Editing Lokeren (section)

=== 16th century to 17th century ===
[[File:View of the southern part of Lokeren Market, towards the church. Drawing made in 1677.jpg|thumb|left|View of the southern part of Lokeren Market in 1677]]
In 1555, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] gave Lokeren the right to hold a market. In the 16th and 17th century, the whole Waasland was in the line of fire between [[Protestant]] [[Netherlands]] and [[Catholic]] Spain, often with terrible consequences for the local population. Numerous ''Lokeraars'' were part of the immigration flow to the [[Dutch Republic|northern Netherlands]] at the end of the 16th century. The consequence of this (partial) depopulation was that many agricultural lands were no longer worked, becoming overgrown by wild vegetation. As a result, Lokeren had to contend with a real wolf plague in the 17th century. In the course of the 17th century, the city council tried to acquire plots of land adjacent to the Markt from their owners. In this way the market was eventually connected with the Durme and around 1651 it took on its more or less current contours. At the market was even a [[quay]] that went about 15 meters into the market square. After 1700 there is again talk of progress in the city. This was mainly due to the development of a new industry, hat manufacturing, for which Lokeren eventually became internationally known. Lokeren was the center of the oldest Flemish flax region, which included part of the Waasland and Dendermonde. This region supplied the best quality yarn to the Flemish weaving mill. From the 16th century until the 19th century, flax has been the raw material of the main industry of Flanders.<ref>{{cite book|title=Geschiedenis van de landbouw in België|author=Paul Lindemans|language=nl}}</ref>