Heuvelland () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

located in the Belgian province of

West Flanders West Flanders ( nl, West-Vlaanderen ; vls, West Vloandern; french: (Province de) Flandre-Occidentale ; german: Westflandern ) is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the No ...

. The municipality comprises the villages of

Dranouter Dranouter (Dutch, locally known as ''Nouter'') is a village and a ''deelgemeente'' in the municipality of Heuvelland in West Flanders, Belgium. Dranouter was an independent municipality before the 1977 local government reforms. Since then, it has ...

Kemmel Heuvelland () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Dranouter, Kemmel, De Klijte, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and Wulvergem. Heuvelland is a thinly populate ...

, De Klijte,

Loker Loker (also spelt ''Locre'' ) is a small village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, and a part ("deelgemeente") of the municipality of Heuvelland. For the major part of World War I, the city was controlled by the Allied Powers. A fiel ...

, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and

Wulvergem Wulverghem (also known as Wulvergem) is a Belgian village. It is the smallest village in the Heuvelland Municipality, with 260 people, and a total area of 350 hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a ...

. Heuvelland is a thinly populated rural municipality, located between the small urban centres of

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...

and

Poperinge Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ； vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Popering ...

and the metropolitan area of

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larg ...

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

along the E17. On 1 January 2006 Heuvelland had a total population of 8,217. The total area is 94.24 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

of 87 inhabitants per km². The name ''heuvelland'' is Dutch meaning "hill country", as the municipality is characterized by the different hills on its territory.

Geography

Landscape

The municipality is located in an area known as the West-Flemish Hills. The highest hill in Heuvelland is the

Kemmelberg Kemmelberg (, ) is a hill formation in Flanders, Belgium. It is located less than a kilometer from the village of Kemmel, part of the municipality of Heuvelland in West Flanders. History The earliest settlements on the Kemmelberg date back 2.500 y ...

(156 m); followed by the Vidaigneberg (136 m), the

Rodeberg Rodeberg is a municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district of Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German ...

(129 m), the Scherpenberg (125 m) and a lower hill in Wijtschate (82 m). On the border with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

is the Zwarteberg. File:Kemmelberg.JPG, Kemmelberg, seen from the west Image:Heuvelland - Loker (Rodeberg).jpg, Landscape, with the village of Loker, as seen from the Rodeberg Image:MapHeuvelland.svg, Heuvelland, "deelgemeenten" and neighbouring villages. The yellow areas are urban areas.

Municipality parts

The municipality Heuvelland consists of eight small rural villages. The "

deelgemeente A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section (French) 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 Ja ...

s" of

, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and

were independent municipalities before the merger in 1977. De Klijte wasn't independent, but was a part of Reningelst (then independent, now part of Poperinge). Kemmel, Wijtschate, Nieuwkerke and Westouter are the largest centres, with more than 1000 inhabitants each. The town hall and municipal administration are located in Kemmel, as are the police office and post office. The rest home, municipal sports hall and main library are located in Wijtschate. The municipal container park is found in Nieuwkerke. The four other villages are smaller and accommodate less facilities. Besides the village centres, a number of smaller residential areas are scattered on the territory. On top of the crest of the Rodeberg and Zwarteberg small residential development, mixed with small shops, tourist businesses and restaurants are found. The city centre of Mesen also expands a little on the territory of Wijtschate in Heuvelland. :Source: Ruimtelijk structuurplan Heuvelland

Neighbouring villages and towns

Because of its relative extensiveness, the municipality of Heuvelland borders a large number of villages and towns: *a.

(city of Poperinge) *b. Reningelst (city of Poperinge) *c. Dikkebus (city of Ypres) *d. Vlamertinge (city of Ypres) *e. Voormezele (city of Ypres) *f. Hollebeke (city of Ypres) *g. Houthem (city of Comines-Warneton) *h. Bas-Warneton (city of Comines-Warneton) *i.

Warneton Warneton (; nl, Waasten) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Bounding communes and places *Warneton, Belgium (part of Comines-Warneton) * Comines, east * Quesnoy-sur-Deûl ...

(city of Comines-Warneton) *j. Mesen (city of Mesen) *k. Ploegsteert (city of Comines-Warneton) *l. Nieppe (France) *m. Bailleul (France) *n. Saint-Jans-Cappel (France) *o.

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 648 communes of the Nord department of the ...

(France)

History

World War I

The area experienced many major battles during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, as part of the

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...

area. The front-line ran through the area of Wytschaete, which was captured and held several times by both sides during the course of the war. Spanbroekmolen was an important German stronghold, and on 30 April and 17 June 1916, the area was the site of two German gas attacks on British troops at Wulverghem. The

was important during the Battle of the Lys, and German units maintained a trench system (''Bayernwald'') within view of Ypres at

Croonaert Wood Croonaert Wood is a location in the municipality of Heuvelland near Ypres, Belgium. It is a lightly forested area known for the ''Bayernwald Trenches'' open-air museum located there. History World War I In World War I, Croonaert Wood was one ...

. Nowadays, the ''Bayernwald'' trenches can be visited as an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

. There are a number of war cemeteries in the municipality, including Godezonne Farm, RE Farm, Spanbroekmolen,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

, Klein Vierstraat and Kemmel Number 1 French Cemetery.

Notable people

*The cartographer and astronomer

Petrus Plancius Petrus Plancius (; 1552 – 15 May 1622) was a Dutch-Flemish astronomer, cartographer and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders. He studied theology in Germany and England. At the age of 24 he ...

was born in Dranouter in 1552. *Singer Geike Arnaert of Hooverphonic was born and raised in Westouter.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of West Flanders