Editing Diksmuide

{{Redirect|Dixmude}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox Belgium municipality
|name             = Diksmuide
|native_name      = {{nativename|vls|Diksmude}}
|native_name_lang = vls
|namefr           = Dixmude
|type             = city
|picture          = Diksmuide stadhuis, belfort, St Niclaas.jpg
|picture-legend   = Town Hall and St Nicholas Church
|map              = Diksmuide West-Flanders Belgium Map.svg
|map-legend       = Location of Diksmuide in West Flanders
|arms             = Diksmuide wapen.svg
|flag             = Flag of Diksmuide.svg
|region           = {{BE-REG-FLE}}
|community        = {{BE-NL}}
|province         = {{BE-PROV-WV}}
|arrondissement   = [[Arrondissement of Diksmuide|Diksmuide]]
|coordinates      = {{Coord|51|02|00|N|02|51|54|E|region:BE|display=inline,title}}
|nis              = 32003
|pyramid-date     = 
|0-19             = 
|20-64            = 
|65               = 
|mayor            = Lies Laridon ([[Christian Democratic and Flemish|CD&V]])
|majority         = [[Christian Democratic and Flemish|CD&V]], Idee
|postal-codes     = 8600
|telephone-area   = 051
|web              = {{Official URL}}
}}
'''{{lang|nl|Diksmuide|italics=no}}''' ({{IPA|nl|dɪksˈmœydə|lang|Nl-Diksmuide.ogg}}; {{langx|fr|Dixmude}} {{IPA|fr|diksmyd|}}; {{langx|vls|Diksmude}}) is a [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[City status in Belgium|city]] and [[Municipalities in Belgium|municipality]] in the [[Flemish Region|Flemish]] [[Provinces of Belgium|province]] of [[West Flanders]]. The municipality comprises the city of {{lang|nl|Diksmuide|italics=no}} proper and the former [[Municipalities in Belgium|communes]] of [[Beerst]], [[Esen, Belgium|Esen]], [[Kaaskerke]], [[Keiem]], [[Lampernisse]], [[Leke]], [[Nieuwkapelle]], [[Oostkerke]], [[Oudekapelle]], [[Pervijze]], [[Sint-Jacobs-Kapelle]], [[Stuivekenskerke]], [[Vladslo]] and [[Woumen]].

Most of the area west of the city is a [[polder]] riddled with drainage trenches. The major economic activity of the region is dairy farming, producing the famous butter of {{lang|nl|Diksmuide|italics=no}}.

==History==

===Medieval origins===
The 9th-century [[Franks|Frankish]] settlement of ''Dicasmutha'' was situated at the mouth of a stream near the [[Yser|River Yser]] ({{langx|nl|IJzer}}). The name is a compound of the Dutch words {{lang|nl|dijk}} (dike) and {{lang|nl|muide}} (river mouth). By the 10th century, a chapel and marketplace were already established. The city's [[charter]] was granted two centuries later and [[defensive walls]] built in 1270. The economy was already then based mainly on agriculture, with dairy products and linen driving the economy.

From the 15th century to the [[French Revolution]], Diksmuide was affected by the wars between the [[Netherlands]], [[France]], [[Spain]], and [[Austria]], with a corresponding decline in activity; it was captured by French forces in the [[Capitulation of Diksmuide]] in 1695. The 19th century was more peaceful and prosperous.

===World War I===
[[File:Belgium - Dixmude - NARA - 68154562 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Ruins of Diksmuide, 1919]]

At the outset of [[World War I]], [[Germany|German]] troops crossed the Belgian border near [[Arlon]], then proceeded hurriedly towards the [[North Sea]] to secure the [[France|French]] ports of {{lang|fr|[[Calais]]|italics=no}} and [[Dunkirk]]. The [[Battle of the Yser]] started in October 1914. Thanks to the water the Belgians were able to stop the Germans; at the end of October, they opened the floodgates holding back the River Yser and flooded the area. As a result, the river became a front line throughout the First World War. The city was first attacked on 16 October 1914 and defended by Belgian and French troops, which marked the beginning of the battle. Colonel [[Jules Marie Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude|Alphonse Jacques]] led the troops that prevented {{lang|nl|Diksmuide|italics=no}} from being taken by the [[German Army (German Empire)|German Army]]. Despite the heavy Belgian losses, the press, politicians, literary figures and the military itself created propaganda which formed public opinion into making the action appear strategic and heroic.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fichou |first=Jean-Christophe |title=Les Pompons Rouges à Dixmude: L'Envers d'une Légende |language=fr |trans-title=The Red Pompons in Diksmuide: The Other Side of a Legend |journal=[[Guerres mondiales et conflits contemporains]] |publisher=[[Presses Universitaires de France]] |date=2010 |volume=240 |issue=4 |pages=5–21 |doi=10.3917/gmcc.240.0005 |issn=0984-2292 |oclc=909782173|doi-access=free }}</ref>

