Wervik (; ; ; ) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
located in the
Belgian province of
West Flanders
West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...
. The municipality comprises the city of Wervik and the town of
Geluwe. On January 1, 2014, Wervik had a total population of 18,435. The total area is 43.61 km
2 (16¾ sq. mi.) which gives a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
of 423 inhabitants per km
2 (1095 per sq. mi.). The area is famous for its excellent tobacco and has a tobacco museum. The town is separated from its
French counterpart
Wervicq-Sud by the river
Lys.
History
Wervik is one of the oldest towns in Belgium.
Prehistory
Stone Age artefacts, flint axes and spearheads, were found in the district of ''Bas-Flanders'' and the site ''Oosthove''. The archeological excavations at ''de Pioneer'' in 2009 yielded traces of inhabitation from the Iron Age to the Roman Period.
Roman period
Wervik was probably a settlement of the Menapians led by the chief Virovos, at a small height along the banks of the Lys (current Island Balokken). This is still unproven. At the time of the conquest of Gaul by Caesar, a Roman stopping place was built next to the Celtic village. The Roman settlement was registered on Roman road maps from the 3rd to 4th century under the name ''Viroviacum'' (Itinerarium Antonini) or ''Virovino'' (
map of Peutinger). Viroviacum was located on the Roman road between
Cassel and
Bavay. Remains from that period are still being found regularly in Wervik. Excavations at Saint Martin's Square in the centre exposed the foundations of the old Saint Martin's church, which was partly built with Roman waste materials. According to some historians this was formerly a temple dedicated to
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
or
Priapus
In Greek mythology, Priapus (; ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens, and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism. He becam ...
. This is still unproven.
Middle Ages
In the 13th century the population of Belgium rose sharply, thanks to the great heyday of the textile trade which penetrated international markets up to the Far East. In 1327 the city was taken by
Philip of Valois and partially destroyed.
During the Ghent uprising of 1382, Wervik was an outpost of the army of
Philip van Artevelde during the
Battle of Westrozebeke. The rebellion failed, and the city was plundered by the
Bretons
The Bretons (; or , ) are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. Originally, the demonym designated groups of Common Brittonic, Brittonic speakers who emigrated from Dumnonia, southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwal ...
and reduced to ashes. The Saint Medardus church had to be rebuilt completely. Wervik had not yet fully recovered when a major fire in 1400 destroyed the whole town again. Of the 820 dwellings there only 20 remained.
Jan Zonder Vrees gave Wervik a market hall in 1401, as an incentive for recovery and revival. In 1436 part of the garrison of Calais invaded Wervik and again burnt the town to ashes, in 1440 the town was burnt again. The many successive fires were mainly because most houses were built of wood and straw, and that the town had no protection against attacks as it was never walled. After the succession of fires the town was attacked by the plague. In the years 1436 and 1468 the population was decimated by the epidemic.
Habsburg Netherlands
In the middle of the 16th century finally a quieter period began for Wervik. Prosperity had vanished and the population had dropped to about 3000 inhabitants. During the religious quarrels, the Saint Medardus church was badly damaged and today still bears the traces of the iconoclastic. The
Geuzen
''Geuzen'' (; ; ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called ''Watergeuzen'' (; ; ). In the Eigh ...
burnt the church in 1579.
In the 17th century the entire region was affected by the ongoing annexation attempts of the French king
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
. Wervik was taken by the French in 1668 and was later annexed to the
Spanish crown
The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country.
The Spanish ...
in 1678. After the
Peace of Nijmegen treaty in that year, Wervik became French territory again. The continuous impoverishment of the town left it with only 3172 inhabitants.
In 1713 the town was divided in half by the
Treaty of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
. The river
Lys was the state border and separated the town into
French Wervicq-Sud and
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n Wervik. But for the population the town remained whole, and the Saint Medardus church remained the parish church for both town parts.
First French Republic
After the
French Revolution and the
French invasion of 1794, the Saint Medardus church was again turned into ashes. During the
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...
the
battle of Wervik and Menin partly took place here between the
Dutch and
French revolutionary armies, during which the young
Prince Frederick of Orange-Nassau was wounded. Wervik became part of the French département of Lys, and entered a period of terror, coercion and persecution.
Kingdom of Belgium
After the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
in 1815, the town became part of the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...
until the
Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution (, ) was a conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.
The ...
in 1830. After the Belgian Revolution locals of the towns
Wervicq-Sud,
Bousbecque,
Comines and
Warneton protested and demanded a reunification with their
Belgian counterparts on the other side of the Lys. This small uprising was put down after a few days by French
Gendarmes
A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...
.
During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
German troops entered the town on October 5, 1914. A
customs
Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...
officer had noticed German
Uhlan
Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Polis ...
s in Zuid-Wervik on October 4, and turned the swing bridge between Wervik and Zuid-Wervik open so that no one could cross it, throwing the key in the Lys. The next day more Germans had arrived and fished out the key. After a short fight with the
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
(both French and Belgian), the town was conquered by the Germans. Because Wervik was the first major town under German control just outside the
Western Front, it got a military government and German soldiers were billeted there, and wounded soldiers cared for (including at one time the young
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
). Wervik's population was forced to work in German operated factories serving the trench warfare. In 1917 the population had to evacuate the town because British guns were aimed at Wervik and ruined the town.
Wervik was largely rebuilt after the war. The Bruges architect
Huib Hoste carried out several projects, including several rows of houses, commercial buildings and the town sewers.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Wervik was again occupied by German troops, until the inhabitants were freed in 1944 by Canadian soldiers.
Sights

*The Saint-Medardus church is a massive gothic church.
*National tobacco museum - the region of Wervik is known for its tobacco farms.
Notable people
*
Yves Leterme
Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (; born 6 October 1960) is a Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He was the prime minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008, and later from November 2009 ...
, Prime Minister of Belgium
*
Wim Delvoye
Wim Delvoye (born 1965 in Wervik, West Flanders) is a Belgian neo-conceptual artist widely recognized for combining in his inventive and often shocking projects philosophical ideas, innovative use of materials, and a passion for craftsmanship. ...
, artist
*
Ronny Coutteure, actor
*
Joseph Demuysere, cyclist, winner of
Milan–San Remo
Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...
*
Sam Bennett, cyclist, Irish National Champion 2019
*
Gaston Durnez, journalist and writer
References
External links
Official website (in Dutch)
{{Authority control
Municipalities of West Flanders
Belgium–France border crossings
Divided cities