PITTEM BELGIUM
The Shawnee City Council adopted Resolution 614
designating Pittem, Belgium as a Sister City on November 28,1983.
Mayor Soetaert received a letter from Leopold Gelaude, Mayor of
Pittem, confirming
the Council of Pittem stating the friendly relationship between the two cities in its
session of February 6, 1984.
Belgium is a small country of 11,730 square miles (about the size of the state of Maryland), with a population just under 10,000,000. Since 1830, Belgium has been a constitutional monarchy. Three languages are spoken in Belgium (Dutch, French, and German). The country has three main regions: Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels.
The City of Pittem, Belgium, population 6500, is located in the province of West Flanders, and is situated 25 miles from the North Sea. The rural Pittem consists of two residential centers: Pittem and Egem. The image of the village in Pittem is dominated by the sturdy Roman tower of the St. Mary's Church, in Egem by the pointed neo-gothic tower of the St. Germanus-Church.
Agriculture and more recently horticulture has been an important part of life in Pittem since the 12th - 17th centuries, when great farms were built up. The city has a certain amount of industry, particularly in building, textile, and plastics and the psychiatric hospital "St. Joseph" provides other employment opportunities. Different kinds of sport activities, social and cultural festivities, society meetings, and expositions take place there.
During the 1800's and early 1900's many residents left the area from sheer economic necessity and emigrated to other area, particularly France and America. In the period of one generation (1880-1914) about 450 citizens of Egem emigrated to America. Constant, Henri and Karel Soetaert emigrated to America in 1892. Former Mayor Thomas Soetaert (1977-1989) is a descendent of Constant.
In honor of this sister city relationship, a city park at
55th and Nieman was named West Flanders Park
and dedicated as a memorial to the Belgians who migrated to Shawnee in the early 1900's
from the West Flanders Province of Belgium. The dedication ceremony was held
September 27, 1986.