The wider municipality comprises the city of Courtrai proper and the villages of Aalbeke, Bellegem, Bissegem, Heule, Kooigem, Marke, and Rollegem.

[7] Courtrai originated from a Gallo-Roman town, Cortoriacum,[8] at a crossroads near the Leie river and two Roman roads.

In the Middle Ages, Courtrai grew significantly thanks to the flax and wool industry with France and England and became one of the biggest and richest cities in Flanders.

Cortoriacum was a larger Gallo-Roman vicus of civitas Menapiorum at an important crossroads near the Lys river of the Roman roads linking Tongeren and Cassel and Tournai and Oudenburg.

The population growth required new defensive walls, part of which can still be seen today (the Broeltorens, Armory, Kortrijk).

In the 13th century, the battles between Fernando of Portugal, Count of Flanders and his first cousin, King Louis VIII of France, led to the destruction of the city.

To promote industry and weaving in the town, Joan, Countess of Flanders exempted settlers in Courtrai from property tax.

In 1302, the population of Bruges started a successful uprising against the French, who had annexed Flanders a couple of years earlier.

The famous ensuing Battle of Courtrai in 1302, also known as the Battle of the Golden Spurs (Dutch: Guldensporenslag), between the Flemish people, mostly commoners and farmers, and Philip the Fair's knights took place near Courtrai on 11 July, resulting in a victory for Flanders;[11] the date is commemorated as a national holiday by the Flemish community.

Louis XIV's reign saw Courtrai occupied by the French five times in sixty years and its former fortifications razed.

After the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era, the textile industry, based on flax, and the general economy of the city prospered again.

During World War II the city was an important railway hub for the German army, and for this reason was the target of several Allied airstrikes.

On 21 July 1944 (the Belgian National Day) around 300 Avro Lancasters dropped over 5,000 bombs on the city center.

After the 1977 fusion the city is made up of: The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, also consists of Kuurne, Wevelgem, Zwevegem and Harelbeke.

Courtrai serves as an educational centre in south West Flanders, attracting students from the entire region.

The KULAK, a campus of the Catholic University of Leuven, is located in on the south edge of the city, in the Hoog Kortrijk quarter.

Local specialities include Kalletaart (apple cake with Calvados), Peperbollen, biscuits, and chocolate little beguines.