Kruisem
Municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kruisem (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkrœysəm]) is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders that was established on 1 January 2019 from the merging of the municipalities of Kruishoutem and Zingem.
Kruisem
| |
|---|---|
Casier Castle | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location of Kruisem in East Flanders | |
 Interactive map of Kruisem | |
  Kruisem Location in Belgium | |
| Coordinates: 50°54′16″N 3°31′41″E | |
| Country | Belgium |
| Community | Flemish Community |
| Region | Flemish Region |
| Province | East Flanders |
| Arrondissement | Oudenaarde |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Joop Verzele (CD&V) |
| • Governing party | CD&V |
| Area | |
• Total | 71.59 km2 (27.64 sq mi) |
| Population (2022-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 15,876 |
| • Density | 221.8/km2 (574.4/sq mi) |
| Postal codes | 9750, 9770, 9771, 9772 |
| NIS code | 45068 |
| Area codes | 09 |
| Website | www.kruisem.be |
The merged municipality has an area of 71.59 km2 (27.64 sq mi) and a population of 15,876 people as of 2022[update].[2] The municipality consists of the deelgemeentes Huise, Kruishoutem, Nokere, Ouwegem, Wannegem-Lede and Zingem.[3]
Creation
The Flemish Government provides incentives for municipalities to voluntarily merge. The municipal councils of Kruishoutem and Zingem approved a merge in 2017, which was ratified by Flemish decree of 4 May 2018 alongside several other merges, all to be effective per 1 January 2019.
As of 1 January 2018, the municipality of Kruishoutem had a population of 8,086 and Zingem a population of 7,552.
Government
The first elections for the new municipality were held during the regular local elections of 14 October 2018, electing a municipal council for the legislative period of 2019–2024. Christian Democratic and Flemish obtained a majority of seats on the municipal council (14 out of 25). Joop Verzele became mayor of Kruisem.
