Sint-Job: the saint of patience
The first part refers to Saint Job, the Biblical figure best known for his patience in adversity. In the Kempen region, Job was invoked against skin diseases and misfortune. Chapels and pilgrimage sites dedicated to him often passed their name to the hamlet that grew around them.
You see this pattern throughout Flanders: a chapel attracts pilgrims, pilgrims bring trade, trade brings houses — and at a certain point, everyone simply calls the hamlet after the saint.
't Goor: marshy ground
'Goor' is an old Kempen word for marshy, wet ground. The area between Brecht and Schoten consisted for centuries of fens, heath, and peat. That wasn't easy land to cultivate, but it was a source of turf — the fuel that generations of Kempen residents used to heat their homes.
This wet subsoil also explains why the village developed for so long in a linear fashion along the higher sand ridges, instead of around a single central square.
From hamlet to district
Today, Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor is a district of Brecht. Anyone wishing to check the official history and village maps can best find them directly through the municipality.
More in the series about Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor
- Next week: Fact 2: Sint-Job is a sub-municipality of Brecht
- All facts: 12 facts about Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor
- Walking through the 'goor': discovering the wet lands around Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor
More facts about our village
Frequently asked questions
- What does 'goor' mean in Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor?
- 'Goor' is an old word for boggy, marshy ground — typical of the Kempen soil around Brecht.
- Which municipality does Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor belong to?
- Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor is a district of Brecht, in the province of Antwerp.
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Call in your order or drop by at Handelslei 22 in Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor.