West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemish province of East Flanders to the east, the Walloon province of Hainaut in the southeast and the French department of Nord to the west. Its capital is Bruges (Brugge). Other important cities are Kortrijk in the south and Ostend (Oostende) on the coast, Roeselare and Ypres (Ieper). The province has an area of 3,197 km2 (1,234 sq mi) which is divided into eight administrative districts (arrondissementen) containing 64 municipalities. As of January 2019, West Flanders has a population of 1,195,796.
Stuivekenskerke is a district of the town of Diksmuide, in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Located on the Yser river, until 1970 it was an independent municipality and then merged and became a sub-municipality of Diksmuide. Stuivekenskerke, built in a polder, has an area of 7.34 km² and had 160 inhabitants in 2007.
The Arrondissement of Ghent is the largest of the six administrative arrondissements in the Province of East Flanders, Belgium. It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement. However, the Judicial Arrondissement of Ghent also comprises the municipalities of the Arrondissement of Eeklo.
The Classic Brugge-De Panne is a road cycling race in Belgium in late March. Since 2018 it is raced over two days with a men's race on Wednesday and a women's race on Thursday. Both races start in Bruges and finish in the seaside resort of De Panne.
The Arrondissement of Aalst is one of the six administrative arrondissements in the Province of East Flanders, Belgium. It forms the Judicial Arrondissement of Dendermonde together with the Arrondissements of Dendermonde and Sint-Niklaas.
The Arrondissement of Bastogne is one of the five administrative arrondissements in the Walloon province of Luxembourg, Belgium. It is not a judicial arrondissement. Three of its municipalities, Gouvy, Houffalize and Vielsalm, are part of the Judicial Arrondissement of Marche-en-Famenne, while the rest of its municipalities are part of the Judicial Arrondissement of Neufchâteau.
The Arrondissement of Kortrijk is one of the eight administrative arrondissements in the Province of West Flanders, Belgium.
The Arrondissement of Marche-en-Famenne is one of the five administrative arrondissements in the Walloon province of Luxembourg, Belgium. It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement. However, the Judicial Arrondissement of Marche-en-Famenne also comprises the municipalities of Gouvy, Houffalize and Vielsalm in the Arrondissement of Bastogne.
The Arrondissement of Diksmuide is one of the eight administrative arrondissements in the Province of West Flanders, Belgium. It is one of the two arrondissements that form the Judicial Arrondissement of Veurne.
The Arrondissement of Mons is one of the seven administrative arrondissements in the Walloon province of Hainaut, Belgium.
The Arrondissement of Tournai is a former arrondissement in the Walloon province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement. However, the Judicial Arrondissement of Tournai also comprises the municipality of Lessines in the Arrondissement of Soignies and all municipalities of the Arrondissement of Ath, with the exception of the municipalities of Brugelette and Chièvres. In 2019 it was merged into the new Arrondissement of Tournai-Mouscron.
The police tribunal is the traffic court and trial court which tries minor contraventions in the judicial system of Belgium. It is the lowest Belgian court with criminal jurisdiction. There is a police tribunal for each judicial arrondissement ("district"), except for Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde, where there are multiple police tribunals due to the area's sensitive linguistic situation. Most of them hear cases in multiple seats per arrondissement. As of 2018, there are 15 police tribunals in total, who hear cases in 38 seats. Further below, an overview is provided of all seats of the police tribunal per judicial arrondissement.
Westhoek or Maritime Flanders is a region in Belgium and France and includes the following areas:
- Belgian Westhoek including the West Flanders arrondissements of Diksmuide, Ypres, and Veurne including the cities of Veurne, Poperinge, Wervik, Ypres, De Panne, Langemark-Poelkapelle, Diksmuide and Koekelare. However, the three Belgian coast municipalities of De Panne, Koksijde, and Nieuwpoort are frequently considered a separate region known as the Belgian or Flemish West Coast.
- French Westhoek, roughly the arrondissement of Dunkirk, including the cities of Dunkirk, Gravelines, and Hazebrouck, itself part of a larger area known as French Flanders.
The Nieuwpoort–Dunkirk Canal is a canal which links the Belgian coastal town of Nieuwpoort with the French port Dunkirk. The Nieuwpoort–Dunkirk Canal forms an extension of the Plassendale–Nieuwpoort Canal, and runs for 32 kilometres (20 mi) pretty much parallel to the coast line, within two to four kilometers from the sea.
Vigor Boucquet or Victor Boucquet was a Flemish painter known for his portraits and paintings of biblical subjects. He was mainly active in his native Veurne and its surroundings where he was in demand for altarpieces for the local churches and monasteries. He worked in the typical Flemish Baroque style of his time, with a tendency towards a somber realism.
Hendrik Geeraert was a Belgian folk hero who, during the interwar period, came to symbolize the Belgian resistance movement against the German forces in World War I. He became famous among Belgian soldiers in 1914 after the Battle of the Yser where he, serving as a Nieuwpoort skipper, opened the sluices of the Yser River, flooding the polders and bringing the German advance to a halt.
The Ganzepoot is a series of locks and spillways in the inner port of Nieuwpoort, Belgium which connect one river, three water channels and two canals with the mouth of the Yser River and the maritime port. The spillways control the level of the two channels and the drainage of the polders.
Jacobus Marchantius (1537–1609) was a historian and poet from the County of Flanders during the period that it was part of the Habsburg Netherlands.
Beveren-aan-de-IJzer is a village in the municipality of Alveringem in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The village is located near the border with France, and was therefore called Beveren aan de Franse grens during the 19th century. Until 1971, Beveren-aan-de-IJzer was an independent municipality.
Belgium 
Flanders 
West Flanders 
