East Flanders
East Flanders (Dutch: Oost-Vlaanderen, French: (Province de) Flandre-Orientale, German: Ostflandern) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium.
East Flanders (Dutch: Oost-Vlaanderen French: Flandre-Orientale) | |||
Province of Belgium | |||
Historical centre of Ghent
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Country | ![]() | ||
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Region | ![]() | ||
Capital | Ghent | ||
- coordinates | 51°3′N 03°44′E / 51.050°N 3.733°E | ||
Highest point | Hotondberg | ||
- location | Kluisbergen, Oudenaarde, East Flanders | ||
- elevation | 150 m (492 ft) | ||
Area | 2,991 km² (1,155 sq mi) | ||
Population | 1,486,722 (1 January 2016) [1] | ||
Density | 497 /km² (1,287 /sq mi) | ||
Subdivisions | 6 Arrondissements 65 Municipalities | ||
Governor | Jan Briers | ||
Timezone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
- summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
Postal codes | 9000–9999 | ||
ISO 3166-2 | BE-VOV | ||
Website: Official site | |||
Its capital, and also the largest city of the province, is Ghent (Dutch: Gent, French: Gand).
NameEdit
East in East Flanders means that it is in eastern part of Flanders, a region that forms part of the present Belgium. The word Flanders refers to the historic county of Flanders and appears for the first time in the year 358 under the name pagus Flandrensis[2] (pagus is a Latin word meaning a very small town, with only few houses).
The pagus Flandrensis region was a coastal area with large tidal channels and green marshes where sheep farmers lived.[2]
The modern province of East Flanders was the old Escaut department, created in 1795 during the First French Empire in the eastern part of the County[N 1] of Flanders.
In 1815, during the creation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the department became the province of East Flanders.
GeographyEdit
East Flanders borders (clockwise from the North) on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant (both in Flanders), of Hainaut (Wallonia) and of West Flanders (Flanders).
The province has an area of 2,991 km2 (1,155 sq mi) with a population of 1,486,722[1] and a density of 497.1 inhabitants per km².
The capital and biggest city is Ghent, also the second largest city in the Flemish Region. Other smaller cities are Aalst, Sint-Niklaas and Dendermonde in the east of the province.
Its highest point is Hotondberg, 150 m (492 ft) high, in the municipality of Kluisbergen, Oudenaarde district.
The main river in the province is the Scheldt (Dutch: Schelde, French: Escaut); it merges with the Leie in Ghent. The Dender flows into the Scheldt in the city of Dendermonde.
Administrative divisionsEdit
The province of Hainaut is divided into six arrondissements (Aalst, Dendermonde, Eeklo, Ghent, Oudenaarde and Sint-Niklaas) and a total of 65 municipalities.
Aalst | Dendermonde | Eeklo | |
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Ghent | Oudenaarde | Sint-Niklaas | |
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Population by arrondissementEdit
Population on 1 January of each year.[3]
Arrondissement | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012[1] |
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Aalst | 267,274 | 269,489 | 271,466 | 273,544 | 276,550 | 278,667 |
Dendermonde | 189,638 | 190,338 | 191,527 | 192,521 | 194,015 | 195,358 |
Eeklo | 80,547 | 80,864 | 81,422 | 81,921 | 82,458 | 82,791 |
Ghent | 512,407 | 516,609 | 521,796 | 527,248 | 533,178 | 535,904 |
Oudenaarde | 117,125 | 118,101 | 119,140 | 119,995 | 120,533 | 121,199 |
Sint-Niklaas | 231,262 | 233,083 | 235,064 | 237,097 | 239,097 | 240,797 |
Province of East Flanders | 1,398,253 | 1,408,484 | 1,420,415 | 1,432,326 | 1,445,831 | 1,454,716 |
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Population per municipality as of 1 January 2016 (XLS; 397 KB)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Vanwaar kom de naam Vlaanderen en wat was de naam daarvoor?". Ik heb een vraag (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- ↑ Institut National de Statistique - Direction générale Statistique et Information économique
Other websitesEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to East Flanders. |
Wikivoyage has a travel guide about: East Flanders |
- (in Dutch) Official Website