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Web site of the Ename 974 Archaeological site

The city of Oudenaarde lies in the Belgian province of East Flanders and has a population of about 28.000. It is located 25 kilometers south of Ghent, on the banks of the Scheldt River. Oudenaarde is not yet  a 1.000 years old, but in these past hundreds of years it has already written quite some history. And this history has left traces that are still visible in its beautiful examples of monumental architecture. The absolute number one is without any doubt the late-Gothic Town Hall with its Cloth Hall.

Oudenaarde is the site of a famous battle: in July 1708, the Allied forces under the Duke of Marlborough soundly defeated a French army under Vendome and Bourgogne, setting the stage for the expulsion of the French from Ghent and Bruges 6 months later.

The primary industry in Oudenaarde is textile production, as it has been for centuries. Historically, pictorial and decorative tapestries manufactured here are significant, and it is worth seeking out the many institutions where they are displayed or restored. Oudenaarde is also an important rail junction. A favorite son of the town is painter Adriaen Brouwer.

Apart from the beautiful Town Hall, Oudenaarde has some other historically important monuments : the Bailiff's House, the Abbey of Maagdendale, Our Lady's Hospital with the Bisshop's Residence, the Saint Walburga's Church, the Church of Pamele, the Black Sisters' Convent, the Meat House, the Beguinage and approximately 100 other classified monuments and houses.

Close to Oudenaarde is the village of  Ename, now one of the municipalities belonging to the town, somewhat downstream along the river Scheldt. In the early Middle Ages, Ename was situated on the borderline between the French and the German Empires.At first a military stronghold, Ename became an important religious settlement. Around the Abbey of the Benedictines a fully inhabited centre arose. The foundation of the Abbey and the early years of Ename's existence are now exposed to the public and together they make an open air museum with a European radiation.
(Picture aerial view © Ename 974 - H. Timmerman )
 

Adriaen Brouwer (1605 - 1638) The painter Adriaen Brouwer was born in Oudenaarde but moved to Holland at a very young age to study in the workshop of Frans Hals. He returned to Oudenaarde in 1630 where he died 8 years later. He is famous for his scenes of  drunks and the sometimes sarcastic representations of his contemporaries.

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