Beringen (; french: Béringue, ; li, Berringe) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

. The Beringen

includes the town of Beringen proper and the old communes of

Beverlo Beringen (; french: Béringue, ; li, Berringe) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. The Beringen municipality includes the town of Beringen proper and the old communes of Beverlo, Koersel, and Paal. History O ...

, Koersel, and Paal.

History

Origins

Beringen was already inhabited in

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

ic times, as proven by the 1995 archeological finds of gold coins and artifacts on its territory. These date from around 90 BC and are the most northerly late-

Iron-Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly a ...

gold objects found in Europe. Other finds, including of Roman coins, indicate a very early establishment.Beringen historisch
The first mention of Beringen dates to 1120 when it was known as 'Beringe', a word derived from the Germanic Beringum, which meant 'with the people of Bero'. During

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

times, the land of Beringen had been donated to the abbey of

Corbie Corbie (; nl, Korbei) is a commune of the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The small town is situated up river from Amiens, in the département of Somme and is the main town of the canton of Corbie. It lies ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. For most of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

period, it was part of the

County of Loon The County of Loon ( , , ) was a county in the Holy Roman Empire, which corresponded approximately with the Belgian province of Limburg. It was named after the original seat of its count, Loon, which is today called Borgloon. During the middle ag ...

, from which it received its city

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

in 1239. The city was then protected by impressive

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

s and gated walls. The county of Loon as a whole was annexed to the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial State, Imperial Estate, so the List of ...

in 1366. Beringen became one of the bishopric's 23 ''bonnes villes'' (principal cities) and shared its history until its dissolution in 1795.De Inventaris van het Bouwkundig Erfgoed: Beringen (ID: 20879)

Mining past

Under

André Dumont André Dumont may refer to: * André Dumont (geologist) * André Dumont (politician) André Dumont (24 May 1764 at Oisemont – 19 October 1838 at Abbeville), was a French parliamentarian, a regicide, a deputy of the National Convention, Pres ...

’s guidance, the first coal-bearing drill cores were obtained in

Campine The Campine ( French ) or De Kempen (Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encom ...

in 1901, leading to several coalmines being established in the region. The first production in Koersel dates from 1919. The golden age of coal production started right after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and lasted until the late 1950s, when cheaper energy sources were made available elsewhere. The last coal mine in Beringen closed its doors on October 28, 1989. The remaining slag heaps and mining buildings are still very obvious around the city.

Sights

*The Beringen Mine Museum and

spoil tip A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quant ...

is one of Beringen’s main attractions and retraces the industrial history of the region. It is a former Anchor Point of ERIH, the

European Route of Industrial Heritage The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is a tourist route of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. This is a tourism industry information initiative to present a network of industrial heritage sites across Europe. The a ...

.Site of the Mine Museum
/ref> *The St. Peter in Chains Church, with its elegant spire and rich

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

interior. *With its good network of biking trails, Beringen is also one of the best places in Campine for bikers.

Events

*Yearly Kermesses take place both in Beringen Paal and in Koersel. *At the beginning of August, Paal also organizes a whole-day musical event: "Paal op Stelten" *The two-day-long "Koersel Terrast" takes place in late spring: music, dance, and fireworks are enjoyed by adults and children alike. *A round of the Ethias Cross cyclocross race series has been held on a course on part of the site of the former coal mine since the 2019—2020 season

Famous past and present residents

Lodewijk Heyligen Lodewijk Heyligen (also known as Ludovicus Sanctus de Beeringhen, Lodewijk Heiligen, Ludovicus Sanctus, Heyliger of Beeringhen, Ludwig van Kempen and Louis van Campen) (1304, Beringen, Belgium – 1361, Avignon) was a Flemish Benedictine monk and mu ...

(1304, Beringen - 1361,

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

and music theorist *

Henricus Calenus Henricus Calenus or Henri van Caelen (1583–1653) was a clergyman in the Spanish Netherlands, closely involved in the early history of Jansenism. Career Born in 1583 at Beringen (in the county of Loon), Henri was the son of Jan van Caelen, a l ...

(1583, Beringen - 1653,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

), clergyman who played a role in the history of

Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by t ...

. *

Jo Vandeurzen Johan Maria Gerardus Vandeurzen (born 2 June 1958) is a Belgian politician, member of ''Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams'' (CD&V), a centrist Flemish Christian Democratic party. Vandeurzen holds a Master of Laws degree from the Catholic Univers ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

(b. 1958) *

Ingrid Berghmans Ingrid Berghmans (born 24 August 1961 in Koersel), also known as Ingrid Vallot, is a judoka from Belgium who has eight times been named Belgian Sportsman of the year, Belgian Sportswoman of the Year. A former world title holder, she is also an O ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

ka (b. 1961) *

Mauro Pawlowski Mauro Antonio Pawlowski (born 24 April 1971) is one of the key figures in the Belgian contemporary music scene. He was born in Koersel and is of Italian and Polish descent. He started his career as frontman of Evil Superstars in 1992. This grou ...

, musician (b. 1971)

References

External links

Official website
- Available only in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

{{Authority control Municipalities of Limburg (Belgium)