Bovekerke is a village 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 ...
, and since 1971 it's a “
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 ...
” of the municipality of
Koekelare
Koekelare (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Bovekerke, Koekelare proper and Zande. On 1 January 2006 Koekelare had a total population of 8,291. The total area is 39.1 ...
. Besides the chief town of Koekelare proper, Bovekerke also borders the villages
Vladslo
Vladslo is a village in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders and a part ("deelgemeente") of the municipality of Diksmuide. The rural village has slightly over 1,200 inhabitants.
Attractions
* The church of St Martin has a Romanesque t ...
(part of
Diksmuide
(; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke ...
) and
Werken
Werken is a small rural village in the centre of the Belgian province of West Flanders with around a thousand inhabitants. It is a district of Kortemark.
Origins of the name
The first mentions (Weretha) were found in texts from the Abbey of ...
(part of
Kortemark
Kortemark (), also previously Cortemarck, is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Handzame, Kortemark, Werken and Zarren. On January 1, 2006, Kortemark had a total populati ...
).
Bovekerke has about 1,000 inhabitants. The
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
and
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 ...
are named after
Saint Gertrude. The Saint Gertrude church, with three naves, is built in brick in 1848. Only the octagonal church is left from the
late roman church. This tower dates from the 12th century and might be the oldest building in Koekelare, and is a protected monument. During
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 ...
, the tower was used as an observation tower, and the church was used as a hospital.
References
External links
www.bovekerke.com City websiteBovekerke @ City Review
Populated places in West Flanders
Koekelare
{{WestFlanders-geo-stub