Tessenderlo

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  Tessenderlo
 
Location on map of Belgium
Coat of arms Location of Tessenderlo in Limburg
Geography
Country Belgium
Region Flag of Flanders Flemish Region
Community Flag of Flanders Flemish Community
Province Flag of Limburg (Belgium) Limburg
Arrondissement Hasselt
Coordinates 51°04′N 05°05′E / 51.067, 5.083Coordinates: 51°04′N 05°05′E / 51.067, 5.083
Area 51.35 km²
Population (Source: NIS)
Population
– Males
– Females
- Density
16,811 (January 1, 2006)
49.54%
50.46%
327 inhab./km²
Economy
Unemployment rate 8.82% (January 1, 2006)
Mean annual income 14,022 €/pers. (2003)
Government
Mayor Jan Verheyden (sp.a)
Governing parties sp.a, VLD, spirit
Other information
Postal codes 3980
Area codes 013
Web address www.tessenderlo.be

Tessenderlo is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg (Belgium). It is where the three Belgian provinces of Limburg (Belgium), Flemish Brabant and Antwerp (province) meet at the front gate of the Averbode Abbey. The municipality Tessenderlo encompasses the villages of Tessenderlo proper, Schoot, Engsbergen, Hulst and Berg. It is on the Albert Canal and the European route E313, the highway between Antwerp and Liège, one of the reasons why it was the place for the first Belgian "Industrial Zone of National Importance" in the 1960's.

Chemical plant and rail yard in Tessenderlo
Chemical plant and rail yard in Tessenderlo

Tessenderlo was the scene of an infamous industrial disaster during WWII, when a stock of 150 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at the chemical plant of "Produits Chimiques de Tessenderloo" (now "Tessenderlo Chemie") - located near the centre of town - exploded on April 29th 1942, killing 189 people at the plant and in the town.

Tessenderlo is part of a small western zone of Limburg where the local dialect is not the Limburgian dialect, but Brabantic.

On January 1, 2006 Tessenderlo had a total population of 16,811. The total area is 51.35 km² which gives a population density of 327 inhabitants per km².

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