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Zomergem (Municipality, Province of East Flanders, Belgium)

Last modified: 2008-05-10 by ivan sache
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[Flag of Zomergem]

Municipal flag of Zomergem - Image by Filip van Laenen, 23 October 2001

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Presentation of Zomergem

The municipality of Zomergem (8,003 inhabitants on 1 January 2007; 3,878 ha) is located in the region of Meetjesland, west of Ghent. The municipality of Zomergem is made since 1976 of the former municipalities of Zomergem (6,760 inh.; 2,792 ha), Oostwinkel (678 inh.; 836 ha) and Ronsele (606 inh.; 251 ha).

Zomergem was mentioned for the first time in 814 when Wulfrid transferred part of his goods located in Sumaringahem to the St. Peter abbey in Ghent. According to Gysselinck, the village was most probably founded around 500 by a Merovingian lord called Sumar and its name "reads" "Sumar's lineage's estate". Ledeganck claims that Zomergem means "summer (in Dutch, zomer) residence", while De Potter and Broeckaert believe that zomer is indeed a Celtic root meaning "an assembly". Carnoy writes that Zomergem was a summer pasture.
In summer 1994, archeologists from the University of Ghent found remains of a Roman settlement (IInd-IIIrd century AD) in Zomergem, with a typical water conveyance system and remains of a tilery. After the evangelization of the region by St. Amandus in the VIIth century, a small chapel was probably built on the hill of Upper Zomergem, on the site of the current parish church. From the early settlement that developed around the hill, there were roads to Bruges (via Nekke), Ghent (via Lovendegem) and Eeklo (via Ronsele).

Source: Municipal website

Ivan Sache, 5 January 2008

Municipal flag of Zomergem

The municipal flag of Zotergem is vertically divided white-red, seven stripes, therefore virtually identical to the flag of Keerbergen

.
According to Gemeentewapens in België - Vlaanderen en Brussel, the flag was adopted by the Municipal Council on 7 May 1987, confirmed by the Executive of Flanders on 7 July 1987 and published in the Belgian official gazette on 3 December 1987.
The flag is based on the chief of the arms of the lords of Zomergem.

"Argent three pales gules" appears as the chief of the dexter part of the municipal arms of Zomergem, "Per pale, azure a chief argent three pales gules, or a bend chequy argent and sable."

Pascal Vagnat, Jan Mertens & Ivan Sache, 6 January 2008