Roulers

Roeselare (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke.

The name of the city is derived from two Germanic words meaning "reed" and "open space", ''i.e.'', a marsh in a forest glade. Roeselare's minor seminary is famous for having hosted the famous Flemish poets Guido Gezelle, Albrecht Rodenbach and missionary Jesuit Constant Lievens. The city is also home to the Rodenbach brewery.

History

Origins and Middle Ages

Traces of early dwellings have been found in the area, including prehistoric flint tools, Gallo-Roman wells, and a small 9th century Frankish building. The first mention of ''Roslar'' dates from a document dated 821 or 822, whereby the former domain of the Menapii, also called the ''Rollare'' villa in later documents, was given to Elnon Abbey. According to legend, Baldwin Iron Arm, Count of Flanders, kidnapped Judith, the daughter of Charles the Bold in 862 in Senlis and brought her to a fortress that used to be where the present Rumbeke Castle stands. The Roeselare area soon became part of the County of Flanders. The rights to build fortifications and to hold a public market date from 957, during the lordship of Baldwin III.

The city received its charter of freedoms in the mid-13th century, period in which it also built its first city hall and belfry. The manufacturing of cloth was then the main driver of the local economy. The few defensive walls that the city had were no match against the forces of Maximilian of Austria, who utterly destroyed the city at the end of the 15th century. The market hall and Saint Michael church were rebuilt in the year 1500.

16th century to Waterloo

The center of Roeselare belonged throughout history to the Fiefdom of Wijnendale and therefore fell under the responsibility of the House of Cleves in the 15th and 16th century and under the Dukes of Palatinate-Neuburg in the 17th and 18th century.

The 16th century proved to be disastrous for the city as the Spanish rulers ruthlessly repressed any desire for autonomy in the Low Countries, both political and religious. Iconoclasts stormed the city in 1566 and destroyed most of the sacred art. The Eighty Years' War that followed put an end to the wool supply from England, which in turn resulted in the disappearance of the cloth industry in Roeselare. Starting with the reigns of Archdukes Albert and Isabella, the beginning of the 17th century was a lot kinder to Roeselare. New churches and religious houses were built and old ones repaired. New schools also appeared in the city and the cloth industry found a new life. The second half of the century, however, was marked by the wars of Louis XIV and Marshal Turenne against the Spanish, with further plundering and misery. The Treaty of Nijmegen in 1678 made Roeselare a border city, a situation that encouraged smuggling rather than regular economic development.

The 18th century was a generally prosperous period that saw the construction of the current city hall. In 1794, the area was the scene of a French victory over the Austrians. The victors imposed deep reforms on the country, such as a new legal system (the Napoleonic Code) and the curtailment of religious freedoms, which lasted until the Concordat of 1802 between Napoleon"> ...
between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII.

Modern era

Several members of the Rodenbach family of Roeselare took part in the events leading to Belgian Revolution">Belgian Independence