Oudenaarde 155147 223811915 2008-07-05T22:51:06Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{Infobox Belgium Municipality |name=Oudenaarde |picture=Oudenaarde Stadhuis.jpg |picture-legend=Oudenaarde Town Hall |map=OudenaardeLocatie.png |map-legend=Location of Oudenaarde in East Flanders |arms=Oudenaarde.jpg |flag=Flag of Oudenaarde.svg |region={{BE-REG-FLE}} |community={{BE-NL}} |province={{BE-PROV-OV}} |arrondissement=[[Arrondissement of Oudenaarde|Oudenaarde]] |nis=45035 |pyramid-date= |0-19= |20-64= |65= |foreigners= |foreigners-date= |mayor= Marnic De Meulemeester (VLD) |majority=[[VLD]], [[CD&V]]-[[N-VA]] |postal-codes=9700 |telephone-area=055 |web=[http://www.oudenaarde.be/ www.oudenaarde.be] |lat_deg=50 |lat_min=51 |lon_deg=03 |lon_min=36 }} '''Oudenaarde''' ([[French language|French]] ''Audenarde'', [[English language|English]] sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[Municipalities in Belgium|municipality]] in the [[Flemish Region|Flemish]] [[Provinces of Belgium|province]] of [[East Flanders]]. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of [[Bevere]], [[Edelare]], [[Eine, Belgium|Eine]], [[Ename]], [[Heurne]], [[Leupegem]], [[Mater, Belgium|Mater]], [[Melden]], [[Mullem]], [[Nederename]], [[Volkegem]], and [[Welden, Belgium|Welden]]. From the 15th to the 18th century, but especially in the 16th century, Oudenaarde was a world-known centre of [[tapestry]] production. The town's name, meaning “old field”, still lingers on in “outnal”, an obsolete [[English language|English]] term for a kind of brown linen thread. Today, Oudenaarde is known as the pearl of the [[Flemish Ardennes]]. ==History== ===The glory of Ename=== The history of the current municipality of Oudenaarde starts in 974, when [[Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor]] and [[King of Germany]], built one of its three fortifications on the [[Scheldt]] at Ename to protect his kingdom against possible attacks from [[France]] (the other two frontier posts were at [[Valenciennes]] and [[Antwerp]]). Ename grew very fast. By 1005, the town already had a couple of churches and had become the largest town in the duchy of [[Lotharingia]]. In 1033, [[Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders]] took the city as a frontier post against [[Germany]]. In 1047, [[Baldwin V, Count of Flanders|Baldwin V]] consolidated his father’s victory by having his wife found a [[Benedictine]] abbey there. By that time, the former merchants and guild artisans of Ename had fled across the Scheldt to the recently founded city of Oudenaarde. ===Oudenaarde’s golden age=== [[Image:Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Pamele kerk 2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Church of Our Lady of Pamele]] In the 11th century, Oudenaarde’s economy flourished, thanks to the proximity of the [[Scheldt]] and to the burgeoning, but vibrant cloth and tapestry industry. Churches, cloisters and hospitals were built. Throughout the Middle Ages, the city was one of the staunchest supporters of the [[Count of Flanders|Counts of Flanders]], defending them against insurrections from the South, and even from [[Ghent]]. The city became known as the ''residence of the nobles''. It built itself a flagship [[Oudenaarde Town Hall|town hall]] (built 1526–1537), which we can still admire today, and the St-Walburga church. [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] stayed here for a couple of months in 1522 and fathered an illegitimate daughter, [[Margaret of Parma]], who was to become Regent of the Netherlands. ===Decline=== During the [[Reformation]], the people of Oudenaarde chose [[Protestantism]] and allied themselves with [[Ghent]] against [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]]. In 1582, after a prolonged siege by Margaret's