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Concept
Lokeren
Summary
Lokeren (ˈloːkərə(n)) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called Land van Waas, of which it is the second most important city after Sint-Niklaas. The city, located on the river Durme, the Lede, and the E17 motorway, has more than 42,100 inhabitants who are called Lokeraars or Rapenfretters. Because Lokeren is located on the Durme, Lokeren is often called "The Durme City". Horse sausages are officially recognized as a regional product.
A group of authors see the element luken in the place name, which means (en)close or to close, to shut. Lokeren would refer to an enclosed place between the Durme and a forest area with wild animals.
According to another theory, the name Lokeren would derive from, on the one hand, the Indo-European root word leuk, which means clear or shiny, and on the other hand, the prehistoric hydronymic suffix arna, which means water. The problem with this theory is that there is no factual historical confirmation, although Leuk-arna is linguistically plausible.
Archaeological finds on the Lokeren territory prove that this area was populated in Neolithic times. A Roman road ran along the Durme river. The name Waas was given to this area by the Romans from the Germanic root Wasu meaning "marshy land". The first mention of the name Lokeren, however, dates from 1114. Unlike the older settlements, the new village came to be built on the right bank of the Durme. By the middle of the 12th century, it had become an independent parish, with agriculture and flax as the two main drivers of the economy. The textile industry would remain important until well into the 20th century.
Since its inception, Lokeren has been extensively connected with other settlements and places. The city center itself is in fact a major junction of regional roads connecting Lokeren with other important places. From those important roads came branches that today form the basis of the city center.
From the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century, the territory of Lokeren fully belonged to the Count of Flanders.
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