Ouwegem is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and ''

deelgemeente A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section (French) is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 Ja ...

'' (sub-municipality) in the municipality of Kruisem in the province of

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

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. The village is located on the edge of the

Flemish Ardennes The Flemish Ardennes ( 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 (145 m). Main characteristics of the region are rural hilly la ...

and about south-west of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest i ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 830 as "villa Aldinga-heim", and means "settlement of the people of Aldo (person)", but artefacts and coins have been recovered in the area from the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. Ouwegem became a village ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800 ...

'' (landed estate), however there were other smaller ''heerlijkheden'' in the area. The 16th century was characterised by war and disease. 258 families were recorded in 1567, but only 73 remained in 1600. In 1628, the ''heerlijkheid'' of Ouwegem was elevated to barony. In the 18th century, Ouwegem became a linen manufacturer, and changed to lace in the 19th century. From 1960s, the village started to become a commuter's settlement. Ouwegem was an independent municipality until 1977 when it was merged into Zingem. In 2019, it was merged into the municipality of Kruisem, but remains a ''

'' (sub-municipality).

Buildings

The St John the Baptist Church is a three aisled hall church which was first mentioned in 1123 as a property of the Saint Peter's Abbey in Ghent. The lower part of the tower and walls contain 12th century elements. The church was enlarged in 1661 and 1847.

Gallery

File:Voormalig Gemeentehuis Ouwegem (Kruisem).jpg, Former town hall File:Ouwegem - Ouwegemsesteenweg 153 - 1.jpg, Houses in Ouwegem File:De Griffel - Ouwegem - 2.jpg, Community centre File:Ouwegem - Ouwegemsesteenweg 155 - 1.jpg, House in Ouwegem

References

{{Authority control Populated places in East Flanders Kruisem