Last modified: 2007-12-22 by ivan sache
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![[Flag of Kontich]](../images/b/be-vankh.gif)
Municipal flag of Kontich - Image by Jarig Bakker, 1 October 2001
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The municipality of Kontich (20,243 inhabitants on 1 January 2007; 2,367 ha) is located 15 km south of Antwerp, close to Edegem. The municipality of Kontich is made since 1976 of the former municipalities of Kontich and Waarloos.
Kontich was already settled in the Neolithic and Celtic periods.
Excavations made from 1964 to 1987 yielded several Gallo-Roman remains,
including foundations of villaes and of one of the biggest temples
found in the region. Foundations of another villa with an hypocaustum
(heating system) were found on the Alfsberg hill, locally known as the
IJzermaalberg because remains of iron (in Dutch, IJzer) industry were
found there. A Roman well, found in 1947, was rebuilt in the municipal
park. Kontich was therefore an important Roman colony, named Condacum
or Contiacum, located in a densely inhabited area stretching to
Villariacum (Wilrijk); at that time, Antwerp was still a small hamlet.
However, popular legends give other origins for the name of Kontich.
The most famous recalls a giant once standing with one foot on the
cathedral of Antwerp and the other on the St. Rombout towers in
Mechelen, so that his bottom (in Dutch, kont) was located above the village of Kontich. A more serious tradition claims that Condacum meant
"a place near a confluency", here the confluency of the Rupel and the
Schelde. A third tradition relates the name of the village to the
Celtic landlord Contius.
Yet another legend claims that St. Renilde, the daughter of St.
Amelberga and the niece of Pepin of Landen, was born in Kontich. At
least she owned goods there, which she transferred to the abbey of
Lobbes in the VIIth century. In 1149, the Bishop of Cambrai confirmed
that the church of Kontich belonged to Lobbes in a chart that bears the
oldest mention of Kontich. The village had indeed two churches, the
oldest, later suppressed St. Martin church being built close to the St.
Martin well, maybe originating from a source venerated by the Celts,
whose miraculous water was later used to cure eye diseases. The second
church was located inside the town walls, in the domain belonging to
the Berthout of Mechelen, while other parts of Kontich were ruled
directly by the Duke of Brabant. This complicated situation, not
unusual at the time, caused several administrative and legal problems.
The Berthout's church was built from 1088 and 1149, with a fortified
Romanesque tower.
In 1374, Kontich, including Lint, which would form an independent
municipality in 1869, had some 700 inhabitants. The population peaked
to 1,230 in 1526 but dramatically decreased to 710 in 1600 because of
the Spanish occupation and the rascals led by Maarten van Rossem. When
peace was restored, the population of Kontich climbed again to 2,188 in
1766 and 2,790 in 1789. There were more than 5,000 Kontichers in 1900,
9,393 of them in 1950 and 17,761 in 1976, including Waarloos. Once a
rural village with significant clothing industry and brickyards,
Kontich boomed in 1910 thanks to diamond-cutting; there were 30 cutting
workshops powered by an electric engine.
Waarloos was mentioned for the first time in 1149, as Warlos. The name
of the village comes from the Germanic words "wardo" and "loos",
meaning "watch" and "a steep pasture", respectively. There was probably
once a watch post on the Keizerenberg. Later, the church and the center
of the village moved downhill, closer to Kontich.
In the Middle Ages, Waarloos belonged to the Country of Mechelen of
Arkel, part of the Margravate of Antwerp. The village was transferred
in 1572 to Cardinal of Granvelle, and belonged to the County of
Cantecroy until 1626. The last lords of Waarloos belonged to the della
Faille family.
In the XVth century, there were only 18-34 houses in Waarloos. The
number of inhabitants of the village steadily climbed to 200 in the
XVIIth century, 340 in the XVIIIth century, 560 in the XIXth century,
and more than 1,000 in 1910; just before the incorporation into
Kontich, there were 1,560 inhabitants in Waarloos.
Source: Municipal website
Ivan Sache, 8 August 2007
The flag of Kontich is vertically divided in nine stripes in turn red
and yellow.
According to Gemeentewapens in België - Vlaanderen en Brussel, the flag was adopted by the Municipal Council on 8 September 1980, confirmed by Royal Decree on 9 December
1980 and published in the Belgian official gazette on 29 January 1981.
The flag is a banner of the municipal arms, the escutcheon being
omitted.
According to Servais, the arms of Kontich were granted by Royal Decree on 3 April 1849. They use a variation of the well-known arms of Berthout ("Or three pales gules"), while the escutcheon ("Per fess, gules a Latin cross argent, azure a lion or) belonged to the Portuguese family of Franco y Feo, last lords of Kontich from 1762 to 1793.
Servais explains the mythical origin of the arms of Berthout as follows:
In the XIIth century, the Lord of Berthout helped the King of Aragon in
his struggle against the Moors. He fought there three times; the first
time, he was rewarded with an estate and the title of provincial
governor, the second time he was rewarded with the King's daughter, but
refused both and went back to Flanders. The third time, the King asked
Berthout waht he would like as a reward. Berthout asked for the right
to bear the arms of Aragon and was granted them with three pales
instead of four, celebrating his three victories over the Moors.
The Gelre Armorial shows several Berthout coat of arms:
- Berthout (Die He. (the Lord) van Mechelen, #809, folio 72v): "Or
three pales gules";
- Henri VII Berthout (Die He. van Duffel, #833, folio 73v): "Or three
pales gules (Berthout) a franc canton ermine";
- Jean de Berlaer (Berthout) (Die He. van Helmunt (Helmont), #838, folio 73v): "Argent three pales gules" (Berlaer)
- Guillaume Berthout de Duffel (H. Willem v. Duffel, #893, folio 75v):
"Or three pales gules a franc canton ermine a crescent sable".
Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 8 August 2007