De Klinge a Belgian town and part of the municipality of Sint-Gillis-Waas

Sint-Gillis-Waas

Sint-Gillis-Waas is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of De Klinge, Meerdonk, Sint-Gillis-Waas proper and Sint-Pauwels. On January 1, 2006 Sint-Gillis-Waas had a total population of 17,908. The total area is 54.98 km² which gives a...

 in the province of Oost-Vlaanderen (East Flanders

East Flanders

East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant , of Hainaut and of West Flanders...

), is located on the border with the Netherlands province of Zeeland

Zeeland

Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...

 and within the non-administrative region known as the Waasland

Waasland

The Waasland is a region in Flanders, Belgium, although without any administrative functions. It is also called the Land van Waas ; Waas most likely refers to the soggy soil of the region even though the exact etymology is unknown - one possibility is a connection to the English word 'wasteland'...

 or the Land van Waas. On the Dutch side of the border the town is called Clinge

Clinge

Clinge is a town in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Hulst, and lies about 28 km southwest of Bergen op Zoom. Clinge is located on the Dutch-Belgian border and joins with the Belgian town of De Klinge, in the Belgian municipality of Sint-Gillis-Waas. This...

 and is part of the municipality of Hulst

Hulst

Hulst is a municipality and a city in southwestern Netherlands in the east of Zeelandic Flanders.- History :Hulst received city rights in the 12th century....

. Sint-Niklaas

Sint-Niklaas

Sint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....

 is 10 kilometres south of De Klinge. The nearest large Belgian city is Antwerp (Antwerpen/Anvers) to the east. The town is bordered by many forests, including the Stropersbos (the Stroper Forest), which are excellent for cycling and walking.

The dialect of Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 spoken in De Klinge is called Klings, an East Flemish

East Flemish

East Flemish is a group of dialects of the Dutch language, which is a Low Franconian language. It is spoken in the province of East Flanders in Belgium, but also spoken in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen in the Netherlands.-Brabantic Expansion:...

dialect. In the past there were several makers of clogs (wooden shoes) or klompen as they are called in Dutch. A statue called De Klomp stands in the middle of the round-about on the road from Sint-Gillis-Waas where the Bergstraat, Hogenakkerstraat, and Klingedijkstraat meet.

Every July a kermis festival, called the Klingse Kalsei Braderij is held on the main cobblestone street, Klingedorp. The town also has an abbey beer called Klingse Kalsei which is available during this festival and features the Klingedorpstraat on its label. This beer isn't actually brewed in De Klinge but in Ertvelde by Van Steenberge.

External links

• http://www.ethesis.net/clinge/clinge_hfst_1.htm A history of De Klinge and Clinge written in Dutch
• Het Live-project De Stropers