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Destelbergen (Municipality, Province of East Flanders, Belgium)

Municipal flag of Destelbergen - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 12 November 2005

Presentation of Destelbergen
Municipal flag of Destelbergen
Haenhout

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Presentation of Destelbergen

The municipality of Destelbergen (17,163 inhabitants on 1 January 2005; 2,660 ha) is located in the heart of the province of East Flanders, a few kilometers east of Ghent. It is made since 1976 of the former municipalities of Destelbergen and Heusden. Destelbergen is a residential area, formerly enjoyed by the nobles and burghers from Ghent who had them manors with parks.

Some episodes of the medieval legend of Reinaert de Vos takes place in Destelbergen. Reinaert is a main character of the Flemish medieval tradition. The oldest known written trace of the legend is Vanden vos Reinaerde (About Reinaert the Fox), written in 1272-1279 by Willem, probably a clerk from the region of Ghent. The 3,469-verse text describes the trial of nasty Reinaert at the court of king Nobel. Heinric van Alcmaer republished Willem's legend with his own additions as Reinaert II in Gouda in 1487. This version of the legend was translated into Middle Low German as Reynke de Vos and published in Lübeck in 1498. It was the main source of Goethe's Reineke Fuchs (1793). The French version of the legend, known as Roman de Renard seems to have been inspired by another "branch" of the legend, Ysengrimus, written by Nivaard van Ghent in 1152. It was so popular that the name of Renart, later Renard, replaced the word of goupil then used to designate a fox.
The legend is recalled in the Reinaert's park of Destelbergen by the statue "Reinaert and Bruin", Bruin being a bear (Bruin de Beer).

The site of Destelbergen was already inhabited in the Mesolithic (10000-5000 BC). The name of the city is also very ancient: it was early known as Thesel, refering to sandy hills, then partially levelled, located in the middle of the village. The suffix -bergen (mountains) has clearly the same origin.
In 962, Wichman, Count of Hamaland, ceded Destelbergen to the Saint-Peter's abbey in Ghent, which kept it until the French Revolution. Being close to Ghent caused a lot of troubles to Destelbergen in wartimes: the city was sacked three times in 1675-1677 during Louis XIV's wars.
In the Middle Ages, extraction of peet on the banks of the Scheldt was fairly successful. A few industries were set up in Destelbergen in the XIXth century, for instance tileries and oil mills.

The site of Heusden was also settled in vhe Prehistoric times. The oldest known mention of the city dates back to the XIth century, when Abbot Othejbold wrote that Heusden belonged to the Saint-Bavo's abbey in Ghent before the Northmen invasions. Later, the domain of Heusden belonged directly to a feudal family. After the marriage in 1212 of Beatrix van Heusden with Zeger III, Burgrave of Ghent, the seat of the Burgravate of Ghent was transfered to Heusden. The city belonged to the Burgravate of Ghent until the French Revolution.
The Cistercian abbey of Nieuwenbosch was founded in Heusden in 1247. It was very successful until 1578, when the abbey was destroyed by the Iconoclasts (Beeldenstormers) and the nuns fled to Ghent. Like Destelbergen, Heusden was often sacked because of its close location to Ghent.

Source: Municipal website

Ivan Sache, 12 November 2005

Municipal flag of Destelbergen

The municipal flag of Destelbergen is vertically divided in two parts: on left, a red field with three yellow keys placed 2 and 1; on right, a black field surmonted by a thin white stripe with seven black ermine spots.
According to the Gemeentewapens in België - Vlaanderen en Brussel, the flag was adopted by the Municipal Council on 19 May 1987, confirmed by the Executive of Flanders on 13 October 1987 and published in the Belgian official gazette on 16 September 1988.
The flag is based on the municipal arms of Destelbergen, adopted at the same dates: it shows the first and second quarter of the arms, which are:
Quartered, first and fourth gules three keys or 2 + 1, second and third, sable a chief argent seven ermines 4 + 3.

The arms are a combination of the arms of the former municipalities of Destelbergen and Heusden. According to Servais, the arms of Destelbergen were granted on 25 October 1954. They are based on the single known seal of the village, dating from 1782. The three keys refer to the St. Peter's abbey in Ghent, owner of the village until the French Revolution.

Arnaud Leroy, Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 6 November 2005

Haenhout

Flag of Haenhout - Image by Jarig Bakker, 3 October 2004

Haenhout is a ward of the commune of Destelbergen, actually a ward of the agglomeration of Gent. The flag of Haenhout is bright blue with just above the bottom a narrow yellow stripe; standing on that stripe a white cockerel before a red sun outline white; at top fly the name of the city in yellow Capital letters; over yellow at the fly a white 4-leaved flower with a red heart outlined dark blue. The flag is canting (haen = cockerel).

Source: Haenhout website

Jarig Bakker, 3 October 2004