De Pinte

De Pinte
Municipality
De Pinte town hall
Flag Coat of arms
De Pinte Location in Belgium
Location of De Pinte in East Flanders
Coordinates: 51°00′N 03°39′E / 51.000°N 3.650°E / 51.000; 3.650Coordinates: 51°00′N 03°39′E / 51.000°N 3.650°E / 51.000; 3.650
Country	Belgium
Community	Flemish Community
Region	Flemish Region
Province	East Flanders
Arrondissement	Ghent
Government
• Mayor	Hilde Claeys (RUIMTE)
• Governing party/ies	RUIMTE, N-VA, Open Vld, CD&V
Area
• Total	17.98 km2 (6.94 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)
• Total	10,367
• Density	580/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Postal codes	9840
Area codes	09
Website	www.depinte.be

De Pinte (Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈpɪntə]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. Before its existence as an independent municipality in 1868, De Pinte was a part of Nazareth. The municipality comprises the towns of De Pinte proper and Zevergem. On January 1, 2006, De Pinte had a total population of 10,235. The total area is 17.98 km² which gives a population density of 569 inhabitants per km².

The name of the municipality is issued from an inn, which was called "Het Pijntken", which was situated in the actual Pintestraat 69, and which was firstly used as the name of the municipality when it became independent of Nazareth on 2. June 1868 and it was called 'Little Nazareth" at that time. At the end of the 19th century many horticultural companies came in this area and further on in the 20th century, they were all parceled out. De Pinte became also a train station between Ghent and Kortrijk (as from 1839) and Ghent-Oudenaarde (as from 1857). The territory remained a vast stretch of moorland of the Abbey of Ghent Saint-Peter, which was called Scheldevelde. As from the 13th century, there was in the east of the current village center, a mining farm located, in which activities started from the 18th century with a systematic exploration. On the Ferrari-map from the 1770s, the place appears as a rural area with scattered hamlets and country estates. In the place of the current center, the map still shows the hamlet Pintestraete. In 1791 there was already a first request for the establishment of an auxiliary church. Its construction was started, but was soon stopped due to the French occupation.

The colours of De Pinte are red and white. The flag can be described as semi-red and semi-white, with a shield and three eight-pointed stars of gold (2:1), next to twelve silver blocks(4:1:7). The ratios are 2:3.

When the community was founded at the end of the Ancien Régime, the area was part of the community of Nazareth. Sometimes, the village was called "Little Nazareth". Already in the Dutch period (1829) a request for autonomy was presented under the name "William Village", but was refused. In 1838, new plans for a church were approved and 1839, a first church was consecrated. In the middle of the 19th century, De Pinte intersected by railway lines, the railway Ghent-Kortrijk (1839) and Gent-Oudenaarde (1857). A railway station was opened De Pinte. On 2 June 1868, the community became independent of Nazareth and became an independent municipality under the name De Pinte. Late 19th century, there were a number of horticultural establishments, which were executed later in the twentieth century.