Adegem is a village and ''

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 ...

'' (sub-municipality) in the municipality of

Maldegem Maldegem (; vls, Moaldegem), earlier spelled Maldeghem, is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Maldegem, Adegem and . and have always been separate hamlets of Maldegem. ...

in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

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 ...

. The village is located about east of

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Scienc ...

History

The area around Adegem was mapped between 1993 and 1995, and multiple structures were discovered from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. The village was first mentioned in 840 as Addingahim, and means "settlement of the people of Ado (person)". In 1127, Robert de Jonge, the owner of Castle Raverschoot near Adegem, was implicated in the murder of

Charles the Good Charles the Good (10842 March 1127) was Count of Flanders from 1119 to 1127. His murder and its aftermath were chronicled by Galbert of Bruges. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1882 through ''cultus'' ''confirmation''. Early life Charles ...

, Count of Flanders, and his castle was destroyed. For most of its history, Adegem was a cultivation settlement belonging to the ''

amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' Maldegem. During the 19th century, Adegem started to develop into a village. In 1800, it became an independent municipality. In 1859, the Schipdonk canal was dug and the village started to industrialise. In 1862, a railway station opened. In 1939,

Flugplatz Maldegem Flugplatz Maldegem is a former World War II airfield, located 2.8 km southeast of Maldegem in East Flanders, Belgium. History Established in 1939 by the Belgian Air Force. After the Battle of Belgium, the Luftwaffe took over the airfield ...

was built near Adegem which was used by the Germans during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and bombed multiple times by the Allies. On 12 September 1944, Adegem was liberated by Canadian troops who managed to surprise the Germans, and took the village and airport without a fight. In 1945, the Adegem Canadian War Cemetery was established which contains the graves of 1,112 identified and 48 unknown soldiers. It also contains British, Free Polish and other Commonwealth graves. Adegem was an independent municipality until 1977 when it was merged into

. In 1994, a Canadian Polish War museum opened in Adegem.

Notable people

* Noël Foré (1932–1994), professional road bicycle racer * Emiel Verstrynge (born 2002), cyclist

Gallery

File:Adegem Sint-Adrianuskerk 27-04-2010 15-04-44.JPG, St Adrianus Church File:Adegem Canadian War Cemetery 11a.JPG, Canadian War Cemetery File:Schooltje in Adegem-Dorp in Adegem.jpg, School File:Voormalig gemeentehuis van Adegem in 2017.jpg, Former town hall

References

External links

*
Official site
{{Authority control Maldegem Former municipalities of East Flanders Populated places in East Flanders