The Meetjesland () is a historical region in the north-west of the province

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 ...

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 ...

Etymology

There are many legends surrounding the origin of the name. The most known is the one of

Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

(Charles V) who was known for his sexual appetite. The story goes that when he traveled through the region people hid their daughters and their attractive young women, making emperor Charles think this region was full of old women (meetjes).

Geography

Due to its historical nature, "Meetjesland" is not a fixed region as such. Even so, it is widely accepted to comprise the following municipalities: * Aalter * Assenede *

Eeklo Eeklo () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises only the city of Eeklo proper. The name ''Eeklo'' comes from the cont ...

* Evergem *

Kaprijke Kaprijke () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Kaprijke proper and . In 2021, Kaprijke had a total population of 6,508. History The name Kaprij ...

* Knesselare * Lovendegem *

Maldegem Maldegem (), earlier spelled Maldeghem, is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Maldegem, Adegem and Middelburg. and have always been separate hamlets of Maldegem. On 1 Jan ...

Nevele Nevele () is a village and former Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Hansbeke, Landegem, Merendree, Nevele proper, Poesele and Vosselare. In 2 ...

* Sint-Laureins * Waarschoot * Wachtebeke * Zelzate * Zomergem

is considered to be the capital of "Meetjesland".

Events

The official holiday of "Meetjesland" is celebrated on 21 June.

External links

* * Areas of Belgium Regions of Flanders Geography of East Flanders Eeklo {{EastFlanders-geo-stub