Melsele is a town in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

, between the city of

Beveren Beveren () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders which comprises the towns of Beveren, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene. The port of the Waasland (Dutch: ''Waaslandhaven'') is in ...

and the nearby town of Zwijndrecht. Tram route 3 which starts just outside the town connects it to Zwijndrecht and Antwerp. The town's road links include the E17 (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

- Antwerp) and the E34 (

Knokke-Heist Knokke-Heist (; french: Knocke-Heist) is a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Heist-aan-Zee, Knokke, Duinbergen, Ramskapelle and Westkapelle. On January 1, 2006 Knokke-Heist had a t ...

- Antwerp).

History

Melsele is one of the oldest settlements of

Waasland The Waasland is a Belgian region. It is part of the Belgian provinces of East Flanders and Antwerp. The other borders of the Land van Waas are with the Scheldt and Durme rivers. The (informal) capital and major city of the region is Sint-Niklaa ...

. Ceramics and coins have been found from the Roman period. The parish had been established before the year 1000. In 1375, dikes were constructed to protect the

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plain ...

, however during the 14th and 15th century there were several floods. The

Church of Our Lady Church of Our Lady may refer to: Belgium * Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) * Church of Our Lady, Bruges *Church of Our Lady (Kortrijk) * Church of Our Lady of Laeken, site of the royal crypt, Brussels *Church of Our Lady, Melsele Canada * Church ...

was built from 13th to the 17th century, and is a registered heritage site (''beschermd erfgoed''). In 1511, a miraculous Madonna statue was discovered under a

lime tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

near the hamlet Gaverland which from then on became a site of pilgrimage. The Our Lady in Gaverland Chapel was built at the site between 1862 and 1870. In 1977 the municipality was merged with Beveren as part of the

fusion of municipalities in Belgium The fusion of the Belgian municipalities (French: ''fusion des communes'', Dutch: ''fusie van Belgische gemeenten'') was a Belgian political process that rationalized and reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium between 1975 and 1983. In 19 ...

. It was home to 7,077 people and covered an area of prior to the merger.

Events

The Strawberry Festival is held annually five days after the

Feast of the Ascension The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared by ...

. It was originally conceived by Ivens de Melseelse, the local priest, to promote strawberries. It was a procession to Gaverland offering strawberries. After three years, the festival was cancelled. In 1963, three local sport clubs revived the festival, with a strawberry exhibition, performances and a Miss Strawberry competition.

Notable people

* Roland Verhavert (1927–2014), film director.

Gallery

File:Station Melsele Sporen.jpg , Melsele railway station File:Beveren Kerkplein Parochiekerk Onze-Lieve-Vrouw - 107879 - onroerenderfgoed.jpg,

Church of Our Lady, Melsele The church of Our Lady, Melsele ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk van Melsele) is a Roman Catholic parish church in Melsele, in the commune of Beveren, in East Flanders, Belgium. It is a registered heritage site (''beschermd erfgoed''). Histor ...

File:Beveren Kerkplein 21 Dorpswoning - 107877 - onroerenderfgoed.jpg, House in Melsele File:Gaverland huis Kapelbewaardster.jpg, House in Melsele

References

External links

* *
beveren.be
with a page on Melsele. {{Authority control Beveren Populated places in East Flanders Former municipalities of East Flanders