Editing Oudenaarde

{{Short description|Municipality in Flemish Community, Belgium}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox Belgium municipality
|name             = Oudenaarde
|type             = city
|picture          = Oudenaarde DI-677.jpg
|picture-legend   =
|map              = Oudenaarde East-Flanders Belgium Map.svg
|map-legend       = Location of Oudenaarde in East Flanders
|coordinates      = {{Coord|50|51|N|03|36|E|region:BE-VOV_type:city(32,000)|display=inline,title}}
|arms             = Oudenaarde wapen.svg
|flag             = Flag of Oudenaarde.svg
|region           = [[Flanders]]
|community        = 
|province         = [[East Flanders]]
|arrondissement   = [[Arrondissement of Oudenaarde|Oudenaarde]]
|nis              = 45035
|mayor            = John Adam ([[Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats|Open VLD]])
|majority         = [[Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats|Open VLD]], [[Christian Democratic and Flemish|CD&V]]
|postal-codes     = 9700
|telephone-area   = 055
|web              = [http://www.oudenaarde.be/ www.oudenaarde.be]
}}

'''Oudenaarde''' ({{IPA|nl|ˈʌudənaːrdə|-|Nl-Oudenaarde.ogg}}; {{langx|fr|Audenarde}} {{IPA|fr|odnaʁd||}}; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[City status in Belgium|city]] and [[Municipalities of Belgium|municipality]] in the [[Flemish Region|Flemish]] [[Provinces of Belgium|province]] of [[East Flanders]]. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of [[Bevere, Belgium|Bevere]], Edelare, [[Eine, Belgium|Eine]], [[Ename]], Heurne, Leupegem, Mater, [[Melden]], Mullem, Nederename, Volkegem, [[Welden, Belgium|Welden]] and a part of Ooike.

From the 15th to the 18th century, but especially in the 16th century, Oudenaarde was known as a centre of [[tapestry]] production. The town's name, meaning "old field", still lingers on in "outnal", an obsolete [[English language|English]] term for a kind of brown linen thread.

==History==

[[File:Oudenaarde, Belgium ; Deventer map.jpg|thumb|left|Oudenaarde on the [[Deventer map]] (around 1558)]]
[[File:Famien Strada Histoire-Capture of Oudenaarde 1582-ppn087811480 MG 8938p334.tif|thumb|left|Capture of Oudenaarde by [[Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma|Alexander Farnese]], 1582]]

===The glory of Ename===
{{Confusing section|date=July 2024}}<!-- Who did what: the son of Baldwin V, or Baldwin V, the son of Baldwin IV; and which Baldwin rebelled. -->

The history of the current municipality of Oudenaarde starts in 974, when [[Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor]] and king of [[Kingdom of Germany|Germany]], built one of its three fortifications on the [[Scheldt]] at Ename to protect his kingdom against possible attacks from [[Francia]] (next to the other frontier post at [[Valenciennes]], later in also the [[Margraviate of Antwerp]]).  Ename grew very fast.  By 1005, the town already had a couple of churches and had become the largest town in the [[Duchy of Lotharingia]].  In 1034, Ename was destroyed by an irregular army that surrendered the city to Count [[Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders|Baldwin IV]]. In 1047, the son of [[Baldwin V, Count of Flanders|Baldwin V]] (peacefully) received the imperial fief from the German emperor. The fief was, however, confiscated in 1047 when the Baldwins rebelled against the German empire. In 1062, Baldwin V, together with his wife, founded the [[Benedictine]] [[Ename Abbey|abbey of Saint Salvator]].  By that time, the former merchants and guild artisans of Ename easily got across the Scheldt to the recently founded city of Oudenaarde.<ref>Van Droogenbroeck, F. J. (2018), [https://www.academia.edu/35663101/ "De markenruil Ename – Valenciennes en de investituur van de graaf van Vlaanderen in de mark Ename"], ''Handelingen van de Geschied- en Oudheidkundige Kring van Oudenaarde'' 55. pp. 47–127.</ref>

===Oudenaarde’s golden age===
In the 11th century, Oudenaarde’s economy flourished, thanks to the proximity of the Scheldt and the burgeoning but vibrant cloth and tapestry industry.  Churches, cloisters and hospitals were built.  Throughout the Middle Ages, the city was one of the staunchest supporters of the counts of [[County of Flanders|Flanders]], defending them against insurrections from the South and even from [[Ghent]].  The city became known as the ''residence of the nobles''.  It built itself a flagship [[Oudenaarde Town Hall|town hall]] (built 1526–1537), which we can still admire today, and the St-Walburga church.  [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] stayed here for a couple of months in 1522 and fathered an illegitimate daughter, [[Margaret of Parma]], who was to become Regent of the Netherlands.

