Chapel route in the area around Roeselare

This route introduces you to the West Flemish city of Roeselare and a number of chapels in its outskirts. Roeselare has been an important trading centre since the tenth century. When the city temporarily fell into French hands in 1678 as a result of the Peace of Nijmegen, smuggling suddenly became a major part of the 'trade'. Nowadays, trade mainly takes place in shops; if you want to go shopping, the Ooststraat is the place to be. The route takes you eastwards out of the city, after which you drive through the outskirts to various characteristic villages. You will pass various chapels, silent witnesses of the veneration of all kinds of saints. In Koolskamp, for example, you will see the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekapel (1975) in the Lavendelstraat. Just outside the village is the Bomkapel. Every year on 20 June, a group of pilgrims still walks from the church in Koolskamp to the chapel to commemorate the Miracle of 1944. During a heavy bombardment near the Bomkapel, miraculously no one was killed: none of the visitors who were praying in and around the chapel at that moment were injured. About halfway along the route you will arrive in Tielt. The oldest mention of this town dates from 1105 and concerns the tax paid by the lord of a villa in Tielt. In 1245, Tielt was granted city rights. In the centuries that followed, parts of the city were occasionally destroyed by a city fire or when the people of Ghent came to wage war again. During the First World War, the headquarters of the German Fourth Army was located in a number of mansions in Tielt. This army consisted of 180,000 men who were active in Belgium. The city centre is worth a visit: the Hallentoren from 1275 - where sheets used to be traded - is even on the World Heritage List. On the way back to Roeselare you will pass the white-painted Koortskapel. This chapel is dedicated to Saint Anne, the patron saint who must support the family in times of illness. The original, more modest version of this chapel already appears in a church account from 1643. Incidentally, there is a spelling error above the door of the chapel!