Heusden-Zolder
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| Heusden-Zolder | ||
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| Geography | ||
| Country | .svg/27px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small} Belgium |
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| Region |  Flemish Region |
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| Community | Flemish Community |
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| Province |  Limburg |
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| Arrondissement | Hasselt | |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: | |
| Area | 53.23 km² | |
| Population (Source: NIS) | ||
| Population – Males – Females - Density |
30,769 (January 1, 2006) 49.95% 50.05% 578 inhab./km² |
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| Economy | ||
| Unemployment rate | 12.08% (January 1, 2006) | |
| Mean annual income | 11,623 €/pers. (2003) | |
| Government | ||
| Mayor | Sonja Claes (CD&V/PLUS) | |
| Governing parties | CD&V/PLUS, VLD, N-VA | |
| Other information | ||
| Postal codes | 3550 | |
| Area codes | 011 | |
| Web address | www.heusden-zolder.be | |
Heusden-Zolder is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. On January 1, 2006 Heusden-Zolder had a total population of 30,769. The total area is 53.23 km² which gives a population density of 578 inhabitants per km².
Heusden-Zolder was the result of the merger on January 1 1977 of the two former municipalities of Heusden and Zolder. Heusden exists out of the parishes Heusden centre, Berkenbos and Eversel. Zolder consists out of Zolder centre, Boekt, Viversel, Bolderberg and Lindeman.
Heusden-Zolder is the home to almost 2000 immigrants from all over the world. This is due to the (now closed) coal mine of Zolder. During the 1960s the Belgian coal mines had an enormous shortage of employees. For that reason they paid a lot of money to foreigners who wanted to come and work here. After the closure of the mines (the one in Zolder was the last one in Belgium to close in 1992) most of them chose to stay rather than go back to their home country. This makes Heusden-Zolder a very multicultural place.
The town hall is located in Zolder centre since the merger. As a compromise the former town hall of Heusden is now used instead by the local social security department (OCMW).
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[edit] Places of interest
- The Circuit Terlaemen, former home to the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and host of the 2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix. Also the 1969 and 2002 UCI Road World Championships, the 2002 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships and the 2003 Motocross des Nations were held at this same location.
- Castle of Meylandt, a castle donated to Heusden-Zolder from the de Theux de Meylandt family. It is currently used as an artschool.
- De Veen, an athletics stadium that yearly hosts the KBC Nacht van de Atletiek, the second most important athletics meeting in Belgium after the world famous Memorial Van Damme in Brussels.
[edit] Famous activities
- De Revue, comical theatre play in the Heusden dialect.
[edit] Famous inhabitants
- Evil Superstars, indie rock band
- Regi Penxten, Milk Inc. and DJ
- Sonja Claes, mayor
[edit] External links
- Official website - Only available in Dutch
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