Oostkamp 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 villages of Hertsberge, Oostkamp proper, Ruddervoorde and Waardamme. On January 1, 2006 Oostkamp had a total population of 21,796. The total area is 79.65 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 274 inhabitants per km².

History

The name Oostkamp comes from the Medieval name "Orscamp", meaning place of the horses. The old word ors is identical with the English word horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

.

Oostkamp during World War II

The Canadian 4th Armoured Division liberated the village on 8 September 1944 (World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

) during the Battle of Moerbrugge

Battle of Moerbrugge

The 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade was tasked to cross the Ghent Canal about five kilometers south of Bruges at a small village called Oostkamp in early September 1944. Directly across the canal from Oostkamp was another small village named Moerbrugge. The canal is about 20 metres wide and very deep...

. A monument was erected by the Ghent-Bruges Canal to honour the 53 Canadian casualties.

Fusion of 1977

With the Belgian Unity Law the four villages of Oostkamp proper, Hertsberge, Ruddervoorde and Waardamme became the 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...

 of Greater Oostkamp

Sister cities

- Chaumont

Chaumont, Haute-Marne

Chaumont is a commune of France, and the capital of the Haute-Marne department. , it has a of 24,039.The city stands on the Marne River and is situated on the railway linking Paris and Basel, which runs over a 52 m tall and 600 m long viaduct built in 1856.- History :Historically the...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 - Bad Langensalza

Bad Langensalza

Bad Langensalza is a city in the County of Unstrut-Hainich, Thuringia, Germany, with a population of c. 18,500 .-History:...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 - Bad Nauheim

Bad Nauheim

Bad Nauheim is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. , Bad Nauheim has a population of 30,365. The town is located approximately 35 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a world-famous resort, noted for its salt...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

External links

Official Website
Website of Heemkring Oostkamp: Studygroup of the local customs and folklore of Oostkamp Oostkamp.org: A wiki by citizens - The creators of this wiki try to preserve the friendly character of the municipality.