Travel in Kortrijk - Belgium - History

Kortrijk - History

The Kortrijk district - in common with the rest of Flanders - has a rich and varied history, characterized by the continual presence of various cultures and peoples.

According to archaeological discoveries, people were already living around 1500 B.C. where Kortrijk stands today. But there was no real colony before Roman times.

First century A.D.: the Gallo-Roman colony called Caroticum came to the light. It was settled on the borders of the Lys river and was situated on the crossroads of Tongeren-Kassel and Tournai-Oudenburg. Caroticum is a Latin form of an old Celtic name.

In Roman times Kortrijk saw its first trade activity at the junction of two Roman roads. In the 5th century the Romans made way for the Frankish, who converted to Christianism.

Between the 9th and the 18th centuries, Kortrijk was part of the County of Flanders. This county was continuously endangered by the great European powers. As a result, Flanders was annexed to the Burgundian, Habsburgian and Spanish empires respectively. The Battle of the Spurs in1302, was the most famous battle in the Flemish medieval history.

The 15th century marked the beginning of the textile industry, when artisans laid the groundwork for damask, tapestry and sheet weaving.

Between the 16th and the 18th centuries, as a result of religious wars and various border conflicts, periods of prosperity alternated with serious crises. By the end of the 18th century, the French Revolution would lay the foundation of modern society. During the French reign society was modernized dramatically. A new legal system came into force, viz. the Code Napoleon. A new political structure provided the basis for the district of Kortrijk within the Department de la Lys, the current Province of West Flanders.

After a brief reunification with the Netherlands (1815-1830), Belgium gained independence. The industrial revolution increased the pace of infrastructure development: the railway and the canal Bossuit-Kortrijk had to secure the supply of raw materials. However, in the 19th century the Kortrijk region - in common with the rest of Flanders - remained a poor region. As a result, part of the population emigrated to the industrialized regions in Northern France or even to North America.

The inter-bellum period was characterized by economic diversification, which fostered employment and prosperity. The flax industry set the tone. Thanks to the retting process, the water in the river Leie was of an excellent quality, which earned the Leie the name of "Golden River".

In the 60s and 70s the Kortrijk region underwent a new, far-reaching reconversion. Following from the flax culture and the internal dynamics of family businesses, new activities were developed, so that the region reached an extraordinarily high level of prosperity.

This period is characterized by social and cultural emancipation: the good relations between the workers and their employers, mostly in family businesses, supported local prosperity. The Flemish culture as well as the Dutch language have taken a firm position in the bilingual Belgian state.

In the last decades of the 20th century, computerization and the European unification have become important agenda items. The Kortrijk population, with a high training level and a command of languages that has become proverbial, is prepared to play an important role in this global environment.

click to go back