page_title: Zichem
hierarchical_section_title: Zichem
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Prise de la ville de Zichem en 1578
context_page_description: Zichem is a village in Belgium, part of the municipality Scherpenheuvel-Zichem.
  Its name is derived from the Biblical Sichem.
  Zichem was a prosperous city until the Eighty Years' War, in which it was besieged, conquered and destroyed by Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma in 1578. This disaster was followed by an earthquake in 1580 and a city fire in 1599, a serie of events from with Zichem never fully recovered.
  It is also the birthplace of Flemish author Ernest Claes and 22nd Superior General of the Society of Jesus Peter Jan Beckx. Wij, Heren van Zichem, a popular Flemish TV series based on Claes' novels, was set in Zichem.
context_section_description: Zichem is a village in Belgium, part of the municipality Scherpenheuvel-Zichem.
  Its name is derived from the Biblical Sichem (Nablus).
  Zichem was a prosperous city until the Eighty Years' War, in which it was besieged, conquered and destroyed by Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma in 1578. This disaster was followed by an earthquake in 1580 and a city fire in 1599, a serie of events from with Zichem never fully recovered.
  It is also the birthplace of Flemish author Ernest Claes and 22nd Superior General of the Society of Jesus Peter Jan Beckx. Wij, Heren van Zichem, a popular Flemish TV series based on Claes' novels, was set in Zichem.
caption: The Spanish massacre the defenders of Zichem in 1578
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