Buggenhout () is a

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

in the Belgian 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 ...

in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Buggenhout proper, Briel,

Opdorp Opdorp is one of the three towns making up the municipality of Buggenhout in East Flanders, Belgium. Sometimes it's classified in the Denderstreek. Opdorp is at the geographical centre of Flanders, Belgium. It is also the point at which three pr ...

, and . In 2021, Buggenhout had a total population of 14,689. The total area is 25.25 square kilometres. Buggenhout is also known for its forest, the "Buggenhoutbos", which is the largest forest of East Flanders. The geographic centre of Flanders lies in Opdorp. Buggenhout has two breweries, Bosteels Brewery (known for the "Tripel Karmeliet", "Deus" (a champagne beer), " Kwak") and De Landtsheer, now called Brouwerij Malheur (known for "Malheur").

Etymology

The original meaning of the name is "

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

wood" or "beech forest" (in modern Dutch: ''Beukenhout''). The name is derived from the

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarch ...

''Bucghenhout'' from

Old Dutch In linguistics, Old Dutch (Dutch: Oudnederlands) or Old Low Franconian (Dutch: Oudnederfrankisch) is the set of Franconian dialects (i.e. dialects that evolved from Frankish) spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from aro ...

''Bukenholt''. ''Buken'' comes from

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bran ...

* (Modern Dutch: , Old English: (beeches)), holt from *hulta (Modern Dutch: , Old English: (forest)). Buggenhout still contains a forested area called ''Buggenhoutbos''.

History

The village was first mention in 1125. It used to belong to the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg ...

. Due to internal feuds, the area was confiscated. The forest was declared

crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...

, and the village of Buggenhout became two '' heerlijkheden'' (landed estates). After 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, Buggenhout was transferred to East Flanders.

Gallery

File:Boskapel, Buggenhout (3).JPG, Forest chapel File:Buggenhout - town hall - België.jpg, Town hall File:Geografisch Middelpunt van Vlaanderen.jpg, Geographical centre of Flanders File:Cruysveltstede - panoramio.jpg, Cruysveltstede

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of East Flanders Populated places in East Flanders