===Decline===
[[File:PM 057410 B Oudenaarde.jpg|thumb|left|Monument in Oudenaarde honoring the 40,000 members of the US 37th and 91st Divisions who fought there October 30 – November 11, 1918]]
During the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], the people of Oudenaarde chose [[Protestantism]] and allied themselves with Ghent against [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]].  In 1582, after a prolonged siege by Margaret's son, [[Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma|Alexander Farnese]], the city finally gave in, causing most merchants, workers, and even nobles to flee.  Oudenaarde fell under the [[Counter-Reformation]], which for a short while revived the commerce of tapestry.  The glory days, however, never came back.  The French attacked and took the city three times in less than a century.  Fortifications were repeatedly improved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including additions by [[Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban|Vauban]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fortified-places.com/reliefs/audenarde.html |title=Fortified Places > Relief Maps > Audenarde |access-date=2007-01-04 |archive-date=2007-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209203748/http://www.fortified-places.com/reliefs/audenarde.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1708, one of the key battles in the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], known as the [[Battle of Oudenaarde]], was fought in the vicinity of the city. Oudenaarde slumbered as a provincial town under the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] regime. Like its neighbours, in the 1790s, it suffered religious curtailment imposed by the [[French Revolution]].

The city later [[Battle of the Lys and the Escaut#Battle|suffered damage]] during [[World War I]], which is commemorated by several monuments scattered around town.

During [[World War II]] the town was occupied by Nazi German forces in [[Battle of Belgium#15–21 May: Counterattacks and retreat to the coast|May 1940]]. The town was liberated by [[British armed forces|British forces]] on the 5th of September 1944.<ref>''Battle for the Escaut 1940: The France and Flanders Campaign'' by Jerry Murland, pg. xi</ref>

==Beer==
[[File:LiefmansOudbruin.jpg|right|thumb|Liefmans Oud Bruin]]
Oudenaarde is known for the brewing of [[Oud bruin]] [[beer]], which is sometimes termed Oudenaarde Oud bruin, especially that of [[Liefmans Brewery]] in the town.<ref>''The Ale Trail'', 1995, [[Roger Protz]], quote: "The Old Brown [Oud Bruin] ales of Oudenaarde, a waterside city steeped in Flemish culture and history, are highly complex beers".</ref><ref>''Oxford Companion to Beer'', 2011, quote: "Liefmans Brewery is a Belgian specialty brewery in Oudenaarde, in the province of East Flanders."</ref>

Oud Bruin (Old Brown), also known as Flanders Brown, is a style of beer originating from the [[Flanders|Flemish]] region of [[Belgium]]. The Dutch name refers to the long aging process, up to a year. It undergoes a secondary [[fermentation]], which takes several weeks to a month, followed by bottle ageing for several more months. The extended ageing allows residual [[yeast]] and [[bacteria]] to develop a [[sour]] flavour characteristic for this style.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rajotte|first1=Pierre|title=Belgian Ale|date=1992|publisher=Brewers Publications|location=Boulder, Co|isbn=9780937381311|page=14}}</ref> Usually, cultured yeast and bacteria are used, as stainless steel does not harbour wild organisms as wood does.<ref name=BeerConnoisseur>{{cite news|title=Flanders Brown / Oud Bruin|url=http://www.beerconnoisseur.com/Flanders-Brown-Oud-Bruin|access-date=6 April 2014|newspaper=Beer Connoisseur|date=2 September 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408224636/http://www.beerconnoisseur.com/Flanders-Brown-Oud-Bruin|archive-date=8 April 2014}}</ref>

==Sights==
* The [[Flamboyant]] [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]]–style [[Oudenaarde Town Hall|Town Hall]] and its [[Belfries of Belgium and France|Belfry]] were designated by [[UNESCO]] as a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1999.<ref name = "unesco">{{cite web |url = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/943 |title= Belfries of Belgium and France  |website = UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |access-date = 5 November 2021}}</ref> The city hall houses a unique collection of Oudenaarde [[tapestries]].
* The Church of Our Lady of [[Pamele]], begun in 1234 on the banks of the Scheldt, and the Church of St Walburga near the market square, are both worth a visit.
* Oudenaarde is also home to the Centrum Tour of Flanders, a museum dedicated to the [[Tour of Flanders]] cycling race.
* Since 2008, the village of Mater in Oudenaarde has been the home of Belgium's smallest craft brewery: the [[Smisje Brewery]] (previously located in [[Bruges]]).

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Oudenaarde_stadhuis_25-9-2016_09-52-11.JPG|Oudenaarde Town Hall
File:Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Pamele kerk 2.jpg|Church of Our Lady of Pamele
File:Oudenaarde, de Sint Walburgakerk oeg27310 foto8 2013-05-07 15.44.jpg|Saint Walburga's church, Oudenaarde 
File:Oudenaarde, stationsgebouw oeg27384 foto1 2013-05-07 15.25.jpg|Oudenaarde railway station 
File:Oudenaarde, straatzicht op de Markt positie2 met oeg27250 plaatsen foto3 2013-05-07 15.40.jpg|The marketplace, Oudenaarde
</gallery>

==Events==
*Recurring events include a beer fest in June, an open-air musical festival in the summer, and an agricultural fair in February.
*Every ten years, one of the largest floral displays in Flanders takes place on the market square (''Grote Markt''). The last one took place in 2005.

