Lanaken (; li, Laoneke) is a

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 g ...

located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2007, the municipality of Lanaken had a total population of 24,724. Its area is 59.00 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 RosenberP ...

of 415 inhabitants per km². Lanaken is located on the Belgian-

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 ...

border, bordering

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of th ...

directly. In the 2006 census, some 20 percent of the inhabitants turned out to have the Dutch nationality. A number of neighbourhoods in Lanaken is characterized by these immigrants' numerous villas and exclusive landhouses. Lanaken consists of the following villages: Lanaken proper, Rekem, Neerharen, Gellik, Veldwezelt, Smeermaas and Kesselt. Also located in Lanaken are the hamlets Briegden and Herbricht and the old village centre

Oud-Rekem Oud-Rekem is a village in the Lanaken municipality of the Limburg province of Belgium. The village is considered one of the most authentic villages of Belgium. Since 1994, it is protected as a monument. History Oud-Rekem was first mentioned in 1 ...

. The

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

n pulp and paper company Sappi operates a large mill on the outskirts of the town. In 2006, four 100 meter high wind turbines were built to provide electricity to the

Celanese Celanese Corporation, formerly known as Hoechst Celanese, is an American technology and specialty materials company headquartered in Irving, Texas, Irving, Texas. A Fortune 500 corporation, the company is the world’s leading producer of aceti ...

factory. Later on 8 more have been built. The reactivation of the former railway

-Lanaken-

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as i ...

was scheduled in 2014 but no such project has started to this day. The Veldwezelt-Hezerwater

Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone to ...

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

is located in the municipality.

Born in Lanaken

Eric Gerets Eric Maria Gerets (, born 18 May 1954) is a Belgian football manager and former player who played as a right back. He started his playing career as an amateur for his local team AA Rekem, before achieving success with Standard Liège and PSV ...

(1954) Former professional football (soccer) player for Belgium, born in Rekem * Edgar Willems (1890–1978), artist, musician, and music educator

Born in Lanaken

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