West Flanders

Staden (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈstaːdə(n)]; West Flemish: Stoan) is a village and rural municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality has around 11 000 inhabitants. In the local West-Flemish dialect, the d is not pronounced, which results in Stoan as pronunciation.

Handzame is a village in the Belgian province West Flanders. It is part of the Kortemark municipality, which also comprises the villages Werken, Zarren and Kortemark itself.

Kortemark (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkɔrtəmɑr(ə)k]), also previously Cortemarck, is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Handzame, Kortemark, Werken and Zarren. On January 1, 2006, Kortemark had a total population of 11,976. The total area is 55.00 km² which gives a population density of 218 inhabitants per km².

Zarren is a town in Kortemark, West Flanders province, Belgium.

Houthulst (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦʌu̯tɦʏlst]; West Flemish: Oetulst, West Flemish pronunciation: [utœːst]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality consists of the sub-municipalities Houthulst, Jonkershove, Klerken and Merkem. On January 1, 2006, Houthulst had a total population of 9,051. The total area is 55.89 km² which gives a population density of 162 inhabitants per km².

Werken is a small rural village in the centre of the Belgian province of West Flanders with around a thousand inhabitants. It is a district of Kortemark.

Westrozebeke is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It is part of the municipality of Staden. It is located 6 miles (10 km) west of Roeselare and 9.5 miles (15 km) north-east of Ypres. It's a typical agricultural village with many farms. The name Westrozebeke means 'west thatch brook'. The word 'roze' is also related to the 'roes' of the nearby city Roeselare. It lies at the top of a hill, and has beautiful views, especially to the West. It has two football fields and a local youth mouvement, the Chiro. The village is also famous because of the Battle of Roosebeke, where a Flemish army under the guidance of Philip van Artevelde (son of the famous Jacob van Artevelde, Flemish statesman and political leader of the city of Ghent) fought a French army under guidance of Lodewijk II van Male and Charles VI of France. The Flemish army was defeated and Artevelde died in battle.

Bovekerke is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, and since 1971 it's a “deelgemeente” of the municipality of Koekelare. Besides the chief town of Koekelare proper, Bovekerke also borders the villages Vladslo (part of Diksmuide) and Werken (part of Kortemark). Bovekerke has about 1,000 inhabitants. The Roman Catholic parish and church are named after Saint Gertrude. The Saint Gertrude church, with three naves, is built in brick in 1848. Only the octagonal church is left from the late roman church. This tower dates from the 12th century and might be the oldest building in Koekelare, and is a protected monument. During World War I, the tower was used as an observation tower, and the church was used as a hospital.

An incomplete list of schools in the province of West Flanders, Belgium.

Oostnieuwkerke is a Belgian village in the province of West Flanders. It is part of the municipality of Staden. There are more than 3400 inhabitants and Oostnieuwkerke lies closer to the town Roeselare than it is to the main village Staden. The little river the Mandel flows through the centre of Oostnieuwkerke towards Roeselare.

Hooglede (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦoːxˌleːdə]; West Flemish: Ooglee) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Gits and Hooglede proper. On January 1, 2006, Hooglede had a total population of 9,831. The total area is 37.84 km² which gives a population density of 260 inhabitants per km². Hooglede-Gits was the site of the 2007 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. Hooglede houses one of the 4 German War Cemeteries in Belgium, the Hooglede German War Cemetery.

The Battle of Poelcappelle was fought in Flanders, Belgium, on 9 October 1917 by the British Second Army and Fifth Army against the German 4th Army, during the First World War. The battle marked the end of the string of highly successful British attacks in late September and early October, during the Third Battle of Ypres. Only the supporting attack in the north achieved a substantial advance. On the main front, the German defences withstood the limited amount of artillery fire achieved by the British after the attack of 4 October. The ground along the main ridges had been severely damaged by shelling and rapidly deteriorated in the rains, which began again on 3 October, turning some areas back into swamps. Dreadful ground conditions had more effect on the British, who needed to move large amounts of artillery and ammunition to support the next attack. The battle was a defensive success for the 4th Army, although costly to both sides. The weather and ground conditions put severe strain on all the infantry involved and led to many wounded being stranded on the battlefield. Early, misleading information and delays in communication led Plumer and Haig to plan the attack of 12 October (the First Battle of Passchendaele) under the impression that a substantial advance had taken place at Passchendaele ridge when most of the captured ground had been lost to German counter-attacks.