Velzeke-Ruddershove is a double village 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 ...
in the 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 ...
in
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 ...
, currently part of the municipality of
Zottegem
Zottegem (, Sotteghem and Sottegem in older English and French language sources) is a city and municipality located in Belgium and more particularly in Flanders, in the province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Zottegem pr ...
.
The two villages of Velzeke and Ruddershove were merged in 1825. The settlement of Velzeke dates back from at least the Roman era, when it was a
vicus
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...
situated at a crossroads in the network of
Roman roads
Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
in
Gallia Belgica
Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and German ...
. The
archaeological museum of Velzeke exhibits findings from that period. The municipality merged into Zottegem in 1970.
History
The village of Velzeke was first mentioned in 1015 as Felsecum; Ruddershove was first mention in 1053 as Rotgeri Curtis. The villages were part of the Land of Zottegem. In 1825, the villages which had grown together where merged in a single municipality. In 1970, the municipality was merged in Zottegem.
In 2007, the Flemish Tourism Agency held a competition to elect the most beautiful Flemish village. Velzeke-Ruddershove was one of the 50 nominated villages.
Velzeke hoard
A hoard of third-century Roman coins has been discovered at Velzeke,
including 91
denarii (ranging in date from the reign of
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...
to that of
Gordian III
Gordian III (; 20 January 225 – February 244) was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor of the united Roman Empire. Gordian was the son of Maecia Faustina and her husband Junius Balbus, who d ...
) and 93
antoniniani (ranging in date from the reign of
Elagabalus
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 13 March 222), better known by his posthumous nicknames Elagabalus ( ) and Heliogabalus ( ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short r ...
to that of
Postumus
Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus ( 259–269) was a Roman commander of Batavian origin, who ruled as emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known to modern historians as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its al ...
).
Notable people
*
Jan de Lichte (1723–1748), gang leader.
*
Lyne Renée (1979), actress and artist.
Sources
* L. van Durme, ''Toponymie van Velzeke-Ruddershove en Bochoute'', 2 parts in 3 volumes. Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde, ser. 6, no. 117. Ghent, 1986–1988.
* J. van Heesch and J. Deschieter, ''De Gallo-Romeinse vicus te Velzeke II. Een muntschat uit de tijd van keizer Postumus'' (Zottegem, 2000).
* Marcel Thirion, "Le trésor de Zottegem - Velzeke II: argent jusqu’à Postume", ''Cercle des Etudes Numismatiques. Bulletin'' 11:1 (1974), pp. 12–15.
* Marcel Thirion, "Le trésor de Zottegem - Velzeke III: bronzes jusqu’à Hadrien", ''Cercle des Etudes Numismatiques. Bulletin'' 11:2 (1974), p. 70.
External links
*
Webpage at Internet Archives
{{Authority control
Zottegem
Populated places in East Flanders