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 th ...

. It is located about north-west of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded 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 parish used to belong to the Diocese of Tournai until 1559 when it was transferred to the Diocese of Ghent. 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

resulted in the reunification of both parts into a single municipality. In 1861, the Sleidinge railway station opened on the railway line from

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

. 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 (born 1951), long-distance runner * Wilfried Martens (1936–2013), politician and former prime-minister * Jan Roegiers (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