Reningelst is a rural village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 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, and a "deelgemeente

Deelgemeente

A deelgemeente is a subdivision of a gemeente in Belgium and the Netherlands.-Belgium:...

" of 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...

 Poperinge

Poperinge

Poperinge is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to mediaeval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge proper and surrounding villages. The area is famous for its hops and lace.-The town:Poperinge is situated...

. The village has about 1405 inhabitants.

The deelgemeente of De Klijte

De Klijte

De Klijte is a village in the municipality of Heuvelland in West Flanders, Belgium. Before the 1977 Belgian municipal reforms, De Klijte was part of the municipality Reningelst. Reningelst proper joined Poperinge, but De Klijte joined the new municipality Heuvelland...

 used to be a part of Reningelst (then independent, now part of Heuvelland). De Klijte split from Reningelst in 1976 and is now part of the Heuvelland

Heuvelland

Heuvelland is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Dranouter, Kemmel, De Klijte, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and Wulvergem. Heuvelland is a thinly populated rural municipality, located between the small urban centres...

 municipality.

Sports

Reningelst is host to several major cycling races each year. Reningelst calls itself a wielerdorp. Every year during the kermisweek a number of major cycling races happen here. The Eight of Reningelst owes its name to an 8-shaped trail in and around the village.

Sightseeing and cultural life

Probably the most popular tourist site is the Catholic village church, the St. Vedastuskerk. In the year 1568 three priests of Reningelst were murdered here because of the religious persecution during that period. The church was burned down in 1623 by Ypres Geuzen and was rebuilt to it current, Gothic architecture circa 1623. However, it was again destroyed during the First World War (1914–1918) and again repaired. Although it was the town center during these perilous times, was never occupied by the German army. Today, still, much of the wooden interior of the church is of important historical value.

The village used to have a castle that was built around 1100. On September 6, 1793 the fortified castle was completely burnt down, on the orders of General Van Damme.
A double railway was constructed where the castle stood (now a meadow) during the First World War. Reningelst was a stopover for many soldiers on their way to or from the front. After the war, several military cemeteries were built across the Westhoek

Westhoek

Westhoek can refer to the following places:*Westhoek a historical region in western Belgium and northern France*Westhoek, sometimes referred to as Westland, South Holland, the area around Hoek van Holland...

, as well as in Reningelst. There is the Reninghelst Churchyard Cemetery next to the civil cemetery around the church. The Reninghelst New Military Cemetery includes those from the Chinese Labour Corps

Chinese Labour Corps

The Chinese Labour Corps was a force of workers recruited by the British government in World War I to support the troops by performing support work and manual labor.-History:...

. There is also a Memorial for the military and civilian victims of World War I and World War II from Reningelst.

In the former town hall, the history of Reningelst appears on a stained-glass window.

Until the 1960s a brewery on the village square brewed Roökop (translated from Flemish: Red Head). The beer has now gone, but the brewery still stands (though part of it in ruins), now as the local cultural centre, also called Rookop.
The Rookop cultural centre houses many local sports and hobby clubs. Local theatre groups sometimes play there. Since 2006 it is also the location for the annual "Troost van Schoonheid" (Comfort of Beauty) one-day music and poetry festival.

There are two bed-and-breakfasts in the village centre.

Public services

The village currently has a primary school, spread over two locations: one in the Pastoorstraat, and one in the Baljuwstraat.

Reningelst also has a forward Firefighter

Firefighter

Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...

 station. This item is part of firefighters Great Poperinge. The Firefighter station is composed of 19 officers and troops.

Notable people from Reningelst

• Piet Chielens
  Piet Chielens
  Piet Chielens a Belgian writer, translator and curator. He is coordinator of the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres in Belgium. He is also artistic director of Vredesconcerten Passendale ....
  
   was born in Reningelst in 1956. He is coordinator of the In Flanders Fields Museum
  In Flanders Fields Museum
  The In Flanders' Fields Museum is devoted to the study of World War I and occupies the second floor of the Cloth Hall, Ypres in Belgium. The building was virtually destroyed by artillery fire during the Battles of Ypres and has been reconstructed. The curator, Piet Chielens, is a World War I...
  
   in Ypres
  Ypres
  Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
  
  (Ieper) in Belgium.