Sint-Niklaas

Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas
State :	Belgium
Region :	Flanders
Province :	East Flanders
District :	Sint-Niklaas
Coordinates :	51 ° 10 ′  N , 4 ° 8 ′  E Coordinates: 51 ° 10 ′  N , 4 ° 8 ′  E
Area :	83.80 km²
Residents:	77,679 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density:	927 inhabitants per km²
Post Code:	9100 (Sint-Niklaas, Nieuwkerken-Waas) 9111 (Belsele) 9112 (Sinaai)
Prefix:	03
Mayor:	Lieven Dehandschutter ( N-VA )
Local government address :	Grote Markt 1 9100 Sint-Niklaas
Website:	www.sint-niklaas.be

Sint-Niklaas is a town in the Belgian province of East Flanders with 77,679 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019), including the districts of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas and Sinaai. The place is known for the largest market square in Belgium and its annual balloon festival, also called Peace Festival (Dutch Vredefeesten ).

In Sint-Niklaas there is a Gerhard Mercator Museum that shows the life and work of the cartographer. His birthplace is in Rupelmonde , which counts as a district of Kruibeke in the Arrondissement of Sint-Niklaas.

history

The famous story of Sint-Niklaas begins in 1217 with the construction of a church in honor of Saint Nicholas by the Bishop of Tournai. The place was dependent on the diocese of Tournai until the middle of the 16th century and politically belonged to the county of Flanders, whose history it shared.

politics

Sint-Niklaas town hall

Municipal council

Lieven Dehandschutter ( NVA ) is the city's mayor in the current legislative period, which lasts until December 31, 2018 . He is supported by nine aldermen (alderman) . The municipal council consists of these ten and another 31 council members.

Town twinning

Sint-Niklaas has been twinning cities since 1962

• Schongau in Bavaria
• Colmar in Alsace
• Lucca in Tuscany

There are other partnerships with

• Abingdon in Oxfordshire since 1967
• Gorinchem in South Holland since 1968
• Tábor in South Bohemia since 2002

traffic

The city is conveniently located between Antwerp (25 km) and Ghent (38 km) and has good connections to both centers. The E 17 (A 14) leads directly past the city. The N 16 connects the city with Mechelen and Brussels .

There are train connections every half hour to Antwerp and Ghent, and every hour to Leuven , Mechelen and Brussels.

In the city center and regionally there is a dense network of bus routes that follow their own tracks in the city.

Sint-Niklaas was named the most pedestrian-friendly city in Flanders after the area around the central market square was redesigned.

Attractions

Grote Markt in Sint-Niklaas

• The city's Grote Markt covers an area of ​​3.2 hectares and is the largest market square in Belgium ( → Lage ). The Stadhuis (town hall) from 1878 is located on the market square itself. This has a bell tower with a carillon of 35 bells. At the market square there is also the Parochiehuis (rectory), which dates from 1663, as well as the Landhuis (courthouse) from 1637 and the Ciperage (prison) from 1662, which today houses a library.
• The Church of Our Lady ( Onze Lieve Vrouwe ) dates from 1841 and has a 6-meter-high statue of the Virgin Mary ( → Lage ).
• The church of St. Nikolaus (Sint-Niklaaskerk), which gave the city its name, was built in 1238 ( → Lage ). After severe damage, the interior was redesigned in the 16th century in the Baroque style. The side altars are by Hubert and Norbert van den Eynden. Some of the sculptures are by Lucas Faydherbe . A Christ was created by François Duquesnoy .
• The Walburg moated castle is located in the middle of the city park ( → location ).
• The Chapel of St. Joseph was built by the Franciscans in the 17th century.
• The history between the Scheldt and the Durme is presented in the building of the Museum Land van Waas .
• The Mercator Museum shows the history of cartography from the beginning ( → Lage ). The museum has two original globes as well as other maps of the world and Europe, which come from the possession of the famous cartographer Gerhard Mercator .
• The International Bookplate Center shows the Barbierama collection . This has more than 160,000 exhibits of toiletries and hairdressing equipment.
• In the Monseigneur Stillemansstraat there are many Art Deco buildings, some of which are listed ( → location ).

• 

  Interior view of the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Church

• 

  Walburg Castle

• 

  Original globe by Gerhard Mercator

• 

  Art Deco House Mgr. Stillemansstraat 38

sons and daughters of the town

• Félix Cogen (1838–1907), genre, portrait and marine painter, as well as engraver and eraser
• Constant Cap (1842–1915), genre painter and etcher
• Jozef Janssens (1854–1930), history and portrait painter
• Edgar Tinel (1854–1912), composer, pianist and church musician
• Henri Heyman (1879-1958), politician
• Marcel Maeyer (1920–2018), art historian and painter
• Gustaaf Joos (1923-2004), theologian and cardinal
• Bob Benny (1926–2011), singer and musical performer
• Werner Van Cleemput (1930–2006), composer
• Eddy House (1946–2011), jazz musician, arranger and composer
• Freddy Willockx (* 1947), politician (Socialist Partij Anders)
• Marc Baecke (1956-2017), football player
• Tom Lanoye (* 1958), writer
• Ellen De Waele (* 1973), film producer
• Glenn D'Hollander (* 1974), racing cyclist
• Meyrem Almaci (* 1976), politician
• Ann Wauters (* 1980), basketball player
• Bram Weijters (* 1980), jazz musician
• Robby Meul (* 1981), racing cyclist
• Thomas De Gendt (* 1986), racing cyclist
• Kristof Goddaert (1986-2014), racing cyclist
• Sander Cordeel (* 1987), racing cyclist
• Jan Vertonghen (* 1987), football player (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Jelle De Bock (* 1988), football player (FC Eindhoven)
• Ömer Kulga (* 1989), football player
• Soufiane Bouchikhi (* 1990), athlete
• Moreno De Pauw (* 1991), racing cyclist
• Lise Van Hecke (* 1992), volleyball player
• Sasha Weemaes (* 1998), cyclist

Web links

Commons : Sint-Niklaas  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the municipality of Sint-Niklaas (Dutch)

proof

1. ^ Website of the city
2. ↑ https://musea.sint-niklaas.be/mercator Mercatormuseum, Dutch