Sint-Denijs-Westrem

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 51°01′17″N 03°40′08″E / 51.02139, 3.66889
Sint-Denijs-Westrem
Sint-Denijs-Westrem Location in Belgium
Country	Belgium
Region	Flemish Region
Community	Dutch-speaking Community
Province	East Flanders
Arrondissement	Ghent
Area
- Total	2.4 sq mi (6.24 km²)
Population (31 December 2007)
- Total	5,134
- Density	2,131.6/sq mi (823/km²)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
Area code(s)	09

Sint-Denijs-Westrem is a village in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It is part of the city of Ghent, lying to the southwest of the city center, between Sint-Martens-Latem, De Pinte, Zwijnaarde and Afsnee.

[edit] History

Sint-Denijs-Westrem lies on the Roman road between Kortrijk and Ghent. Archeological digs on the Flanders Expo site have shown significant signs of settlement from prehistory through the middle ages^[1].

During the late middle ages several castles were built in and around Sint-Denijs-Westrem the castles of Idewalle, Borluut, Darupt, Hof ten Broecke, Maaltekasteel.

The town square ("Gemeenteplein") was built between 1895 and 1899.

Until the 20th century the area was mainly agrarian and sparsely populated; from the second half of the 20th century on the village has been steadily more densely built up, with many castle grounds subdivided for housing development.