Geraardsbergen (; ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

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

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 ...

and in the

Flemish Ardennes The Flemish Ardennes (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Vlaamse Ardennen'') is an informal name given to a hilly region in the south of the province of East Flanders, Belgium. Highest summit is the Hotondberg (151 m). Main characteristics of the region ar ...

, the hilly southern part of 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 city of Geraardsbergen proper and the following towns: :, , , , , , , , , , , Viane, , and . In 2021, Geraardsbergen had a total population of 33,970. The total area is 79.71 km². The current mayor of Geraardsbergen is Ann Panis, from the (liberal) party

Open VLD The Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (, , Open Vld) is a Flemish liberal political party in Belgium. The party has been described as centre-right and has smaller factions within the party that have conservative liberal and social liberal ...

History

Geraardsbergen is one of the oldest cities in Belgium. It came into existence close to the settlement of Hunnegem and in 1068 was one of the first communities in Western Europe to be granted

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

. The city was destroyed in 1381 by Walter IV of Enghien and his troops. According to legend, during the siege local people threw some of their left over food over the city wall to show that they had sufficient food to survive a long siege. This bravado notwithstanding, the city was still captured by Enghien's troops. Every year the city organizes the ''krakelingenworp'' carnival on top of the hill at Oudenberg () to celebrate this historical event. On 29May 1815, shortly before the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and Blücher reviewed the Allied cavalry here. Some 6,000 troops were paraded in meadows on the banks of the

Dender The Dender () or Dendre () is a long river in Belgium, the right tributary of the river Scheldt. The confluence of the two rivers is in the Belgian town of Dendermonde. The Western or Little Dender is long and begins in Barry near Leuze-en-Hain ...

between Geraardsbergen and Jedeghem.

Places of interest

* ''Manneken Pis'', the oldest such statue, older than the more famous one in Brussels. * The ''

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

'', a steep street paved with cobblestones, climbed every year by cyclists during the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

. * '' Boelare Castle'', seat of the former feudal domain Land (Barony) of Boelare. * '' Overboelare Airfield'', small glider airfield with a Douglas C-54A Skymaster (DC-4) as gate guard. Geraardsbergen_Markt_R02.jpg, Market place Geraardsbergen_stadhuis.jpg, Town hall 0 Grammont - Manneke Pis (2).JPG, ''Manneke Pis'' is the most famous statue of Geraardsbergen Muur van Geraardsbergen.JPG, ''De Muur van Geraardsbergen'' (the Wall of Geraarsbergen) PriorijHunnegem.jpg, Priory of Hunnegem, 2005 0 Grammont - Chapelle N-D de la Vieille Montagne (1).JPG, Chapel of Our Lady of the Oudenberg (1724)

Mattentaart

Geraardsbergen is known for the , a type of sweet pastry. This is made with ''matten'' paste or cheese curd. The ''mattentaart'' was granted

Protected Geographical Indication Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and Traditional food, traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), promote ...

status by the European Union in 2006, indicating they can only be made in Geraardsbergen or in the nearby municipality of

Lierde Lierde () is a municipality located in the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Deftinge, Hemelveerdegem, Sint-Maria-Lierde and Sin ...

Notable individuals

* (1116–1196) *

William of Moerbeke William of Moerbeke, Dominican Order, O.P. (; ; 1215–35 – 1286), was a prolific medieval translator of philosophical, medical, and scientific texts from Greek into Latin, enabled by the period of Latin Empire, Latin rule of the Byzanti ...

(1215–1286), first translator of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

's works into

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

* (1415–1460), scrivenist and scribe Gabriel Grupello

* Gabriël Grupello (1644-1730), Flemish Baroque sculptor * Frans Rens (1805-1874), Flemish scholar, active in the Flemish Movement *

Robert de Foy Robert Herman Alfred de Foy CBE (23 March 1893 in Geraardsbergen – 15 August 1960 in Brussels) was a Belgian magistrate who served as head of the State Security Service during the Nazi occupation of Belgium. His conduct in that role is the s ...

(1893–1960), Belgian magistrate, and head of the Belgian State Security Service *

Frans Van Coetsem Frans (Camille Cornelis) Van Coetsem (14 April 1919 – 11 February 2002) was a Belgian ( Flemish) linguist. After an academic career in Flanders and the Netherlands he was appointed professor at Cornell University in 1968, and consequently he em ...

(1919-2002), Belgian-born linguist and university teacher (

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

and

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

) * Cyriel Delannoit (1926-1998), boxer, European champion 1948 * Paul Van den Berghe (born 1933), Belgium Bishop in the Roman Catholic Church *

Ferdi Van Den Haute Ferdi Van Den Haute (born 5 July 1952) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer competing from 1976 to 1987. Major results ;1974 : National Amateur Track Pursuit Championship : National Amateur Track Madison Championship (with Rap ...

(born 1952), cyclist *

Guido De Padt Guido De Padt (born 23 May 1954) is a Belgian politician and Senator for the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats. Since December 2011, he also is the mayor of Geraardsbergen, an office he also held from 2001 until 2006. He started his national ...

(born 1954), politician * Jan Callebaut (born 1955), communication and marketing advisor and entrepreneur * Marie-Christine Deurbroeck (born 1957), long-distance runner * Michaël Borremans (born 1963), painter and filmmaker * Alain Van Den Bossche (born 1965), cyclist * Dean Delannoit (born 1989), singer * (1893–1949), painter * Storm De Beul (2002–2024), Belgian YouTuber

References

External links

* *
Sightseeing in Geraardsbergen

{{Authority control Municipalities of East Flanders Populated places in East Flanders