Gistel is a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 located in the Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Gistel proper and the towns of Moere

Moere

Moere is a small village located within the municipality of Gistel in West-Flanders, Belgium. The village gained some fame when American singer Marvin Gaye moved there for several months in the early 1980s...

, Snaaskerke and Zevekote. On January 1, 2006 Gistel had a total population of 11,125. The total area is 42.25 km² which gives a population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 263 inhabitants per km². The German town of Büdingen is its twin town.

The most famous inhabitant of Gistel was Sylvère Maes

Sylvère Maes

Sylvère Maes was a Belgian cyclist, who is most famous for winning the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939.- Palmarès :1932...

, winner of the Tour de France

Tour de France

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

 in 1936 and 1939. But also Johan Museeuw

Johan Museeuw

Johan Museeuw is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1988 to 2004 and was particularly successful in the classic cycle races in the nineties....

, another famous cyclist. He won Paris–Roubaix three times.

External links

• Official website - Available only in 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...