Wulveringem is a small agricultural and residential village in the Westhoek region 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 ...

, a short distance from the border with

French Flanders French Flanders ( ; ; ) is a part of the historical County of Flanders, where Flemish—a Low Franconian dialect cluster of Dutch—was (and to some extent, still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day northern French regi ...

. Wulveringem has a land area of 9.37 km²: in 2011 there were 336 registered inhabitants. Administratively Wulveringem has been controlled from

Veurne Veurne (; , ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , ...

since 1977. It was independently administered till 1971 after which, between 1971 and 1977, it was combined for administrative purposes with the adjacent village of

Vinkem Veurne (; , ) is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , , , , Houtem, , , Wulveringem, and . History Origins up to the 15th century V ...

to form a new administrative unit called Beauvoorde. Although Beauvoorde's status as an independent administrative unit was short-lived, the name Beauvoorde continues in daily use. The village also features the historic Beauvoorde Castle, originally dating back to the 12th century and rebuilt in the

Flemish Renaissance The Renaissance in the Low Countries was a cultural period in the Northern Renaissance that took place in around the 16th century in the Low Countries (corresponding to modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands and French Flanders). Culture in the Low ...

style in the early 1600s. The castle was built by Jacob de Bryarde, bailiff of Veurne, around 1600, replacing an earlier non-fortified mansion that had been burned down by beggars in 1584. The new castle was designed by architect Sylvain Boullain. During World War II, the village churchyard became the final resting place for 15 Commonwealth soldiers, a testament to its involvement in the defense of Belgium in May 1940.

History

Wulveringem appears on a map from 1770 on which it is identified as "Wulveringhem". The village was barely smaller than it is today. The centre in 1770 consisted of 55 buildings, and well beyond the centre there were a number of large and small farms. The land is flat and often damp: about ten of the Wulveringem farms were partially or completely surrounded by moats. The church and the small cemetery around it were almost wholly circled by a moat as were two adjacent farms.

Population decline since 1830

The registered population peaked in 1830 at 1,080 before the lure of higher wages in the industrializing towns and the mechanisation of agriculture led to a slow decline, to 822 in 1910. The population rose significantly by 1920, but then continued to decline, reaching 508 in 1970 and 336 in 2011.

Visiting Wulveringem

The centre of the village has been carefully preserved/restored. It is sometimes possible to visit Beauvoorde Castle which is positioned across a moat to the south side of the church yard.

References

{{Reflist Populated places in West Flanders