The Meetjesland in the north of East-Flanders, Belgium

The Landsdijk

There is a elongated naturally occurring ridge "heerst" situated north of Bassevelde on the border with the polder region of Watervliet. This is a sandy line of higher ground created by the forces of nature that runs from Bentille over Kaprijke all the way to Boekhoute. About 1390 they built a dam on this high line. The Landsdijk (dijk = dyke, levee or floodbank) was later strenghtened by Duke John (Graaf Jan). That's why it's also called Gravejansdijk, Duke John's Dike. In the early 1900s the population increased here and a residential quarter came into being.

This Landsdijk quarter is since 1904 an independant parish. The church dedicated to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception and with Saint Louis, the French king, as its patron saint, dates from 1910. The architect was Henri Valcke from Ledeberg. He drew up the plans for this small neogothic church with its sedate interior. The Reverend Jan-Baptist Meuleman became its first parish priest.

Next to the church there is a convent and a school, both founded by the Dames Bernardines Sisters from Bassevelde. But at the end of the 1970s the few remaining Sisters left for lack of new blood.

For those of you who read Dutch there is a series of 4 articles on the Landsdijk written by Robert Bernaert. They were published in the periodical «Ons Meetjesland». See here for the first of these articles. The author was born in 1920. He became the village priest of the Landsdijk on 14 July 1970. He died on 26 November 1989.

On 17 May 2004 the Bishopric of Ghent announced that the Rev. Emmanuel Vidts would be the new village priest for the parishes Assenede, Bassevelde and the Landsdijk.

The Landsdijk is part of Bassevelde. It never was a separate commune and never had its own burgomaster and town council.

The source of most of the above is the excellent "Streekgids Meetjesland", 1998, 36. See also: Our Sources.

In 2010 the parish of the Immaculate Conception feted its hundredth anniversary but in 2013 it was decided that the church would become a culture house and the bishop of Ghent has deconsecrated the building.

In de Landsdijk you will find the Chocolaterie Vermeire and there you will find the best chocolates of the whole Mmm...eetjesland, made with Belgian Callebaut chocolate and real butter from a nearby farm. See their website for their opening hours. Careful now : too much chocolate, even the very best Belgian chocolate, is not good for you.

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