There was peace in Roeselare during a short time. On the 26th August 1566, several statues in the Saint-Michaels Church and the hall were destroyed because of religeous protests called ‘the beeldenstorm’. After the Eighty Years War, all the successful textile industries were completely gone out of the city. Then started a period with a lot of economical problems but there was also something positive. In Venice became a componist from Roeselare named Adrian Willaert popular.
In 1609 the war came to an end for 12 years. Roeselare was rebuilt but the war started again from 1640.
After the peace of Nijmegen became Roeselare a part of France and a frontier city famous for its illegal frontier traffic. There was no money to restore the belfry and hall that collapsed on the 30th October 1704. The fall of the tower caused a lot of damage. A smaller new hall burned down in 1749. Under the present-day grand place are the cellars of the old belfry.
In spite of all the disasters that came over Roeselare in the past, the Saint-Michaels Church is still in quite good condition. Because of heavy weather on the 19th January 1735 has the tower collapsed. The tower was rebuilt but a few ten metres shorter. The 3 big disasters are the reason that the church has 3 architectures. Around 1770, the townhall was built in rococostyle.
After the Battle of Waterloo became Roeselare Dutch again, untill the independence of Belgium that caused also poverty. The construction of the railway Kortrijk-Brugge (1838) and the invention of the steam-engine made the situation much better.
From 1862 till 1872, the canal to the river Leie was dug. That gave a boost to the economy. The industry in Roeselare and the population grew. Roeselare was kown as the Manchester of Belgium.
On the 28th July 1875 took the ‘Groote Stooringe’ place, a student-revolt against the use of French at school. The leader of this revolt was Albrecht Rodenbach, a writer who founded a lot of students’ associations.
The people of Roeselare suffered a lot during World War I. French soldiers, who left Roeselare, offered resistance but the Germans thougth that the inhabitants were shooting on them. Because of this misunderstanding, German soldiers killed 240 citizens and destroyed 252 houses on the 19th October 1914, called ‘Schuwe Maandag’.
After the first World War was the city rebuilt but when that work was done, World War II started. The city has less suffered during this second World War and was liberated by Polish soldiers. Since that liberation, the square ‘Woodmarket’ (Houtmarkt) is now called ‘Polenplein’ and there are monuments for the killed soldiers.
During the 19th and the 20th century, Roeselare was known for its ‘nieuwmarkters’. Nieuwmarkters were merchants / traders from the so called ‘new market’ and they formed in this neighbourhood a ghetto. Nieuwmarkters had their own language for example ‘the Bargoens’ to speak with each other and people said that this merchants could sell everything to everybody. Even they did not speak very well French, German or English, they sold in Wallonia and to foreigners in Roeselare (for example during the two world wars) a lot of products with big profits. The small cheap houses in which the nieuwmarkters lived still exist today and you can see these houses around the Blekerijstraat and in a few streets around the old cemetery in Roeselare.
In the sixties started the REO-vegetables and fruit mart. This is today the biggest vegetables and fruit mart in Flanders. Since 1977 the town of Roeselare and the villages of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke form the present-day city.
Specialists think that the name of Roeselare refers to the elements Roes (= reed) + laar (= open space). So the place-name Roeselare means a marshy open space with reed in the wood.
Besides the centre of Roeselare proper, the municipality consists of the villages of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke.
Just like in a few other cities, there are in Roeselare several parts of town. These are:
The villages of Beveren and Rumbeke are because of new buildings connected with the centre of Roeselare. The small village of Oekene is situated between the open rural area to the south of the city and the urbanisation near Rumbeke. The conurbation of the city extends along the canal Roeselare-Leie to the conurbation of the smaller neighbour city of Izegem.
The municipality of Roeselare consists also of a few smaller hamlets. Along the road Roeselare-Menen (N32) lie successively the hamlet of Zilverberg, less than one kilometre to the south of the city centre, and almost two kilometres further the hamlet of Beitem. Both hamlets belong to the territory of the village of Rumbeke.
The city has a few Catholic parishes and a Protestant church.
The municipality of Roeselare borders on:
a. Oostnieuwkerke (municipality of Staden)
b. Hooglede (municipality of Hooglede)
c. Gits (municipality of Hooglede)
d. Lichtervelde (municipality of Lichtervelde)
e. Koolskamp (municipality of Ardooie)
f. Ardooie, with hamlet Tasse (municipality of Ardooie)
g. Kachtem (municipality of Izegem)
h. Izegem (municipality of Izegem)
i. Sint-Eloois-Winkel (municipality of Ledegem)
j. Rollegem-Kapelle (municipality of Ledegem)
k. Ledegem (municipality of Ledegem)
l. Moorslede (municipality of Moorslede)
m. Passendale (municipality of Zonnebeke)
Roeselare has a few musea such as the National Cycling Museum (WieMu). There are art galleries for example the Galery Alfons Blomme. In the tower of the Saint-Michaels church is the bell-tower museum. You can arrange a visit to see the filmmuseum which is a private collection.
There is the Domain ‘Sterrebos’ and nature reserve ‘De Kleiputten’. In the city centre you can take a rest in a few parks such as ‘De Grote Bassin’ which is a lake with green surroundings for example ‘Het Sint-Sebastiaanspark’ and ‘Het Noordhof’. De ‘Kleine Bassin’ and ‘De Ronde Kom’ are two smaller lakes. You have also ‘Het Rodenbachpark’, ‘Het Collegepark’ and ‘Het Heilig Hartpark’ that are nice resting places in the city. You can enjoy the silence of the old municipal cemetery in the Groenestraat, the park of the famous inhabitants in popular language. In summer, there are parkconcerts in ‘Het Sint-Sebastiaanspark’, better known as ‘De Grote Bassin’. The idea of ‘garden-suburb’ arised in the neighbourhood of Roeselare at the beginning of the last century. So was ‘Batavia’ one of the first garden-suburbs in Belgium.
Roeselare has an important commerce centre. The most famous shopping-street is ‘De Ooststraat’. The city centre is one big shopping-quarter. Important yearly shopping-events are ‘De Winkelnacht’ (= shopping-night), ‘De Batjes’ (= summer-sale), fun fairs, Christmas-shopping, street-events for example ‘De Westlaanpromenade’. Carnival and ‘De Groote Stooringe’ are city-festivals with a cultural importance. ‘De Brugsesteenweg’ is an approach road with a lot of medium size retail trade.
The weekly market on Tuesday morning is a tradition in Roeselare and is organized at the Grand Place, ‘De Botermarkt’ and ‘Het Polenplein’. These 3 squares are pedestrian precinct. On the 1st May, the inhabitants celebrate Labour Day at the station-square. Each year on the National Holiday (the 21st July) there is a street run with music.
Roeselare is in West-Flanders a regional commerce centre. There are a few shopping-streets in the city centre: Ooststraat, Noordstraat, Sint-Amandsstraat, Manestraat, Wallenstraat, Zuidstraat etc. These are situated around 4 squares: de Grote Markt (the Grand Place), het Polenplein, de Botermarkt en het De Coninckplein. There is also de Ardooisesteenweg, an approach road near the railway-station. Along the restored inner ring road (Noordlaan, Westlaan…) and the approach road Brugsesteenweg are a lot of big stores.