| Hasselt | |||
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Hasselt
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Belgium | ||
| Region | Flemish Region | ||
| Community | Flemish Community | ||
| Province | Limburg | ||
| Arrondissement | Hasselt | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Hilde Claes (SP.A) | ||
| • Governing party/ies | Pro Hasselt (SP.A, Groen!), CD&V/N-VA, VLD |
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| Area | |||
| • Total | 102.24 km2 (39.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (1 January 2010)[1] | |||
| • Total | 73,067 | ||
| • Density | 714.7/km2 (1,851/sq mi) | ||
| Demographics | |||
| • Foreigners | 4.02% (7 January 2005) | ||
| Postal codes | 3500, 3501, 3510, 3511, 3512 | ||
| Area codes | 011 | ||
| Website | www.hasselt.be | ||
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Map of Hasselt
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Hasselt (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦɑsəlt]) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg (equivalent to the medieval County of Loon or Looz). The Hasselt municipality includes the original city of Hasselt, plus the old communes of Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Wimmertingen, Kermt, Spalbeek, Kuringen, Stokrooie, Stevoort and Runkst, as well as the hamlets and parishes of Kiewit, Godsheide and Rapertingen.
On 31 December 2007 Hasselt had a total population of 71 520 (34 951 men and 36 569 women). Both the Demer river and the Albert Canal run through the municipality. Hasselt is located in between the Campine region, north of the Demer, and the Hesbaye region, south of it (Dutch Kempen and Haspengouw). It is also in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion.
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Hasselt was founded in approximately the 7th century on the Helbeek, a small tributary of the Demer river. The name Hasselt came from Hasaluth, which means hazel wood. During the Middle Ages, it became one of the bigger towns of the county of Loon, which had borders approximately the same as the current province of Limburg. Hasselt was first named in a document in 1165 and shortly thereafter received the much sought-after city charter. In 1232 this status was officially confirmed by count Arnold IV. Even though the city of Borgloon was the original official capital of Loon, Hasselt was to become the biggest city thanks to its favourable setting and to the proximity of the count’s castle and the Herkenrode Abbey in Kuringen. In 1366 the county of Loon became part of the Bishopric of Liège and remained so until the annexation by France in 1794.
During the First French Empire, after the French revolution, Maastricht became the capital of the area that was then called the French Department of the Lower Meuse. This included both modern Belgian Limburg, and also neighbouring Dutch Limburg. After the defeat of Napoleon, in 1815, this whole area became part of a new United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and it was at this time that the name Limburg was adopted. King William wanted to keep the name of the old Duchy of Limburg alive although it had been centred in Limbourg on the Vesdre, and had never encompassed Hasselt. Even when Belgium gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1830, and the province of Limburg was definitively split between the Netherlands and Belgium in 1839, this name was retained and the name Loon disappeared. After the split, Hasselt became the provisional capital of the Belgian province of Limburg. When Maastricht stayed Dutch in 1839, it became the permanent seat of its provincial government within the Netherlands, also called Limburg. In 1967, Belgian Limburg was detached from the Diocese of Liège and Hasselt became the seat of the Diocese of Hasselt.
Hasselt is at the junction of important traffic arteries from several directions. The most important motorways are the European route E313 (Antwerp-Liège) and the European route E314 (Brussels-Aachen). Hasselt itself is enclosed by 2 ring roads. The outer ring road serves to keep traffic out of the city centre and main residential areas. The inner ring road, the so-called "Green Boulevard", serves to keep traffic out of the commercial centre, which is almost entirely a pedestrian area. There are also important traffic arteries to Tongeren, Sint-Truiden, Maastricht, Genk, Diest and Eindhoven.
The city lies within approximately an hour's drive from the airports of Brussels, Liège, Maastricht-Aachen, Antwerp, Cologne-Bonn, Düsseldorf and Charleroi. Within a three hour radius, the major hubs of Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Paris can be reached. Private aircraft can land in Hasselt itself, on the airfield of Kiewit.
The town has a major train station, but train links are currently neither high speed, nor covering all directions. High speed train stations are closest in Liège and Leuven. Most critically, since the second world war, Hasselt lacks any direct train route linking it to the Ruhr valley area of Germany, nor Maastricht.
Hasselt made Public transport by bus zero-fare from 1 July 1997 and bus use was said to be as much as "13 times higher" by 2006.[2] The transport network here is mainly by bus.
All buses leave from the station. The town lines (called H-lijn) have been free for everyone including tourists since Tuesday 1 July 1997. Other bus lines are free for the inhabitants of Hasselt while travelling in the territory of Hasselt.
The local H-lijn buses on the town lines carry an H on their number on the electronic destination sign above the windshield.
The regional transport services, or so-called Red lines, are free for residents of Hasselt, who can travel without fare as long as they show their identity card to the driver of the bus. Red regional route bus stops are marked with signs indicating the beginning or end of the Hasselt bus network.
Non-residents of Hasselt pay the usual area tariff, except for children under 12 who have zero-fare travel. "Blue" regional lines incur a fare in the normal way.
The plan for a new, attractive bus network in Hasselt was influenced by Flemish transport minister Eddy Baldewijns, who created an integrated transport policy framework in the middle of 1996 in which public transport was allocated a primary role. The city of Hasselt was one of the first cities to subscribe to the plan. Mayor Steve Stevaert proposed to give absolute primacy on the city's Green Boulevard to public transport. The mobility policy in Hasselt developed into an example of cooperation between the bus line, the Flemish government and the city of Hasselt, under the motto "the city guarantees the right of mobility for everyone".
Following the introduction of the new zero-fare policy, the usage of public transport immediately increased by 800-900% and has remained high, being currently more than 10-fold compared to the time of the old policy .[3][4] The city's official website records[2] passenger growth as follows:
| Year | Passengers | Percentage |
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| 1996 | 360 000 | 100% |
| 1997 | 1 498 088 | 428% |
| 1998 | 2 837 975 | 810% |
| 1999 | 2 840 924 | 811% |
| 2000 | 3 178 548 | 908% |
| 2001 | 3 706 638 | 1059% |
| 2002 | 3 640 270 | 1040% |
| 2003 | 3 895 886 | 1113% |
| 2004 | 4 259 008 | 1217% |
| 2005 | 4 257 408 | 1216% |
| 2006 | 4 614 844 | 1319% |
A Belgian website describes Hasselt identity cards as becoming "like gold in value", because of free bus travel.[5]
Hasselt railway station is near the city centre, outside the Binnenring. The station is an IC station, which means that there are several connections each day with important Belgian cities.
In February 2007 a plan was launched for the construction of a light rail connection between Hasselt and Maastricht to open in 2012. This plan is called the Spartacusplan (more details available in Dutch).[6]
The centre is mostly car-free and contains a number of historical buildings. Among the oldest buildings in the town centre are the St. Quentin's Cathedral (11th to 18th C.) and the "Herkenrode Abbey refuge house" (1542). The "Grote Markt" (large central market square) and the nearby streets are lined with pubs, restaurants and taverns.
The Demerstraat and the Koning Albertstraat are the most important shopping streets. In the Kapelstraat and the Hoogstraat are expensive shops with the most famous brands. Another major religious building, besides the cathedral, is the Virga Jesse Basilica. The churches must cede domination of the skyline of the city to the modern twin towers of the "TT-wijk", however. In 2003, the renovation of this complex, now including a shopping mall and a hotel, gave the centre a new boost. In 2004, Hasselt was the first Flemish city to receive the title "most sociable city of Flanders", and has since claimed the title of "Capital City of Taste".
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