Nazareth, Belgium
Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox Belgium municipality
Nazareth (Template:IPA) is a former municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Template:Ill and Nazareth proper. In 2021, Nazareth had a total population of 11,844.<ref name="stat">Template:Cite web</ref> The total area is 35.19 km2<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which gives a population density of 320 inhabitants per km2.
Etymology
There are various hypotheses for the origin of the name "Nazareth", dated to a text of songs from 1259 CE. It is possible that Nazareth was named after the biblical city of Nazareth. It is also possible, but less likely, that Nazareth was originally a slip of the word magherhet (thinness).
History
The community was first recorded in 1259.
Heraldry
The arms of Nazareth is a composition of two family crests:
- The first part is the arms of the family Rockolfing: three gold roses geknopt throat in the field, vert scrolled head and a shield charged with a throat depth and looking round lion of gold, tongued gules.
- The second part is the escutcheon of the family Kervyn Volkaersbeke: saber in a twill together right in the head by an acorn, stemmed and browsed in two pieces, left in the mind of a six-pointed star, everything from gold and the one point eagle leg of silver.
Sights
- 19th-century church (1861 – 1870)