Hamont-Achel (; li, Haëmet-Achel) 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 province of Limburg. It was founded in 1977 by a fusion of the city Hamont and the village Achel. On January 1, 2020, Hamont-Achel had a total population of 14.294. The total area is 43.66 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 315 inhabitants per km². The municipality houses the Trappist Abbey of Achel, part of which is

Brouwerij de Achelse Kluis Achel Brewery or Brouwerij der Sint-Benedictusabdij de Achelse Kluis was a Belgian Trappist brewery, (the smallest of the Belgian Trappist breweries) until January 2021. It continues to operate as a brewery but is no longer Trappist, as the bre ...

, one of the 11

Trappist breweries Trappist beer is brewed by Trappist monks. Thirteen Trappist monasteries—six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, and one each in Austria, Italy, England, France, and Spain—currently produce beer, but the ''Authentic Trappist Product'' label ...

. The professional tennis player Elise Mertens (WTA 35 - 2017) lives in Hamont-Achel.

Demographics

Languages

* Dutch in Hamont-Achel is often spoken with a distinctive Limburgish accent, which should not be confused with the Limburgish language. *

Limburgish Limburgish ( li, Limburgs or ; nl, Limburgs ; german: Limburgisch ; french: Limbourgeois ), also called Limburgan, Limburgian, or Limburgic, is a West Germanic language spoken in the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg (Netherlands), L ...

(or ''Limburgian'') is the overlapping term of the tonal dialects spoken in the Belgian and Dutch provinces of Limburg. The

Hamont-Achel dialect Hamont-Achel dialect ( nl, Hamonts-Achels, li, Haëmets-Achels) or Hamont-Achel Limburgish is the city dialect and variant of Limburgish spoken in the Belgian city of Hamont-Achel alongside the Dutch language (with which it is not mutually in ...

is only one of many variants of Limburgish.

Deadly explosion

On 18 November 1918, the municipality was the site of one of the worst train explosions in history, when two German munitions trains caught fire and exploded. Not only were the trains destroyed, but three German ambulance trains were also wiped out, along with most of the town. More than 1,000 individuals were killed.

Tumulus on Haarterheide

Hamont - Achel - Haarterheide - grafheuvel

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Website about Hamont-Achel

The Pessimist's Guide to History

sporza.be report on Jelle Vanendert's return home after the 2011 Tour de France
{{Authority control Municipalities of Limburg (Belgium)