Welcome in Godewaersvelde

Home

History

Sightseeing

• The village center
  • The old station
  • An old brewery
  • The church
• The Cattes'mount
  • The monastery
  • The woods
• Around the village
  • The chapels
  • The British Cimetery

To visit

• Border's life museum
• The "gigottos automates"

Traditions

• Traditional sports
  • The cocks' fights
  • The vertical bow
  • The flemish ball
• The carnival and the giants
  • The carnival
  • The giants

Outdoor Activities

Eat and sleep

• Restaurants
• Accomodation

Contacts and links

It's a german tribe 'the cattes" that gave its name to the Cattes's hill. They, surely, moved there in the 5th century. The name Montem Cati is mentionned in 1197.

Regarding the Godewaersvelde village, you can find a Godeverdsvelda on the maps as early as 1185. There are different explanations about this name. The "Field (Velde) of God" does not sound accurate, but The field of Goedffroi or Gohart, evangelist of west Flanders sounds better. A castle was built on a mootte-and-bailey in the 14th century. Its lord, Eustache D'Assignies, gave its arms to the village in 1776.

Arms of Godewaersvelde

In the 16th century, the Cattes Hill was the meeting places for beggars. This is between 200 and 300 people, that would have been called Huguenots in other places, who were use to catter there.

In 1713, the treaties of Utrecht made the border going by Godewaersvelde. From that moment, a lot of Customs squad moved to the village.

In 1825, Nicolas Ruyssen, painter in Georges III of England's court, gave to some Trappist monks the old antonin's hermitage in order to create a primary school.

Around 1870, an international train station was built in the village. All the passengers between Poperinge and Hazebrouck were checked by the Costum's service. The manufactures of the town, involving linen and beer, were booming. .

In the WW1, Godewaersvelde became a giant hospital. Some battles took place on the cattes hill : Maximilian, prince of Hesse, brother of the Russian empress andnephew of the Kaiser was killed there in 1914.

Prince Maximilian Friedrich Von Hesse-Cassel
Born on 20 october 1894
Killed in the Cattes Hill on 12 octobre 1914

During that war, the british nicknammed the village as "God".

Regarding WWII, we can notice that a native of the village, the general Devinck (1892-1960) freed several concentration camps. It's a armored Polish divison that liberated the town on 6 september 1944.

For the end of the 20th century,we have to notice the closure of the station in 1970, and the Schengen deal that made the last Customs officers leaving the village in January 2009.