Kerkom-bij-Sint-Truiden (or simply Kerkom) is a village in the

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The muni ...

municipality of the

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 ...

province in the

Flemish Community The Flemish Community ( nl, Vlaamse Gemeenschap ; french: Communauté flamande ; german: Flämische Gemeinschaft ) is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilitie ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Kerkom-bij-Sint-Truiden was an independent municipality until 1970 when it merged with Borlo. In 1976, the village opted to become part of

History

The village was first mentioned in 1065 as Kyreheim. The village was a ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800. ...

'' in 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 ...

. In the late 14th century until 1675, the village was a possession of the Van Alsteren family. The Castle of Kerkhom was first mentioned in 1396. In the 18th Century, the van Schoor family built a classical castle on the site. In 1889, an

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

castle was built to the north-east. Most of the older castle was demolished except for the towers and one wing. The castle is currently in use by a fruit company. Kerkom-bij-Sint-Truiden is a rural village on the Brook. It was an independent community until 1970, when it merged into Borlo. In 1976, it was decided to merge Borlo into

Gingelom Gingelom () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On 1 January 2006 Gingelom had a total population of 7,847. The total area is 56.49 km2 (21.81 sq mi) which gives a population density Population density (in agricul ...

, however Kerkom protested and joined

Beer

In 1878, the was founded by Evarist Clerinx. The brewery could no longer compete, and closed in 1968. Jean Clerinx retired in 1988, and started brewing again. His new beer Bink became successful, and the brewery started exporting to the United States. When

Eleven Madison Park __NOTOC__ Eleven Madison Park is a New American fine dining restaurant located inside the Metropolitan Life North Building at 11 Madison Avenue in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City. It has retained 3 Michelin stars since 2012 ...

was proclaimed the best restaurant in the world, it was revealed that they served Bink.

Chapel of the Brown-Our-Lady

Kapel van de Zwarte Lieve Vrouw te Kerkom - panoramio

The Chapel of the Brown-Our-Lady is a little chapel near Kerkom-bij-Sint-Truiden. According to the legend, an unbaptist child of an inhabitant of Kerkom died, and after praying to

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, the child miraculously came back to life. When neighbouring

Montenaken Gingelom () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On 1 January 2006 Gingelom had a total population of 7,847. The total area is 56.49 km2 (21.81 sq mi) which gives a population density of 139 inhabitants per km2 (359/sq ...

was struck by a

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

epidemic, the statue of Our Lady was taken from Kerkom to Montenaken. After the epidemic had subsided, the inhabitants refused to return the statue, however the statue returned on her own accord. The chapel has become a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

site on

Our Lady of the Assumption The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

(15 August).

Notable people

* August Mortelmans (1901–1985), racing cyclist.

References

External links

{{commons category, position=left Sint-Truiden Populated places in Limburg (Belgium)