Oostmalle
Encyclopedia
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
province of Antwerp
Antwerp (province)
Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
. The village itself is part of the municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Malle
Malle
Malle is a municipality located in the Campine region of the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Oostmalle and Westmalle. On 1 January 2006 Malle had a total population of 14,083...
.
Oostmalle was an independent municipality until 1976. It has a surface area of 28.27 km² and in 2004 had 6,510 inhabitants.
Tourism
The most important curiosity of Oostmalle is the Renesse Castle. The Chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Bijstand) at the Herentalsebaan, was built by Leonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de GisigniesLeonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de Gisignies
Leonard Pierre Joseph, Viscount du Bus de Gisignies was a soldier and politician in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. He was born as Leonard Pierre Joseph Dubus, but on 14 June 1822, because of name multiplication, du Bus de Gisignies was added to his name...
in 1837. In 1930 a Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
cave was added to the chapel (inaugurated on 7 May 1933), and in 1934 a Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
was added in remembrance of King Albert I of Belgium
Albert I of Belgium
Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
(sculptor was Simon Goossens
Simon Goossens
Simon Goossens was a Belgian sculptor.In 1920 he won a silver medal in the art competitions of the Olympic Games for his "Les Patineurs" .-External links:*...
). The Chapel of Saint Anthony (Dutch: Sint-Antoniuskapel) in the hamlet Salphen
Salphen
Salphen is a hamlet which is part of the village of Oostmalle in the Campine region of Flanders, Belgium. The history of Salphen dates back to the 13th century when in the records of the Chapter of Our Lady of Antwerp it was called Zalhulfe.-Chapel of Saint Anthony:The earliest traces of Zalhuffle...
dates from 1626.
Oostmalle Airfield
Zoersel-Oostmalle Airfield
Zoersel-Oostmalle Airfield is an airport in the Antwerp province of the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located east of the municipality of Zoersel and south of the town Oostmalle.-External links:* * *...
is located south on the territory of Oostmalle, close to the hamlet of Salphen
Salphen
Salphen is a hamlet which is part of the village of Oostmalle in the Campine region of Flanders, Belgium. The history of Salphen dates back to the 13th century when in the records of the Chapter of Our Lady of Antwerp it was called Zalhulfe.-Chapel of Saint Anthony:The earliest traces of Zalhuffle...
, and the forest of Blommerschot
Blommerschot
The hamlet of Blommerschot is located in the southeast of Oostmalle in the Campine region of Flanders, Belgium. Blommerschot was already mentioned in 1300 as Eene oude Ridderlyck hof , and possibly dates back from a Frankish settlement...
. This airfield is currently used for recreational purposes (Gliding
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
). There was some talk of using this airfield as an alternative for the Airport in Deurne should it have to close.
Each year the international Sluitingsprijs Oostmalle
Sluitingsprijs Oostmalle
The Sluitingsprijs Oostmalle is a cyclo-cross race held in Oostmalle, Belgium, which is part of the Cyclo-cross Gazet van Antwerpen. It is traditionally the last race of the GvA Trophy. The race is held in the woods of Christophe Lenaerts and the military airfield.-Past winners:-External...
is organised in Oostmalle, which is part of the Cyclo-cross Gazet van Antwerpen
Cyclo-cross Gazet van Antwerpen
The Gazet van Antwerpen Trophy is a series of cyclo-cross races organised by the Gazet van Antwerpen newspaper. Many races are held in the province of Antwerp with others being held elsewhere in Belgium. The 2010-2011 season comprised eight races. The first ever GvA Trofee event was held on 1...
. It marks the end of the Cyclo-cross
Cyclo-cross
Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter , and consists of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and...
season.
Tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
which destroyed the church and the centre of the village. Of the church, only the tower was rebuilt in its original state. More than half of the 900 houses in the village were damaged, 135 houses were completely destroyed.
Notable inhabitants
- Viscount Bernard Aimé Léonard du Bus de Gisignies Bernard du Bus de GisigniesJonkheer Bernard Aimé Léonard du Bus de Gisignies was a Dutch nobleman and later on a Belgian politician, ornithologist and paleontologist. He was the second son of Leonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de Gisignies...
(1808-1874) - Viscount Leonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de GisigniesLeonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de GisigniesLeonard Pierre Joseph, Viscount du Bus de Gisignies was a soldier and politician in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. He was born as Leonard Pierre Joseph Dubus, but on 14 June 1822, because of name multiplication, du Bus de Gisignies was added to his name...
(1780-1849) - Frans Van GielFrans Van GielFrans Van Giel, born Franciscus Alexius van Giel was a Belgian painter who was born in Oostmalle. He is called the painter of the Campine and was a friend of the painter Jakob Smits. From 1930 until his death in 1975, he lived in Wechelderzande, and is also buried there.-Source:*...
, painter (1892-1975) - Maria RosseelsMaria RosseelsMaria, Baroness Rosseels , also known with her pen name E. M. Vervliet, was a Belgian Catholic writer. The first years of her life, she lived in the Goedendagstraat in Borgerhout. When Maria was 7 years old, the family moved to Oostmalle, where she already started to write...
, journalist and writer (1916-2005)