Editing Wervik (section)

===Habsburg Netherlands===
[[File:Wervik, Belgium, 1559-1564 Deventer.jpg|unified Wervik on Deveter map|thumb|left]]
In the middle of the 16th century finally a quieter period began for Wervik. Prosperity had vanished and the population had dropped to about 3000 inhabitants. During the religious quarrels, the Saint Medardus church was badly damaged and today still bears the traces of the iconoclastic. The [[Geuzen]] burnt the church in 1579.

In the 17th century the entire region was affected by the ongoing annexation attempts of the French king [[Louis XIV]]. Wervik was taken by the French in 1668 and was later annexed to the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish crown]] in 1678. After the [[Treaties of Nijmegen|Peace of Nijmegen treaty]] in that year, Wervik became French territory again. The continuous impoverishment of the town left it with only 3172 inhabitants.

In 1713 the town was divided in half by the [[Treaty of Utrecht]]. The river [[Leie|Lys]] was the state border and separated the town into [[France|French]] [[Wervicq-Sud]] and [[Austria]]n Wervik. But for the population the town remained whole, and the Saint Medardus church remained the parish church for both town parts.