Oudenaarde in 1708: a fortified, walled town surrounded by fields and small villages.  Oudenaarde: a town centre crowning its countryside and a witness of their joint histories linked with textiles and tapestries.  Oudenaarde can be considered to be a gift of the river Scheldt.  The town and the land prospered because of the intense trade on the river.  The tapestries were produced outside Oudenaarde, but the important traders, crafts, guilds, businesses and the many monks and nuns settled in town.