Oostakker

Oostakker (formerly spelled Oostacker) is a sub-municipality of the city of Ghent located in the province of East Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1977. In 1872, Sint-Amandsberg was detached from Oostakker. In 1900, 1920 and 1927, parts of the original municipality were already annexed to Ghent. On 1 January 1977, the municipality of Oostakker was merged into Ghent.

The hamlet is mainly known for the Shrine of Oostakker, a Roman Catholic shrine of the Virgin Mary. Residents of Oostakker are called Oostakkezen.

Shrine of Oostakker
The miraculous shrine of the Blessed Virgin is a place of pilgrimage from Belgium, the Netherlands and Northern France. It is a comparatively recent, dating from 1873 dating from a statue in a grotto built by the local gentry family. It was first opened to the local peasants on Sundays, but comparatively quickly it became very popular with a large Gothic church starting to be built in 1877. The shrine was entrusted to the Jesuits.