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Home > Travel Europe > Europe Destinations > Damme
Damme
Europe is one of the five inhabited traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and to the southeast by the waterways adjoining the Mediterranean to and including the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains. On the east, Europe is divided from Asia by the water divide of the Ural Mountains and by the Caspian Sea. Europe is the world's second-smallest continent in terms of area and third-largest continent after Asia and Africa in population.
Damme is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, six kilometres northeast of Brugge that is Bruges. The municipality comprises the city of Damme proper and the towns of Hoeke, Lapscheure, Moerkerke, Oostkerke and Sijsele. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had a population of 10,899. The total area is of 89.52 square kilometers, giving a population density of 122 inhabitants per square kilometer.
In the 13th century Damme was the port for Bruges, to which it is linked by the long, straight, treelined and picturesque Damse Vaart, which continues across the Dutch border to Sluis and the Zwin. The line of the town's star-shaped fortifications can still be traced by lines of tall poplar trees and in places by a moat. It was the site of the Battle of Damme, fought on 30 and 31 May 1213. Today it is a popular venue for eating out and a destination for boat trips. Damme is since a few years also known as a book town, with numerous bookshops and regular book fairs.
Famous inhabitants were Jacob van Maerlant, medieval poet, the town clerk of Damme until his death in around 1300 and Karel Verleye, co-founder of the Bruges College of Europe, who died in Damme in 2002. The slow pace of life and the welcoming nature of its people all combine to make this region one of the most important touristic attractions in Europe.
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