Bentille, a Meetjesland town

The towns of our Meetjesland in Flanders, Belgium

Bentille

I'm afraid I don't know a lot about the history of Bentille or the origin of its name.

All help you may be able to give will be gratefully accepted. If you have read some of my others stories on this Meetjesland website you know what I'm looking for.

In the meantime I put up some pictures here.

When you step inside Bentille's beautiful church you step into a haven of peace and serenity as these pictures attempt to show.

Until about 1975 the flax industry was very important for the region. The flax had to be steeped in water to separate the outer skin of the stalks from the long fibres that were used to make textiles. The fourth picture above shows one of those pits where this steeping took place. These pits now lay idle and worthless everywhere.

Bentille has been part of Sint-Jan-in-Eremo for a long time. Both together are 1,260 hectares (3,112 acres). In 1977 they were merged with Watervliet, St. Margriete, Waterland-Oudeman and St.-Laureins into Greater St.-Laureins. On 1/1/2004 the population of both towns together was 1,048. And exactly one year later it stood at 1,039 according to the official Greater St.-Laureins website.

More pictures from Bentille

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Most recent update: 2007-08-31 08:45:25 +0200