GENK
Genk is a city located in the Belgian province of
Limburg near Hasselt. On January 1, 2005 Genk had a
total population of 63,607. The total area is 87.85 km²
which gives a population density of 724.00 inhabitants
per km².
Genk probably originated as a Celtic village, and was
converted to Christianity in the 10th century. It
remained unimportant and small until 1901, when André
Dumont found a large quantity of coal in the nearby
village of As. Soon after, the Black Gold was also found
in Genk. The village started to attract a large quantity
of both Belgian and foreign immigrants, and quickly
became one of the biggest cities in Limburg. However, in
1966 the coal mine of Zwartberg closed down, and Genk
developed new industries. The biggest of these nowadays
is the Ford Motor Company factory, employing some 10,000
people and building the Ford Mondeo sedan and Ford
Transit van. By the end of the 1980s, the two remaining
coal mines of Winterslag and Waterschei were also closed.
Genk is now the industrial centre of Limburg, offering
over 40,000 jobs, making it the third economical city in
Belgium, harbouring a population consisting of about 60
nationalities. In fact, one third of the population is
of a foreign nationality. This mix of Belgian and
Mediterranean (mostly Italian, Turkish, and Greek)
culture makes Genk a true multicultural society. In
2000, Genk officially became a city.
The biggest tourist attraction of Genk is Bokrijk, an
open air museum consisting of reconstructed 19th century
buildings from all over Flanders. In the summer,
historical Flanders comes alive in Bokrijk through
numerous actors and activities. Also noteworthy are the
old coal mines of Zwartberg, Waterschei and Winterslag,
accompagnied by huge black mountains of soil and coal
remnants that were dug up. Despite its industrial past
and present Genk is nicknamed The Green City. It sports
a nature reserve called "De Maten", the large
recreational area Kattevenia, Bokrijk, and some other
green areas. Genk was also recently voted the
friendliest city in Europe by the SEA Tourist Commission.
In addition, Genk is the proud home of Motives Festival,
an annual event celebrating "now sounds of jazz." Recent
performers have included the fiery piano jazz of Esbjörn
Svensson Trio, funky saxman Joshua Redman, and
futuristic electronics wizard Leafcutter John.
Genk's major soccer club, K.R.C. Genk, promoted from
second division in 1996 and quickly became one of
Belgiums top clubs. They finished first in the highest
soccer league in 1999 and 2002 and won the Belgian Cup
in 1998 and 2000. Because of this success, the stadion
of KRC Genk has become an important centre of both sport
and non-sport activities in recent years. |