What is "flanders"

from a source akin to Dutch Vlaanderen probably a compound of roots represented by Flemish vlakte "plain" + wanderen "to wander."

Flanders ( Dutch: Vlaanderen , ) today normally refers to the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. The demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, and the government of Flanders only oversees some cultural aspects of Brussels life.

Historically, the name referred to the County of Flanders (Flandria), which around AD 1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. The only parts of historical Flanders situated within modern-day Flanders are the provinces West Flanders and East Flanders. Nevertheless, during the 19th and 20th centuries it became increasingly commonplace to use the term "Flanders" to refer to the entire Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, stretching all the way to the River Maas. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made into two political entities: the " Flemish Community" and the " Flemish Region" . These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a broader cultural mandate, covers Brussels, whereas the Flemish Region does not.

Flanders has figured prominently in European history. During the late Middle Ages, cities such as Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp and Brussels made it one of the richest and most urbanized parts of Europe, weaving the wool of neighbouring lands into cloth for both domestic use and export. As a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution but Flanders was at first overtaken by French-speaking Wallonia. In the second half of the 20th century, however, Flanders' economy modernised rapidly, and today Flanders is significantly more wealthy than its southern counterpart.

Geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a population density of almost 500 people per square kilometer (1,200 per square mile). It borders France to the west, the Netherlands to the north and east, and Wallonia to the south. The Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own: Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the north consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands.

Flanders is the country of the Flemings and, since several decades ago is also a community and a region in Belgium. Geographically and historically, Flanders also covers parts of France and The Netherlands but may also refer to:

Flanders is a Dance/ Electronica/ House/ Alternative quartet based out of Italy. The act also records under the name Deflect and Suite 117. The group consists of DJs Francesco Abbate and Alessandro Bunetto, bassist Marco Giudice, and female singer Giuliana Fraglica.

In 2005 the group recorded a track called "By My Side," which has taken on a life of its own. The single, produced by Vincenzo Callea & Danilo Rispoli, has already topped the DMC (UK) Dance charts in 2006 and has been championed by DJs and clubland across the globe. The track has elements similar to that of Michael Moog's 1999 track "That Sound."

The act returned in 2008 with their follow-up, " Behind," which reached number one on Billboard's US Hot Dance Airplay chart in December 2008. They hit the Dance Airplay Chart again in March 2010 with "Time", which peaked at #2.

Flanders is a 2006 French drama film written and directed by Bruno Dumont. It tells the story of Demester, a man whose girlfriend cheats on him out of frustration with his lack of emotion. Demester is then sent to war, in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, where he experiences (and participates in) the horrors of war.

The Flanders Automobile Company was a short-lived US-American automobile manufacturer which operated in Detroit, Michigan, from 1910 to 1913.

It was the brainchild of Walter E. Flanders (1871–1923), who formerly held a position as General Factory Manager at the Ford Motor Company's Piquette avenue plant. There he co-invented the ingenious manufacturing methods which made the Model T Ford so famous.

In 1908, Flanders left the Ford Motor Company and co-founded, together with Bernard F. Everitt and William Metzger, the E-M-F Automobile Company in Detroit. This car, based on Flander's experience with the Model T Ford was the first mass-produced Flanders car. At the beginning, there were two offerings, model "30" and model "20". The "30", although prone to many faults, became a huge success but failed to outsell the Model T Ford. Although second in its best year, it was beaten by the Model T with a wide margin.

In this situation, Flanders convinced the Studebaker brothers, who held substantial stock in E-M-F and were its sole distributor in the USA, to buy the defunct factory of the DeLux Motor Company in Detroit, and to build there a new challenger to Ford. So, E-M-F dropped the "20", concentrating on their model "30". The new Flanders, appropriately named model "20", was patterned after this smaller E-M-F.

Flanders is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Angela Flanders (1927–2016), British perfumer
• Benjamin Flanders (1816–1896), Louisiana state governor in 1867
• Harley Flanders (1925–2013), American mathematician
• John Flanders, pseudonym of the Belgian writer Jean Ray (author) (1887–1964)
• Laura Flanders (born 1961), journalist and daughter of Michael Flanders
• Michael Flanders (1922–1975), member of the duo Flanders and Swann
• Ralph Edward Flanders (1880–1970), U.S. senator from Vermont from 1946 to 1959
• Stephanie Flanders (born 1968), journalist and daughter of Michael Flanders
• Walter Flanders (1871–1923), automobile pioneer

Fictional characters:

• Ned Flanders and his family, in the television series The Simpsons
• Moll Flanders

Other uses:

• John Buchanan (cricketer, born 1953) (born 1953), former coach of the Australia cricket team, has the nickname Ned Flanders, due to a supposed resemblance to character on The Simpsons

Flanders (1992 – February 2010) was an American Thoroughbred racing filly. In 1994, she won all five of her races, although she was disqualified from the Matron Stakes and placed last due to testing positive for the prohibited therapeutic drug isoxuprine. She then went on to win the Frizette Stakes by 21 lengths. She is best known for winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She came out of the race with a condylar fracture of the cannon bone and a fractured sesamoid. She underwent surgery and was retired in early 1995. She was euthanized in February 2010 because of complications following a paddock accident.