Burst is a sub-municipality of Erpe-Mere

Erpe-Mere

Erpe-Mere is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Aaigem, Bambrugge, Burst, Erondegem, Erpe, Mere, Ottergem and Vlekkem. There is also a hamlet in Bambrugge: Egem. On January 1, 2010 Erpe-Mere had a total...

 in Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

. It is located in the Denderstreek

Denderstreek

The Denderstreek or Denderland is a region in the heart of Belgium. It is named after the river Dender. Though the river stretches over three provinces, Hainaut, East Flanders and Flemish Brabant, the region called after the river is situated in East-Flanders. The Dutch word streek means region....

 in the southeast of East Flanders

East Flanders

East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant , of Hainaut and of West Flanders...

 and belongs to Arrondissement of Aalst

Arrondissement of Aalst

The Arrondissement of Aalst is one of the six administrative arrondissements in the Province of East Flanders, Belgium. It forms the Judicial Arrondissement of Dendermonde together with the Arrondissements of Dendermonde and Sint-Niklaas.-History:...

. It is bordered by the sub-municipalities of Bambrugge

Bambrugge

Bambrugge is a sub-municipality of Erpe-Mere in Flanders. It is located in the Denderstreek in the southeast of East Flanders and belongs to Arrondissement of Aalst. It is bordered by the sub-municipalities of Vlekkem, Ottergem, Mere, Aaigem and Burst and the municipality of Sint-Lievens-Houtem...

 and Aaigem

Aaigem

Aaigem is a village belonging to the municipality of Erpe-Mere. It is located in the province of East Flanders, Belgium. The village has some 2000 inhabitants. Aaigem was an independent municipality with an area of 7.32 square kilometers till 1976....

 and the municipalities of Herzele

Herzele

Herzele is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Borsbeke, Herzele proper, Hillegem, Ressegem, Sint-Antelinks, Sint-Lievens-Esse, Steenhuize-Wijnhuize and Woubrechtegem. On January 1, 2006 Herzele had a total...

 (sub-municipalities Ressegem and Borsbeke) and Sint-Lievens-Houtem

Sint-Lievens-Houtem

Sint-Lievens-Houtem is a Dutch-speaking municipality of Belgium. It is located in the in the Denderstreek and at the edge of the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the province of East Flanders .It is named after Saint Livinus , a Christian saint believed to have been buried...

 (sub-municipalities Zonnegem and Vlierzele

Vlierzele

Vlierzele is a small village in the Denderstreek at the edge of the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of East-Flanders, Belgium. It belongs to the municipality of Sint-Lievens-Houtem. Vlierzele has a surface area of 669 ha....

). Burst has 2968 inhabitants as of 1 January 2003 and an area of 3.83 km. The population density is 776 inhabitants / km ².

History

The name Burst was first found in a charter of the Sint-Pietersabdij (Abbey) in Ghent. In this document of 1042 it is said that the village Burste is in the neighbourhood of a river with the same name, the "Bursitia juxta fluviolum Burste". It was not until a century later however, in 1151, that Burst was described under its present name, and the village was in the following decades, also named in several documents as Borst, Bost and Bust. The village had 125 farms in 1846, including some large ones. At that time there was a wheat windmill, three breweries and three distilleries in the village. At the beginning of the 19th Century, the village had 304 inhabitants, and by the beginning of the 20th Century it had 963 inhabitants.

Landmarks

In Burst the Sint-Martinus Church can be found. Burst belongs to deanery of Lede. As of 2011 there are still nine chapels, and most are still in good condition, but there are also some that are not maintained. There is also a cave in Burst.


File:Kerk Burst 1.jpg|The church of Burst front view
File:Kerk Burst 2.jpg|The church of Burst side-view
File:Kapel halfweg Gentsestraat Burst.jpg|The little chappelle halfway Gentsestraat
File:Kapel einde Gentsestraat Burst.jpg|The little chappelle at the end of Gentsestraat
File:Kapel begin Dorent Burst.jpg|The little chappelle at the begin of Dorent
File:Kapel midden Dorent Burst.jpg|The little chappelle halfway Dorent
File:Kapel einde Dorent Burst 1.jpg|The little chappelle at the end of Dorent
File:Kapel einde Dorent Burst 2.jpg|The bad condition in the little chappelle at the end of Dorent
File:Burst kapel Kerkstraat.JPG|The little chappelle at Kerkstraat
File:Kapel Stationsstraat Burst.jpg|The little chappelle at Stationsstraat
File:Burst kapel Stokt.JPG|The little chappelle at Stokt
File:Kapel Akkerstraat Burst.jpg|The little chappelle at Akkerstraat
File:Burst grot Kerkstraat.JPG|The cave of Burst

Tourism

Through Burst runs the Molenbeekroute. The Molenbeekroute is a cycle track network, known primarily for the mills of the municipality Erpe-Mere and two brooks that are located there, both of which have the name Molenbeek (mill brook).

Sport

In Burst plays the football club KFC Olympic Burst, that is currently (2011) active in is the second provincial league of the province of East Flanders.