Cortrique

"Cortrique[cita requerida] (oficialmente y en neerlandés Kortrijk [krtrik], en francés Courtrai [kut] y Cortoriacum en latín) es una ciudad y comuna flamenca de Bélgica situada en Flandes, en la provincia de Flandes Occidental. Se encuentra cerca de la frontera con Francia. La ciudad de Cortrique absorbe en su área metropolitana a ciudades como Wevelgem, Kuurne y Harelbeke. Se estima que el Área Metropolitana de Cortrique tiene una población cercana a 280.000 habitantes (278.160 (1 de enero de 2007)). Sin las cercanas poblaciones de Wevelgem, Kuurne y Harelbeke, la ciudad tiene una población cercana a los 75.000 habitantes. Cortrique está situada sobre el río Lys, 42 km al sudoeste de Gante y ocupa un espacio de 80,03 km². Actualmente es una ciudad flamenca con edificios históricos, una intensa vida cultural y una situación privilegiada, entre Brujas, Gante y Lille y a media hora de ambas en tren. El municipio de Cortrique abarca los pueblos de Aalbeke, Bellegem, Bissegem, Heule, Kooigem, Marke y Rollegem. El idioma oficial en Cortrique es el neerlandés. Pero la cultura políglota de sus habitantes ofrece la posibilidad de hablar en francés, inglés y alemán. Es una ciudad universitaria, centro turístico e industrial de Flandes Occidental. El alcalde la ciudad es Vincent Van Quickenborne (Partido Liberal, Open VLD). Junto a la ciudad francesa de Lille y a la valona Tournai forma la Eurometrópolis Lille-Tournai-Kortrijk."

"Kortrijk (in English also Courtrai or Courtray; official name in Dutch: Kortrijk, pronounced [krtrik]; West Flemish: Kortryk or Kortrik, French: Courtrai, pronounced: [kut]; Latin: Cortoriacum) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders. It is the capital and largest city of the arrondissement of Kortrijk, which is both a judicial and an administrative arrondissement.The wider municipality comprises the city of Kortrijk proper and the villages of Aalbeke, Bellegem, Bissegem, Heule, Kooigem, Marke, and Rollegem. Kortrijk is part of the cross-border Eurometropolis Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai (metropolitan area), which had 2,155,161 residents in 2008. The city is situated on the Leie, 42 km (26 mi) southwest of Ghent and 25 km (16 mi) northeast of Lille in France. In addition, Mouscron in Wallonia is located just south of Kortrijk. Both Kortrijk and Lille are part of the same transnational Eurodistrict urban agglomeration with around 1,900,000 inhabitants. As the biggest city of southern West Flanders, Kortrijk has many schools, hospitals and shopping streets. Kortrijk originated from a Gallo-Roman town, called Cortoriacum at a crossroads near the Leie river and two Roman roads. During the Middle Ages, Kortrijk grew significantly thanks to the flax and wool industry with France and England and became one of the biggest and richest cities in Flanders. The city is often referred to as City of Groeninge or City of the Golden Spurs, referring to the Battle of Courtrai or the Battle of the Golden Spurs which took place on 11 July 1302 on the Fields of Groeninge in Kortrijk. In 1820, the Treaty of Kortrijk was signed, which laid out the current borders between France and Belgium. Throughout the 19th and 20th century, Kortrijk became a center of the flax industry and remains an important region within the Belgian textile industry today. Today, Kortrijk is the largest city in southern West-Flanders with several hospitals, colleges and a university. Kortrijk was the first city in Belgium with a pedestrian shopping street, called the Korte Steenstraat. Nowadays, a big part of the historical city center is a complete pedestrian area with lots of shops and a covered shopping mall called K, as well as many restaurants and bars. Another shopping mall is located near the northern edge of the city: Ring Shopping Kortrijk Noord."