Our town, with the communities of Aarsele, Schuiferskapelle and Kanegem, is situated in the triangle of Ghent, Bruges and Kortrijk in the middle of the Province of West Flanders.
The city has more than 20,500 (01/01/2022) inhabitants and is the capital of the arrondissement of Tielt.
Tielt originated around the 5th to 10th century. The oldest mention Tiletum dates back to 1105. In 1245 Tielt (Thielt) was granted city rights and in 1275 the cloth hall was built.
In the First World War, Tielt was the headquarters of the German Fourth Army (Armee Ober Kommando 4 (A.O.K. 4) between 1914 and 1918.
Tielt was also bombed several times during the Second World War. On 8 September 1944, Tielt was liberated by the first Polish Armored Division under General Maczek. As a thank you for and in his memory, the General Maczek Square was named after him. In 1979, a Sherman Firefly tank was unveiled on Maczek Square by the general himself as a liberation monument.
Today, Tielt is a quiet provincial town with a thriving industry and an important school town with five secondary schools. The Municipal Academy of Music and Word and the Municipal Art Academy attend classes with more than 2300 students.
Market Square, winter 2019