Buggenhout

Buggenhout
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Buggenhout Location in Belgium
Location of Buggenhout in East Flanders
Coordinates: 51°00′N 04°12′E / 51.000°N 4.200°ECoordinates: 51°00′N 04°12′E / 51.000°N 4.200°E
Country	Belgium
Community	Flemish Community
Region	Flemish Region
Province	East Flanders
Arrondissement	Dendermonde
Government
• Mayor	Tom Van Herreweghe (NCD)
• Governing party/ies	NCD, BAL, SP.A, VLD
Area
• Total	25.25 km^2 (9.75 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2013)[1]
• Total	14,237
• Density	560/km^2 (1,500/sq mi)
Postal codes	9255
Area codes	052
Website	www.buggenhout.be

Buggenhout (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɵɣə(n)ɦʌut]) is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Buggenhout proper, Briel, Opdorp, and Opstal. On December 31, 2013, Buggenhout had a total population of 14,444. The total area is 25.25 square kilometres, which gives a population density of 572 inhabitants per square kilometre. The current mayor of Buggenhout is Tom Van Herreweghe, from the (local) NCD party.

Buggenhout is also known for its forest, the "Buggenhout Bos", which is the largest forest of East Flanders.

In Opdorp lays the geographic centre of Flanders.

Buggenhout has two breweries, Bosteels Brewery (known for the "Tripel Karmeliet", "Deus" (a champagne beer), "Kwak") and De Landtsheer, now called Brouwerij Malheur (known for "Malheur").

Etymology

The original meaning of the name is "beechwood" or "beech forest" (in modern Dutch: Beukenhout). The name is derived from the Middle Dutch Bucghenhout from Old Dutch Bukenholt. Buken comes from Proto-Germanic *bokjon (Modern Dutch: beuken, Old English: becen (beechs)), holt from *hulta (Modern Dutch: hout (bos), Old English: holt (forest)). Buggenhout still contains a small forested area called Buggenhoutbos.

References

1. Population per municipality on 1 January 2013 (XLS; 607.5 KB)

External links

• Media related to Buggenhout at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website (Dutch)