De Blondel De Beauregard

STAD

GERAARDSBERGEN

GERAARDSBERGEN IN FLANDERS

: Recreation; Oldest town

At the south-eastern edge of the province of Oost -Vlaanderen, where the provinces of Brabant, Henegouwen and Oost-Vlaanderen meet, lies the town of Geraardsbergen. It's a busy town,cosily loged between the river Dender and the 111m-high Oudenberg hill. It is also situated at the eastern extremity of a hilly region which is sometimes referred to as the Vlaamse Ardennen - so describing the similarity with the real Ardennes, a mountainous region in the south of Belgium.

Quite rightly Geraardsbergen can be called one of Flanders' most pleasant resorts, beautifully situated as it is between the Dender river and the Oudenberg hill. On top of this hill one can enjoy splendid views of the undulating Flemish hill country and the green Dender vally. The picturesque town centre - the Marketplace with its historical buildings, the narrow alleys, the Grupello Park, The Abbey......-leave no-one untouched. And the surrounding villages also conceal numerous beautiful corners that just wait to be discovered : the Castle at Viane, the Dender path at Overboelare, the Nederboelare Barony and its long, romantic lane, the Moenebroek nature reverve between Ophasselt an Schendelbeke....

Those who enjoy a restful walk trough nature will also get their share here. Winding paths in the woods of leander, Raspaille, Moerbeke, sunken country roads amidst rolling corn fields, trails crossing the flat meadows along the banks of the Dender invite the walker to survey the town's countryside in a quiet and pleasant way.

Recreation

Recreation area De Gavers, lying a couple of kilometers downstream the Dender river, has been an attraction to numerous tourists from home and abroad. Situated around a lake covering 20 Ha, and loged between woods and meadows bording on the meandering Dender,the domein offers the visitor a choice between a wide range of aquatic activities and a more relaxing stay in this pleasant resort in the green Dender valley. On the lake, watersportmen can enjoy surfing, sailing, rowing or just swimming. Along the foot-paths nature lovers will discover oases of green and quietly babbling brooks. Sportmen will like the tennis courts and the volleyball and footballgrounds.

On the edge of the domain lies Youth Hostel 't Schipken, a stylish restored farmhouse where trekkers of all nationalities are welcomed. Near the hostel is a small yachting-port, where house-boats, yachts and other small vessels are anchored.

Recreation aera De Gavers, yearly attacting some 18.0000 visitors and booking about 70.000 night-stays, guarantees a successful outing of rest and recreation in a pleasant an green environment.

Oldest town

Geraardsbergen was founded in 1067-1070 by Count Boudewijn VI of Flanders, who wanted to strenghten the soudhern border of his earldom. Thanks to the freedom rights which were granted by the 1068 Town Decree -the oldest one of Flanders- the population increased rapidly. As a result the town soon expanded on both banks of the river Dender. The year 1096 saw the transfer of the Sint-Adriaansabdij from Dikkelvenne to Geraardsbergen, a fact that was of great importance for the social, economical, cultural and spiritual development of the town. In 1332 new ramparts were built, including fortified towers and six town gateways at the roads leading to Oudenaarde, Ghent, Brussel and Lessines. In 1381 however, these ramparts failed to prevent Walter van Edingen from nearly totally destroying the city. Only in 1399 was Geraardsbergen completely rebuilt at the order of Philip The Bold, Duke of Burgundy.

The famous Manneken-Pis, of which the Brussels manneken is a younger cousin, sould have originated after the bloody conflict that fought in Geraardsbergen in 1452 between the Ghent troops and the army of Jean de Croy from Henegouwen. In 1455 the town-council, mourning the four splendid market fountains which had perished in the battle, wished to liven up the market square by replacing one fountain by a little statue of a watering boy. The order to manifacture it was passed to copper founder in Brussels, who made a 50 lbs. statue. In 1459 the mannekin was installed on the marketplace, which renders it the oldest one of the country.

After the tumultuous 16th century, which brought still more war, bloodshed and looting, the 17th century eventually brought peace for Geraardsbergen. From 1748 on the town successively came Austrian, French and Dutch governement. Only after 1830, the year of the Belgian Independence, serious efforts were made to hasten the economic development of the town. Of great importence herein was the laying-out of the road to Edingen in 1836 and the construction of the railroads to Aalst in 1855 and Ghent in 1856. The second half of the 19th century saw the rapid development of the match-,texitle- and cigar industry.

A wealth of historic sights

Troughout the centuries the town of Geraardsbergen saw a great number of buildings and momuments being erected. Many fine sculptures and painting were produced. Of this cultural heritage the most noteworthy examples are the Prelaatskwartier (Abbots Home) of the Sint-Adriaan Abbey, dating from 1506 , the Marbol, a 1475 octagonal gothic fountain, the baroque sculpture of Saint Bartholomew (attributed to Grupello) in the Town Hall, and the brilliant neogotic mural paintings of Louis Bert -de l'Arbre in the Hunnegem Chorus, the Sint-Catharinacollege an Hotel Geeraard.
: The market square is dominated by the Sint-Bartholomeuskerk, the main church of Geraardsbergen. Like so many buildings in and around the town's center, this church too has a troubled past. Towards the end of the 15th century the original building was erected in a late-gothic style, replacing the capelle (chapel) which dad stood there ever since the beginning of the 13th century. The church sufferd serious damage during the riots and religious wars that characterized the 16th an 17th century. As a result, its appearance constantly underwent modifications through restoration and rebuilding works. The last radical changes took place during the second half of the 19th century, when the centre nave and the steeple were renewed in Renaissance style.
: The town's cultural heritage also includes theTown Hall, originally dating from the 12th century but also devastated and rebuilt several times, lastly in 1891-1896 in neogothic style. Furthermore several castles (e.g. the Castle De Blondel de Beauregard in Viane, the Boelere Castle), the Oudenberg Chapel, and two centuries old towers, one of then calles the Dierkost.

Cultural life in Geraardsbergen

Geraardsbergen has five museums, namely the Museum of the Abbot Home of the Sint-Adriaan Abbey, the Chantilly Lace Museum, the Sigarenmuseum and the related Pijpenkabinet (illustrating the region's past as a center of the tobacco industry), the small but cosy Manneken-Pismuseum, and the Museum van het Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Hospitaal.

Inside the Abbots Home of the Sint-Adriaan Abbey, one gets a clear insight into the Abbey's role throughout the centuries. Not only during the Middle Ages was it one of the mightiest abbeys in the Earldom of Flanders, it was also known in the whole of Western Europe as a place of pilgrimage.

Similarly unique is the Chantilly Lace Museum, keeper of a fine collection of lace patterns and designs in black silk. The Chantilly Lace Museum reminds visitors of the famous past of Geraardsbergen as a 19th-century center of the lace industry. Around this theme a cultural co-operation exists with the French town of Bayeux, which at the time was also highly renowned for this branch of the textile industry.

Geraardsbergen counts no less than sixteen music societies and five dramatic clubs, among which the companies Garamondi and Sint-Pieters Vreugd en Deugd. This last one, a Royal Chamber of Rhetoric, was established in 1476(!).

Unique annual events are the Krakelingenfeest and Tonnekenbrand: they belong to the country's oldest known folkloristic rituals. On the first Sunday of Lent the town's notables, together with the Krakelingen procession, mount the Oudenberg hill and drink red wine out of a silver chalice, which also contains tiny living fishes! After this toast some 10,000 circle-shaped cakes - the krakelingen - are thrown into the public. By evening the tonneken, a pitch-filled barrel, is set alight on top of the Oudenberg, a spectacle that is visible from far and near.