son, [[Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma|Alexander Farnese]], the city finally gave in, causing most merchants, workers, and even nobles to flee. Oudenaarde belatedly embraced the [[Counter-Reformation]], which revived for a short while the commerce of tapestry. The glory days, however, never came back. The French attacked and took the city three times in less than a century. In 1708, one of the key battles in the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], known as the [[Battle of Oudenaarde]], was fought in the vicinity of the city. Oudenaarde slumbered as a provincial town under the [[Austria]]n regime. Like its neighbours, in the 1790s it suffered the religious curtailments imposed by the [[French Revolution]]. The city suffered damages during [[World War I]], which is commemorated by several monuments scattered around town. ==Sights== *The [[Flamboyant]] [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]]-style [[Oudenaarde Town Hall|Town Hall]] and its [[Belfries of Belgium and France|Belfry]] were designated by [[UNESCO]] as a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1999. The city hall houses a unique collection of Oudenaarde [[tapestries]]. *The Church of Our Lady of Pamele, begun in 1234 on the banks of the [[Scheldt]], and the Church of St Walburga near the market square, are both worth a visit. *Oudenaarde is also home to the ''Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen'', a museum dedicated to the [[Ronde van Vlaanderen]] cycle race. ==Events== *Recurring events include a beer fest in June, an open-air musical festival in the summer, and an agricultural fair in February. The celebrated ''Ronde van Vlaanderen'', the [[Ronde van Vlaanderen]] cycle race for women, starts every spring in Oudenaarde. The race for men passes through Oudenaarde several times. *Every ten years, one of Flander’s largest floral displays takes place on the market square (''Grote Markt''). The last one took place in 2005. ==Famous inhabitants== *[[Arnold of Soissons]], saint (1040-1087) *[[Margaret of Parma]], daughter of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] and [[Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands|Regent of the Netherlands]] (1522-1586) *[[Johannes van den Driesche]], orientalist and exegete (1550-1616) *[[Charles Liedts]], politician (1802-1878) *[[Gentil Theodoor Antheunis]], poet, (1840-1907) *[[Reimond Stijns]], writer (1850-1905) *[[Adriaen Brouwer]], painter (1605-1638) *[[André Dierickx]], road racing cyclist (b. 1946) *[[Jotie T'Hooft]], poet (1956-1977) ==Twin cities== *{{FRA}}: [[Arras]] *{{NLD}}: [[Bergen op Zoom]] *{{ROM}}: [[Buzău]] *{{ITA}}: [[Castel Madama]] *{{GER}}: [[Coburg]] *{{UK}}: [[Hastings]] ==External links== {{Commonscat|Oudenaarde}} *[http://www.oudenaardeinfo.be Nieuws in Oudenaarde] - Only available in [[Dutch language|Dutch]] *[http://www.ename974.org/ Ename] - available in English *[http://www.crvv.be Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen] - available in English *[http://www.fortified-places.com/reliefs/audenarde.html Relief map of Oudenaarde and its fortifications in the 17th century] {{East_Flanders}} [[Category:Municipalities of East Flanders]] [[Category:Cities and towns in Belgium]] [[Category:World Heritage Sites in Belgium]] [[af:Oudenaarde]] [[br:Oudenaarde]] [[ca:Oudenaarde]] [[cs:Oudenaarde]] [[cy:Oudenaarde]] [[da:Oudenaarde]] [[de:Oudenaarde]] [[et:Oudenaarde]] [[el:Οντενάρντ]] [[es:Oudenaarde]] [[eo:Oudenaarde]] [[fr:Audenarde]] [[gl:Oudenaarde]] [[id:Oudenaarde]] [[is:Oudenaarde]] [[it:Oudenaarde]] [[la:Aldenarda]] [[hu:Oudenaarde]] [[nl:Oudenaarde]] [[no:Oudenaarde]] [[pl:Oudenaarde]] [[pt:Oudenaarde]] [[ro:Oudenaarde]] [[ru:Оденарде]] [[fi:Oudenaarde]] [[sv:Oudenaarde]] [[tr:Oudenaarde]] [[vo:Oudenaarde]]