East Flanders - Oost-Vlaanderen

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East Flanders[1] is a province in Flanders and Belgium, the capital is Ghent. The province of East Flanders is one of the five Flemish provinces and one of the ten Belgian provinces. It borders in the west on the province of West Flanders, in the north on the Dutch Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, in the east on the provinces of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant and in the south on the Walloon Hainaut.

The province has a total area of ​​2,982 km² and a population of 1,408,484 inhabitants, which gives a population density of 472 inhabitants/km². André Denys (VLD) has been governor of the province since December 1, 2004.

Regions

Towns

Other destinations

The province of East Flanders has a number of provincial domains, these are nature and recreational areas that are managed by the province:

Info

East Flanders was the former area of ​​the Menapians, whose territory at that time was still located on the North Sea. The area between Scheldt and Dender, however, belonged to the land of the Nervii. The Nervii lived between the Scheldt and the Dyle.

With the division of the Frankish empire in the 9th century, the area west of the Scheldt came to West Francia, while the shire of Brabant, east of the Scheldt, became Lotharingian. After the partition of Lorraine, the entire shire of Brabant came to East Francia. It was not until the 11th century that the Count of Flanders conquered the land between Scheldt and Dender. This is how Rijks-Vlaanderen came into being.

In 1795, after the conquest by France, formed the department of the Scheldt. After the Allied liberation of 1815, this became the basis of the Dutch province of East Flanders, of which, however Dutch Flanders, which also belonged to this department, was separated again and added to the province Zealand. In 1830 this became the Belgian province of East Flanders.

The highest point in the province is the Hotondberg (150 meters) and the most important watercourses are the Scheldt, Leie, Dender and Durme.

Language

In East Flanders people speak Dutch, most people from East Flanders will also be able to speak to you in English or French. The province also has an enormous variety of dialects, the most widely spoken dialect is Ghent (the city dialect of Ghent), west of Ghent the dialect changes to West Flemish, in Waasland to Antwerp and in the region of Aalst. to the Brabant dialect. This transitional language between West Flemish and Brabants is referred to in the province as East Flemish.

Arrive

East Flanders is very easily accessible both by car and public transport. The motorways run from east to west (E40 and E34) and north-east to south-west (E17) through the province. The large ring or R4 that connects all these motorways runs around the city of Ghent, in the center of the city there is also the so-called small ring. The road network is very dense and can best be compared to a spider's web with the city of Ghent in the middle. The same can be said about the train connections through the province of East Flanders, just south of the center of the city of Ghent is the Sint-Pieters station, the largest station in Flanders in terms of passenger numbers.

Travel around

East Flanders has a good train network with the main stops being: Aalst-Oost, Deinze, Dendermonde Denderleeuw, Gent-Dampoort, Gent-St-Pieters, Geraardsbergen, Oudenaarde, St-Niklaas and Zottegem. Ghent-St-Pieters is the busiest station of Flanders and of Belgium except for Brussels-Central and Brussels-South.

In East Flanders, all buses and trams are operated by public transport company De Lijn. In Aalst and St-Niklaas there are city buses, and in Ghent there are urban trams and buses. For the rest, East Flanders has an extensive regional bus network.

To look at

In East Flanders are the highways: E17, E34 and E40

To do

  • A city trip to Ghent (especially during the Gentse Feesten) or a trip to one of the smaller cities in the province.
  • Aalst is the most famous carnival city in Flanders, definitely a must to experience.
  • East Flanders is known as a hiking paradise, especially the Zwalm region and the Flemish Ardennes generally lend themselves to that.
  • Cycling enthusiasts will get their money's worth in East Flanders, especially the world famous classic "The Tour of Flanders" lures people from home and abroad to the hills of the Flemish Ardennes.

Food

Court of Cleve: Riemegemstraat 1, 9770 Kruishoutem, tel: 09 383 58 48, www.hofvancleve.be. The most famous restaurant in East Flanders is located in Kruishoutem. Three-star restaurant Hof van Cleve is run by BV Peter Goossens. The restaurant was opened in 1987 in an old farm on one of the hills of Kruishoutem. The name comes from the family that inhabited the estate until 1968, the Van Cleve family. In consultation with the previous owner (Hendrik Buelens) who ran an adjacent restaurant with a Michelin star, it was a restaurant with brasserie cuisine. From 1992 and the closure of the other restaurant, the choice was made for fine cuisine. This led to a first Michelin star in 1994. In 1998 the restaurant received a second star. Since 2004, the restaurant has also received a score of 19.5 out of 20 according to GaultMillau. In the Benelux, Hof van Cleve only has to pass the Dutch restaurant Oud Sluis in the Gault Millau of 2010, which achieved 20/20 points. More expensive price range.

Going out

Culture Club: Afrikalaan 174, 9000 Ghent, tel: tel 09 233 09 46, www.cultureclub.be (email: [email protected]).

Safety

It is very safe in the province of East Flanders, Ghent is also a safe city. The same warning as for other big cities is this: the presence of many tourists also attracts some suspicious figures, don't be careless.

all around

Regions of East Flanders

Ghent · Lys region · Meetjesland · Scheldtland · Flemish Ardennes· Waasland

Provinces of Belgium

Antwerp · Hainaut · shutter · Limburg · Luxembourg · Namur · East Flanders · Flemish Brabant · Walloon Brabant · West Flanders

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