== Newspaper ==
[[File:Gazet van Oudenaarde.jpg|thumb|Excerpt from the ''Gazette of Oudenaarde'' from the year 1855. Preserverd in the [[Ghent University Library]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gazette van Audenaerde.|url=https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:5A3CC2D0-DF4E-11E2-B1E4-67A297481370#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-2564,0,8784,5328|access-date=2020-09-28|website=lib.ugent.be}}</ref>]]
Oudenaarde used to have its own newspaper, namely ''the Gazette van Audenaerde''.

==Sports==
The main football club in Oudenaarde is [[K.S.V. Oudenaarde]].

The celebrated ''[[Tour of Flanders for Women|Tour of Flanders voor Vrouwen]]'', the women's Tour of Flanders cycle race, starts in Oudenaarde every spring. The men's [[Tour of Flanders]] has passed through Oudenaarde on several occasions, finishing in the town since 2012, and it regularly ascends the [[Koppenberg]] hill in the municipality. The [[Cyclo-cross Koppenberg|Koppenbergcross]] [[cyclo-cross]] race, which takes place on the Koppenberg hillside, is part of the [[BPost Bank Trophy]].

[[Rhinos Rugby Oudenaarde]] is a rugby club in Oudenaarde that was voted the coolest club of [[Flanders]] in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |last=in |first=Made |last2=Cromphout |first2=Rani |date=2018-10-24 |title=Rhinos Rugby uit Oudenaarde is de coolste sportclub van Vlaanderen |url=https://www.made-in.be/oost-vlaanderen/rhinos-rugby-uit-oudenaarde-is-de-coolste-sportclub-van-vlaanderen/ |access-date=2023-12-29 |website=Made in |language=nl-BE}}</ref>

==Notable inhabitants==
<!-- Ascending chronological order -->
* The [[Viscount of Audenaerde]]
* [[Arnold of Soissons]], saint (1040-1087)
* [[Margaret of Parma]], daughter of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] and [[Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands|Regent of the Netherlands]] (1522-1586)
* [[Henri-Charles Lambrecht]], bishop, born in Welden.
* [[Johannes van den Driesche]], orientalist and exegete (1550-1616)
* [[Adriaen Brouwer]], painter (1605-1638)
* [[Charles Liedts]], politician (1802-1878) 
* [[Gentil Theodoor Antheunis]], poet (1840-1907)
* [[Reimond Stijns]], writer (1850-1905)
* [[Robert Herberigs]], painter, writer and musician (1886-1974)
* [[Arthur Decabooter]], cyclist, born in Welden (1936-2012)
* [[André Dierickx]], road racing cyclist (b. 1946)
* [[Jotie T'Hooft]], poet (1956-1977)
* [[Bart Kaëll]], singer and TV host (b. 1960)
* [[Eric Van Lancker]], cyclist (b. 1961)
* [[Mario De Clercq]], cyclist, three-time world cyclo-cross champion (b. 1966)
* [[Frank De Bleeckere]], football referee (b. 1966)
* [[Jonathan Page (cyclist)|Jonathan Page]], cyclist, American cyclo-cross champion (b. 1976)
* [[Brigitta Callens]], [[Miss Belgium|Miss Belgium 1999]] (b. 1980)
* [[Charlotte Vandermeersch]], actress (b. 1983)
* [[Stijn Vandenbergh]], cyclist (b. 1984)
* [[Kenny De Ketele]], track cyclist, Madison World Champion (b. 1985)
* [[Jan Bakelants]], cyclist (b. 1986)
* [[Jan Dequeker]], professor, humanitarian and philanthropist (b. 1997)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/en/person/00010267|title=KU Leuven who's who - Jan Dequeker}}</ref>

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Belgium}}

===Twin towns—sister cities===
* {{Flagicon|GER}} [[Coburg]], Germany (1972)
* {{Flagicon|NLD}} [[Bergen op Zoom]], Netherlands (1986)
* {{Flagicon|ITA}} [[Castel Madama]], Italy (1986)
* {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[Arras, France|Arras]], France (1990)
* {{Flagicon|GBR}} [[Hastings]], United Kingdom (1991)
* {{Flagicon|ROM}} [[Buzău]], Romania (2007)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.oudenaarde.be Official website]
* [https://www.mou-oudenaarde.be/ Museum van Oudenaarde]
* [http://www.crvv.be Centrum Tour of Flanders] {{In lang|nl|fr|en}}

{{Geographic location
|Centre = Oudenaarde
|North     = [[Zingem]]
|East      = [[Zwalm]]<br/>[[Horebeke]]
|South     = [[Maarkedal]]
|Southwest = [[Kluisbergen]]
|West      = [[Wortegem-Petegem]]
|Northwest = [[Kruishoutem]]
}}
{{Belgian municipality Oudenaarde}}
{{Municipalities in East Flanders}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Oudenaarde| ]]
[[Category:Municipalities of East Flanders]]
[[Category:Populated places in East Flanders]]
[[Category:Vauban fortifications in Belgium]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Belgium]]