Editing Damme (section)

==History==
In the 13th century, Damme was one of the major ports of Europe and the outlet to the sea for the major trading city of Bruges, to which it was linked by the river Reie. The river has now been [[Ship canal|canalised]] into the long, straight, treelined and picturesque Damse Vaart, which continues across the Dutch border to [[Sluis]]. The line of the town's star-shaped fortifications can still be traced by lines of tall poplar trees and in places by a moat. It was the site of the [[Battle of Damme]], fought on 30 and 31 May 1213, when an English fleet under the Earl of Salisbury captured scores of French ships and their cargo of gold, silver, wine, bacon and other victuals.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911b|p=789}}

Well-known Damme inhabitants include [[Jacob van Maerlant]], a medieval poet and the town clerk of Damme until his death in around 1300, and [[Karel Verleye]], co-founder of the [[Bruges]] [[College of Europe]], who died in Damme in 2002.
According to Charles de Coster (Charles-Theodore-Henri De Coster. La legende et les aventures heroiques, joyeuses et glorieuses d’Ulenspiegel et de Lamme Goedzak au pays de Flandres et ailleurs), Damme is the birthplace of [[Till Eulenspiegel]].