Erpe is a sub-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, on the

Molenbeek-Ter Erpenbeek The Molenbeek-Ter Erpenbeek or in popular language Molenbeek (English: Millbrook-Ter Erpenbrook) is a brook in the Denderstreek region of Belgium. The stream has a length of approximately 25 kilometers. The source of the Molenbeek is in Godveerde ...

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 ...

in 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

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 ...

. The sub-municipality is bordered by the sub-municipalities of

Mere Mere may refer to: Places * Mere, Belgium, a village in East Flanders * Mere, Cheshire, England * Mere, Wiltshire, England People * Mere Broughton (1938–2016), New Zealand Māori language activist and unionist * Mere Smith, American television ...

Ottergem Ottergem is a sub-municipality of Erpe-Mere in Flanders, Belgium. It is located on the Molenbeek in the Denderstreek, southeast of East Flanders and belongs to the Arrondissement of Aalst. The sub-municipality is bordered by the sub-municipalitie ...

, and

Erondegem Erondegem is a sub-municipality of Erpe-Mere in Flanders, Belgium. It is located on the Molenbeek in the Denderstreek, southeast of East Flanders and belongs to the Arrondissement of Aalst. It is bordered by the sub-municipalities of Erpe and ...

and the municipalities

Lede OpenWrt (from ''open wireless router'') is an open-source project for embedded operating systems based on Linux, primarily used on embedded devices to route network traffic. The main components are Linux, util-linux, musl, and BusyBox. All com ...

and Aalst. Erpe had 4903 inhabitants as of 1 January 2003 and an area of . The population density is .

History

Erpe was first mentioned in a document of 1057, although the village is probably much older. The name is derived from the word Erpo. In the 18th and 19th centuries the population of Erpe grew steadily. In 1769 there were 1032 inhabitants, in 1801 there were 1638 inhabitants, and by 1893 the village had 2394 inhabitants. By the end of the 19th century, there were two water mills in the village, a windmill, two breweries and a vinegar maker.

Landmarks

There is a water tower of the Tussengemeentelijke Maatschappij der Vlaanderen voor Watervoorziening. There are two water mills in Erpe, the Cottemmolen and the Van Der Biestmolen, both on the Molenbeek Brook. The Cottemmolen is at the Molenstraat 36. It is an overshot watermill which is Monumentenschildje blauw wit

protected. It was originally both a wheat mill and an oil mill, but later it only functioned as a wheat mill. The Van Der Biestmolen is at Dorpsstraat 3. It is an overshot watermill which is not protected and now functions as a wheat mill. Sint-Martinus Church in Erpe belongs to the deanery of Lede. File:Watertoren Erpe.JPG, Water tower at Erpe File:Cottemmolen Erpe vooraanzicht.JPG, Front view of the Cottemmolen at Erpe File:Cottemmolen Erpe zijaanzicht.JPG, Side-view of the Cottemmolen at Erpe File:Cottemmolen Erpe rad.JPG, Mill wheel of the Cottemmolen at Erpe File:Van Der Biestmolen Erpe.JPG, Van Der Biestmolen at Erpe File:Van Der Biestmolen Erpe rad.JPG, Mill wheel of the Van Der Biestmolen at Erpe File:Sint-Martinuskerk (Erpe) 5-10-2018 14-11-37.jpg, The church of Erpe File:Spoorwegbrug Erpe.jpg, The railway bridge of Erpe over the Oudenaardsesteenweg

Tourism

Through Erpe runs the Molenbeekroute. The Molenbeekroute is a cycle track network, known primarily for the mills of the municipality Erpe-Mere and two brooks that can be found there, which both have the name Molenbeek (mill brook).

Sport

Erpe had two football clubs, FC Edixvelde and FC Oranja Erpe, at the Royal Belgian Football Association. The national clubhouse of the motorcycle club

Blue Angels The Blue Angels, formally named the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are a Aerobatics, flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.. Blue Angels official site. Formed in 1946, the unit is the second oldest formal aerobatics ...

in Belgium is in Erpe.

References

{{Authority control Sub-municipalities of Erpe-Mere Populated places in East Flanders