Egem is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the sub-municipality of Bambrugge in the municipality of

Erpe-Mere Erpe-Mere () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Aaigem, Bambrugge, Burst, Erondegem, Erpe, Mere, Ottergem and Vlekkem. There is also a hamlet in B ...

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. It is located on the

Molenbeek ( French, ) or ( Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

, in the

Denderstreek The Denderstreek or Denderland is a region in Belgium. It is named after the river Dender. Though the river stretches over three provinces, Hainaut (province), Hainaut, East Flanders and Flemish Brabant, the region called after the river is situa ...

, within the southeast of

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

and belongs to the

Arrondissement of Aalst The Arrondissement of Aalst (; ) is one of the six administrative Arrondissements of Belgium, arrondissements in the Provinces of Belgium, Province of East Flanders, Belgium. It forms the Judicial Arrondissement of Dendermonde together with the A ...

. It is bordered by the sub-municipalities of Bambrugge proper, Vlekkem (municipality of Erpe-Mere), Ottergem (municipality of Erpe-Mere) and

Zonnegem Sint-Lievens-Houtem (; , not officially recognized) is a Dutch-speaking municipality of Belgium. It is located in the Denderstreek and at the edge of the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the province of East Flanders (Flemish Region). ...

(municipality of

Sint-Lievens-Houtem Sint-Lievens-Houtem (; , not officially recognized) is a Dutch-speaking municipality of Belgium. It is located in the Denderstreek and at the edge of the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the province of East Flanders (Flemish Region). ...

). Egem also borders the domain Steenberg. Egem consists of two streets, the Egemstraat and Everdal.

History

Through the centuries, Egem has had multiple names. In the oldest documents it was found to be named Heddeghem (1571), later it was also mentioned as Edeghem (1629), Hettegem (1638), Eedegem (1763), Eghem (1779) and Eegem (1842). Etymologically,

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

s ending with –''gem'' refer to a Germanic compound of –''haim'', meaning ‘home’ or ‘residence’, and a derivative ending –''inga''. The first part of the name "Egem" is commonly assigned to the Germanic name of ''Haid, Hait or Heit''. In its totality, the compound ''Haidingahaim'' meant ‘residence of the followers or tribal members of Frank Haid’, degenerated into Heddeghem. The locality name belongs to the group of ingahemnames who are older than regular hemnames. Egem was founded in the early centuries of the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

era (6th-7th century), and thus has an older origin than Bambrugge. Egem was probably a secluded homestead which was not too great, and was later absorbed by the rapidly faster developing Bambrugge.

Location

Landmarks

* The Egemmolen or Meuleken Tik Tak was an overshot watermill at Everdal 21 and functioned as a wheat mill. The mill wheel has been removed and the mill has been largely demolished, but there are still remains of this mill and the mill house intact. The mill house is now used as a country cottage. * The little chappelle at Egemstraat File:Egemmolen Bambrugge Molenhuis.JPG, Mill house of the Egemmolen at Bambrugge File:Egemmolen Bambrugge overblijfselen.JPG, Remains of the Egemmolen watermill at Bambrugge File:Kapel Egemstraat Bambrugge.jpg, The little chappelle at Egemstraat {{coord, 50, 55, N, 3, 56, E, display=title, region:BE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Erpe-Mere Populated places in East Flanders