Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-06-10
AARDENbURG IS
LIVING OVER OLD
SCENES AGAIN
Little Dutch Town Knows War
From Experience and Is Now
Undergoing Revival Of Bus
mess Activity,
ASSOCIATED Press Correspondence)

Aardenburg, Province of Zealand,
The Netherlands, May 30.--Not since
the thirteenth century, when 1t was q
leading harbor city and the main port
of Northern Flanders, has this ancient
little town known such activity as
since the outbreak of the European
war Just over the Dutch line from
| Belgium, Aardcnburg has been the
first stopping place Of hundreds of
thousands of homeless fugities--anG
many of them have remained and still
remain, cared for by their hospitable
cousins of the Land of Cadzand,' as
this portion of Flemish Zealand. is
called by the natives.
Historically, war is neither new nor
strange to the Aardenburgere. From
the fifth century, when the Castle of
Rodenburg, whence the town of today
adopted its name, was one of the
strongest places of the Lowlands, it
has been besieged more than dozen
times, sacked on half a dozen occa-
sions and burned al least thrice. Pill
lage and destruction are family tradi-
lions with the people of the Land of
Cadzand, even so late as the conflict
between Holland and Belgium, in
1890 Consequently, when the Ger
mans invaded Belgium, the Aarden-
burgers set to work as their grand
fathers had done to prepare 10 receive
the refugees, the homeless the
wounded. the hungry desperate, pitt
able flotsam and ietsam of war, that
drifted over the frontier, dazed by the
horrors they had looked upon.
Church Center of Activity.
The Church of st. Bavon was the
center of these preparations of the
Aardenburgers. St Amandus, in the
year 6S3, laid the spiritual corner
stone of this ancient edfice by found
ing a cloister at the then Rodenburg.
In $40, St Eligius, who appears TO
have been of the church militant,
first besieged aud conquered the place
and then built Ii a church, TO the
honor and glory of St Bavon.' BY
the thirteenth century. Aardenburg
had come to be a commercial center
of Importance. with harbor that
could accommodate sixty ships--a
great thing for those days--and fit
tingly possessed two churches renown-
ed throughout the northern countries
of Europe for miracles said TO have
been performed in their holy sanctu-.
aries Hitler came Philip the, Fair
Of France, drawn by this reputation
OF pint$. In J340. Edward III Of
England. followed the example of his
loyal cousin Of France, and 1870 years
later the fifth English Edward paid
a similar Visit to Aardenburg
BY the middle of the NVH century.
however, only St Bavon's church re-
mained' the other sacred ediflce had
suffered too grievously from the fire.
quent raids of the neighborlng Ghent-
ers, aud too i'll supported the long in
ternecine wars waged in the days of
Slack Margaret Countess of Flanders
Aardenburg was no longer a COM
manding commercial city St Bavons
church alone, repaired and restored
IN 1853. more than sufffced for the
Catholic population Of the Land of
Cadzand. Il was accordingly divided
into two sections, the one serving ac-
lively as church, and the other as a
sort OF open refuge for those who
needed shelter. 1t was very appro-
priately in this section of ST BaVon's.
known as the 'Wandelkerk. that the
ladies of Aardenhurg assembled last
August with their sewing machines
ana bolts of ticking. TO make straw
mattresses for those whose homes had
cen DESTROYED and who singly or In
huddied groups crept over the border.
their lives uprooted by the catastro-
Pie which had overtahen them.
Then came the fall Of Antwerp. No