Editing Wervik (section)

===Kingdom of Belgium===

After the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1815, the town became part of the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]] until the [[Belgian Revolution]] in 1830. After the Belgian Revolution locals of the towns [[Wervicq-Sud]], [[Bousbecque]], [[Comines, Nord|Comines]] and [[Warneton]] protested and demanded a reunification with their [[Belgium|Belgian]] counterparts on the other side of the Lys. This small uprising was put down after a few days by French [[Gendarmerie Nationale (France)|Gendarmes]].

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1987-032-15, Belgien, Flandern, Soldaten auf dem Marsch.jpg|thumb|right|Germans coming from Wervik marching to the front]]
During [[World War I]] [[German Army (German Empire)|German troops]] entered the town on October 5, 1914. A [[customs]] officer had noticed German [[Uhlan]]s in Zuid-Wervik on October 4, and turned the swing bridge between Wervik and Zuid-Wervik open so that no one could cross it, throwing the key in the Lys. The next day more Germans had arrived and fished out the key. After a short fight with the [[Gendarmerie]] (both French and Belgian), the town was conquered by the Germans. Because Wervik was the first major town under German control just outside the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], it got a military government and German soldiers were billeted there, and wounded soldiers cared for (including at one time the young [[Adolf Hitler]]). Wervik's population was forced to work in German operated factories serving the trench warfare. In 1917 the population had to evacuate the town because British guns were aimed at Wervik and ruined the town.

Wervik was largely rebuilt after the war. The Bruges architect [[Huib Hoste]] carried out several projects, including several rows of houses, commercial buildings and the town sewers.

During the [[Second World War]] Wervik was again occupied by German troops, until the inhabitants were freed in 1944 by Canadian soldiers.