Kortrijk, Flanders, Belgium
The southern interior part of West Flanders province is
known as the Leiestreek because the Leie River passes through it. The area is
somewhat more industrialized than the Westhoek and coastal areas and is the
region of my maternal ancestry since my mother’s home town, Waregem, is located
there between Kortrijk and Ghent.
Kortrijk is the area’s main city, nowadays a town of about
75,000 people that grew up around the linen industry because flax was grown in
the region. The significance for me is that my great uncle (grandmother’s brother)
learned the textile business before immigrating to the U.S. as a young man
shortly before WWI. He became quite successful as a textile manufacturer and
supplier to the U.S. military in WWII and the Korean War. My uncles and some
other relatives moved to the U.S. to work in his factories shortly after WWII,
followed by my mother and grandmother several years later in 1955.
I decided to make a short stop in Roeselare on my way to
Kortrijk from the coast. When I was young my aunts and uncles were friends with
several brothers and their wives, The Vandenberghs who were from Roeselare, so it’s
a town I used to hear about as a child.
It’s probably most famous for the
Rodenbach brewery which produces some delicious and unique beers, especially Flemish
Sour Browns. The town’s center has a few historic buildings but is otherwise
quite modern. There’s a cool castle, Kasteel Rumbeke, in a park on the
outskirts of town, but it seems to only be open on weekends.
Kortrijk doesn’t have much either in terms of major sights.
Its symbol and most famous buildings are the twin Broeltorens, two round towers
on either side of a bridge that straddles the Leie River in town. Otherwise
there’s a cathedral and few churches, a central market square with an ornate
city hall and bell tower, and a small Beguinage/Begijnhof.
Kortrijk’s historical significance is as the location of the
so-called Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, part of a larger Flemish peasant revolt
against French counts and overlords that began a few months earlier in Bruges.
Anyway, on July 11, 1302 a group of Flemish fighters defeated a small army of
French knights. After the battle they collected the dead knights’ golden spurs
which hung for some centuries in the Church of Our Lady in Kortrijk.
The battle is likely significantly
mythologized, but July 11th still serves as the Flemish national
holiday.
After my day of sightseeing in Kortrijk I headed to Ann and
Jeroen’s house in Vichte. I had already paid in full for a hostel bed in
Kortrijk before I saw them last Friday in Bruges and they invited me to stay
with them while I was in the area. We then we to dinner at Ann’s mother’s house
in Harelbeke. Rita, Ann’s mother, is the daughter of one of my Aunt Martha’s
brothers, Martha being my Uncle Albert’s (my mother’s brother) wife. Although
not blood relatives, these folks have always been considered family since my
mother and grandmother stayed very close with Aunt Martha’s relatives in Belgium.
Rita told me mother even made her first communion dress shortly before she
immigrated in 1955. Rita and her sister Jenny (also at dinner with her husband
Chris) also made two visits to the U.S in the late 1960s and early 1970s so
shared some pictures of me as a little kid.
And Rita made a great spread of cold foods. While Americans
consider summer the time for outdoor barbecues, for Flemish people summer is
the time for “Koud Platjes”. I might not have spelled that correctly, but it
means cold plates. This would be an elaborate spread of cold fish dishes,
cheeses, lunch meat, and salads. Being Belgians this all gets washed down with
copious quantities of beer, and we’re not just talking about pilsners like
Jupiler; we’re talking the good stuff – strong Belgian beers in numerous
flavors. I’m really glad I agreed to stay with Ann; I wouldn’t have been able
to enjoy very many if I had to drive myself back to the hostel in Kortrijk.
2025-05-22