Maldegem (), earlier spelled Maldeghem, 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' ...

located in the Belgian province 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 ...

. The municipality comprises the villages of Maldegem,

Adegem Adegem is a village and ''deelgemeente'' (sub-municipality) in the municipality of Maldegem in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The village is located about east of Bruges. History The area around Adegem was mapped between 1993 and 199 ...

and

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

. and have always been separate hamlets of Maldegem. On 1 January 2018, Maldegem had a total population of 23,689. The total area is which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 250 inhabitants per km². The

Stoomcentrum Maldegem Steam Train Maldegem-Eeklo (Dutch: , SME), formerly Steam Centre Maldegem (Dutch: , SCM), is a heritage railway association based at the former NMBS Maldegem railway station, station of Maldegem in northern Belgium. Standard gauge Steam locomotive, ...

is located at the former

NMBS The National Railway Company of Belgium (, NMBS; , SNCB; ) is the national railway company of Belgium. The company formally styles itself using the Dutch and French abbreviations NMBS/SNCB. The corporate logo designed in 1936 by Henry van de V ...

railway station at Maldegem.

World War II airfield

An airfield established in 1939 near Maldegem was taken over by the invading German army in 1940 and used by the Luftwaffe. Seized by British Forces in September 1944, it was designated " Advanced Landing Ground B-65".

Sport and events

Parkcross The Parkcross, also named Cyclocross Vossenhol-Maldegem is a cyclo-cross race held in Maldegem, Belgium. The men's race was held for the first time in 2007, the women's race in 2015. It is traditionally held on the Wednesday following the weekend ...

is an international

cyclo-cross Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...

race that is held in Sint-Annapark in the center of Maldegem since 2007.

Notable inhabitants

Joanna Courtmans Joanna Courtmans, born Joanna-Desideria Berchmans (6 September 1811 – 22 September 1890), was a Belgian writer. Biography Her father was mayor of Oudegem, and she spent her first years at the local village school, later at the age of 9, she wa ...

(1811–1890), writer

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Maldegem is twinned with the following towns: *

Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...

, Italy *

Świdnica Świdnica (; ; ) is a city on the Bystrzyca (Oder), Bystrzyca River in south-western Poland in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. As of 2021, it has a population of 55,413 inhabitants. It is the seat of Świdnica County, and also of the smaller dis ...

, Poland *

Ermont Ermont () is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-d'Oise department, in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. It has around 28,000 inhabitants, which makes Ermont one of the most import ...

, France *

Wierden Wierden (; Tweants dialect, Tweants: ''Wierdn'') is a town and a municipality in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The municipality of Wierden also includes the following towns, villages and townships: Enter (town), Enter, ...

, Netherlands *

Lampertheim Lampertheim () is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany. In 1984, the town hosted the 24th '' Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Location Lampertheim lies in the southwest corner of Hesse in the Rhine rift at the Biedensand Co ...

, Germany

References

External links

* * Municipalities of East Flanders Populated places in East Flanders {{EastFlanders-geo-stub