Geraardsbergen

Geraardsbergen is a city and municipality in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the province of East Flanders in Belgium. It is known in French as Grammont. The municipality takes in the town centre and fifteen surrounding villages, among them Goeferdinge, Idegem, Moerbeke, Onkerzele, Schendelbeke, Viane and Zarlardinge. Its history is unusually long for the region: it grew up beside the older settlement of Hunnegem and in 1068 became one of the first communities in Western Europe to be granted city status. In 1381 the town was destroyed by Walter IV of Enghien, and each year a local carnival on the Oudenberg hill recalls the siege. The town is also known for its steep cobbled climb, the Wall, which cyclists ride in the Tour of Flanders, and for the mattentaart pastry, which holds a European protected geographical indication. The 2021 population was 33,970, spread over an area of 79.71 square kilometres.