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Salient features

• a striking and very diverse industrial orientation (about 900 registered companies)

• a very rich cultural and festive life
• many intense international contacts (through the four official twinnings, through industrial export, and through manifestations and individual contacts)

Town administration

• central administration

• municipal fire service
• public lending library (about 8,500 readers - about 140,000 items, both printed and audio-visual)
• academy of music
• evening courses (modern languages, academy of fine arts, ...)
• sports centre
• youth centre
• public centre for social aid

Sights

• National Museum for Footwear

• National Museum for Brushware
• Monumental steam-engine
• Historical church Sint-Pieter
• Historical town hall dating from 1884
• So-called golden chapel in the Ave Maria-convent
• Blauwhuis castle, ancestral home of the noble family Gillès de Pélichy
• Principal Sint-Tillo-church (with carillon)

The tourist office offers 1 day- or ½ day-excursions (guides available).

There are two hotels; about 25 restaurants offer a wide range of possibilities.

Important annual events

• International Music Festival for brass and woodwind orchestras

• International Folklore Festival
• Several important sporting events (triathlon, jogging and racing contest, ....)

In Izegem there are about 350 clubs, societies and associations.

Izegem is favourably situated

Izegem, not far away, either from the Belgian coast or from the French and Dutch borders, is directly linked up with the rest of the country. The N36-highway connects the town to Courtray and Roeselare, as well as to the E403 (Courtray-Bruges) and the E17 (Lille-Courtray-Ghent-Antwerp) -motorways.

The port of Izegem, along the canal from Roeselare to the Lys-river, became the pre-eminent centre of import and export for its industry. The railway from Bruges to Courtray guarantees quick transport of people and goods. Izegem is a central town on many levels.

The city attracts many neighbouring villages. On the educational, commercial and medical level Izegem is the centre par excellence for Lendelede, Sint-Eloois-Winkel, Ledegem, Ingelmunster, Rumbeke and many other villages.

Brief history

Izegem came into existence on the banks of the river Mandel, where, many centuries ago, the Frankish family Isinga settled down. This settlement became the city that is now known as an important centre of trade and industry, but also of musical and artistic life.

For all of its inhabitants Izegem creates enormous possibilities for a full-bodied development and a good life. It also guarantees a warm welcome and an agreeable stay for every visitor.