By the time the fighting ended, the town had been reduced to rubble. It was, however, completely rebuilt in the 1920s.

==Sights==
*The [[Belfry (architecture)|belfry]] contains a 30-bell [[carillon]] and is a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]], on the list [[Belfries of Belgium and France]].<ref>{{cite web |title=World Heritage List {{!}} Belfries of Belgium and France |work=[[UNESCO]] |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/943 |access-date=2021-03-16 |archive-date=27 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727131937/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/943/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*The City Hall and neighbouring Saint Nicolas Church were completely rebuilt after World War I in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] style of the 14th and 15th centuries.
*The "Trench of Death" ({{langx|nl|[[Dodengang]]}}), about {{cvt|1.5|km}} from the centre of the city, preserves the [[Trench warfare|trench]] setting where Belgian soldiers fought under the most perilous conditions until the final offensive of 28 September 1918.
*The [[Yser Tower]] peace monument was built during the 1920s but demolished in 1946 as it had been the scene of Nazi ceremonies and collaboration during World War II. A new tower was built in the 1950s which houses a World War I museum owned by the [[United Nations]], where it is possible to experience [[mustard gas]] odour gas. The Yser Tower is also the scene of the yearly {{langnf|nl|[[IJzerbedevaart]]|Pilgrimage of the Yser|links=no}}, a celebration of peace and of Flemish political autonomy. However, the tower had become associated with neo-Nazis from all over Europe but eventually the organisers succeeded in banning neo-Nazis. The more radical Flemish faction now organizes the {{langnf|nl|[[IJzerwake]]|Yser Vigil|links=no}}.
*Several military cemeteries are located around {{lang|nl|Diksmuide}}, including the [[Vladslo German war cemetery]], which is now the resting place for more than 25,000 German soldiers and has the famous sculpture of the 'Mourning parents' by [[Käthe Kollwitz]].
*Diksmuide used to have its own weekly magazine called ''Weekblad van Dixmude''.

<gallery>
File:IJzertorenPanorama.jpg|[[Yser Tower]]
File:Belfry of Diksmuide (DSCF9585).jpg|Town hall and belfry
</gallery>

==Notable inhabitants==
[[File:Weekblad van Dixmude.jpg|thumb|upright|Excerpt from ''Weekblad van Diksmuide'' of the year of 1834. Preserved in the [[Ghent University Library]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Weekblad van Dixmude. |url=https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:18E7472C-C7F1-11E0-9297-BAC837D8FA8C#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3866,0,12576,7021 |access-date=2020-09-28 |website=lib.ugent.be |archive-date=22 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222184226/https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be%3A18E7472C-C7F1-11E0-9297-BAC837D8FA8C#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3866,0,12576,7021 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
*Pierre Morel-Danheel (1773–1856), politician
*[[Maria Doolaeghe]] (1803–1884), writer
*[[Wim Vansevenant]], record three-time [[Tour de France]] [[Lanterne rouge]] winner

==Twin cities==

*{{flagicon|UK}} [[Ellesmere, Shropshire|Ellesmere]], United Kingdom
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Ploemeur]], France
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Rottach-Egern]], Germany
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Finnentrop]], Germany

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Official website}} {{in lang|nl}}

{{Geographic location
|Centre = Diksmuide
|North     = [[Middelkerke]]
|East      = [[Koekelare]]<br/>[[Kortemark]]
|South     = [[Houthulst]]
|Southwest = [[Lo-Reninge]]
|West      = [[Veurne]]<br/>[[Alveringem]]
|Northwest = [[Nieuwpoort, Belgium|Nieuwpoort]]
}}
{{Municipalities in West Flanders}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Diksmuide| ]]
[[Category:Sub-municipalities of Diksmuide]]
[[Category:Municipalities of West Flanders]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Belgium]]