Sint Truiden
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Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) 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 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 municipality includes the former communes (now ''deelgemeenten'') of Aalst, Brustem, Duras, Engelmanshoven, Gelinden, Gorsem, Groot-Gelmen, Halmaal, Kerkom-bij-Sint-Truiden, Melveren, Metsteren, Ordingen, Runkelen, Velm, Wilderen, and Zepperen. The city is in the centre of Belgium's fruit-producing region, ''Haspengouw'' ( Hesbaye), and is renowned for its pears, apples (Jonagold), and sweet cherries.


History


Origins and Golden Age

The municipality formed around an abbey founded by
St. Trudo Saint Trudo (Tron, Trond, Trudon, Trutjen, Truyen) (died ca. 698) was a saint of the seventh century. He is called the "Apostle of Hesbaye" (partly in the provinces of Province of Brabant, Brabant and Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Belgium). His ...
, a Frankish nobleman, in the 7th century. Legend has it that as a boy, Trudo was playing while building a small church with some rocks. When a woman scornfully kicked over the rocks she was struck by sudden blindness. Trudo cured her from this blindness after she asked for his forgiveness. He also allegedly was able to spring water and cure other illnesses. After Trudo's death, the abbey (the later
Sint-Truiden Abbey Sint-Truiden Abbey or St Trudo's Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Sint-Truiden, Abdij van Sint-Trudo; french: Abbaye de Saint-Trond) is a former Benedictine monastery in Sint-Truiden (named after Saint Trudo) in the Limburg (Belgium), province of Limburg Be ...
) became the centre of a pilgrimage, which brought wealth to the neighbouring town. The 11th century was particularly prosperous and witnessed an important growth in population. This was the time when abbot Adelardus, reporting to the prince-bishop of Metz, built the abbey's main church and two additional churches in town: Our Lady (') and ''Sint-
Gangulfus Saint Gangulphus of Burgundy (died May 11, 760 AD) is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic Church. Gangulphus was a Burgundian courtier whose historical existence can only be attested by a single document: a deed from the court of Pepin the Shor ...
''. Under his direction, Sint-Truiden also received an earth wall surmounted by a wooden fence and fortified gates. A proper stone wall, gates and towers, were built in 1129. The economy of this new oppidum city was based on the
linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
industry and commerce with foreign lands such as England, Champagne, and Germany. In the 13th century, the fortified town became one of the 23 ''bonnes villes'' (main cities) belonging to the
Bishopric of Liège In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
. A market hall was built at the site where the current city hall stands, the social life of the city was organized by the various guilds, and a '' perron'' was erected on the central square, symbolizing the local government's authority in political affairs.


15th century until now

Charles the Bold captured the town in 1467, marking the beginning of a slow decline that lasted until the 19th century. The city's fortifications were dismantled in 1675, and many of the religious congregations were disbanded under the French regime at the end of the 18th century. After
1830 It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. Events January–March * January 11 – LaGrange College (later the University of North Alabama) b ...
, these empty buildings were turned into educational and medical facilities. The city was also the centre of a prosperous agricultural region, which from the end of the 19th century became well known for its fruit production. It occupied an important strategical position with regard to the N.E. frontier of Belgium, and General Henri Alexis Brialmont recommended its fortification. On 9 August 1914, at the outset of Germany's invasion of Belgium, 20 civilians were executed and a number of houses destroyed. The reconstruction and building of brand new neighbourhoods accelerated well into the 20th century. During World War II, its airfield was the base of one of the most famous Luftwaffe Night Fighter squadron, NJG1, with units II/NJG1 and IV/NJG1 operating Junkers Ju88 and Heinkel He219 aircraft from here in 1944. The highest scoring German night fighter pilot, Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (121 air victories, most of them at night) was referred to as "The spook of St. Trond" by British Bomber crews that flew over Germany on night raids. The airport EBST is still in use.


Transport


Air

The airport of Sint-Truiden, Limburg Regional Airport – EBST is PPR. It is a former
Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...
Air Base and retains the long hard 06 – 24 runway, though only 1199 metres (3933 ft) is used. Fuel (Jet A-1 and Avgas) are available. All is located in hangar 41 (turn right at the end of the runway when taxiing heading 06). Opening hours from 09:00 LT until sunset 7/7. There is also a flight school (airplane and helicopter) Fly One. There are no scheduled flights.


Rail

The town is served by
Sint-Truiden railway station Sint-Truiden railway station ( nl, Station Sint-Truiden french: Gare de Saint-Trond) is a railway station in the town of Sint-Truiden, Limburg, Belgium. The station opened on 2 April 1838 and is located on line 21. The train services are operate ...
.


Sports

The professional
football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...
Sint-Truidense V.V. Koninklijke Sint-Truidense Voetbalvereniging (), commonly known as Sint-Truiden or STVV () or by their nickname De Kanaries (, is a Belgian professional football club located in the city of Sint-Truiden in Limburg. Sint-Truiden plays in the Belg ...
is based in Sint-Truiden. STVV plays in the highest division of Belgian football, the Pro League.


Places of interest

* Sint-Truiden's historical centre includes the town hall (''Stadhuis''), with a 17th-century belfry added by UNESCO to the World Heritage Site of Belfries of Belgium and France.List of the Serial Properties to be examined by the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee
p. 8 : n° 943-021, ''Stadhuis met Toren'', Sint-Truiden, listed in 1999.
The oldest parts of the building date from the 13th century. * The 15th-century Church of Our Lady (''Lievenvrouwenkerk'') stands just beside the town hall. * The
béguinage A beguinage, from the French term ''béguinage'', is an architectural complex which was created to house beguines: lay religious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world. Originally the beguine institution was ...
of ''Sint-Agnes'', with its 13th-century church, was also classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site of Flemish Beguinages. * An 11th-century Romanesque tower and
crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
are all that remain of the old abbey of St Trudo. Several other Romanesque buildings can also be visited in town: ''Sint-Pieterskerk'', ''Sint-Gangulfuskerk'', and the ''Guvelingen'' chapel. * On the abbey square stands the statue of St Trudo which, together with a meridian line traced on the ground, also functions as a
sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
. * Sint-Truiden offers several good examples of Baroque architecture, including the gable of the town hall and the ''Minderbroederkerk''. * The military school KSOO Saffraanberg, the grounds of which include Rochemdaal Castly.


Notable inhabitants

*
Christina the Astonishing Christina the Astonishing (c.1150 – 24 July 1224), also known as Christina Mirabilis, was a Christian holy woman born in Brustem (near Sint-Truiden), Belgium. She was considered a saint in her own time, and for centuries following her deat ...
(1150–1224) *
Denis the Carthusian Denis the Carthusian (1402–1471), also known as Denys van Leeuwen, Denis Ryckel, Dionysius van Rijkel, Denys le Chartreux (or other combinations of these terms), was a Roman Catholic theologian and mystic. Life Denis was born in 1402 in that ...
, theologian and mystic (1402–1471) *
Henri-Guillaume Hamal Henri-Guillaume Hamal (also Hamalle or Amael; 1685, Liège, nowadays in Belgium3 December 1752 (aged 67), Liège) was a Walloon (i.e. a French-speaking native of the Low Countries) musician, musical director and composer. He is the first of the ...
(1685-1752), musician and composer, ''maître de musique'' at *
Barthélémy de Theux de Meylandt Barthélemy Théodore, Count de Theux de Meylandt (26 February 1794 – 21 August 1874) was a Belgian Roman Catholic politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium three times. His family de Theux de Meylandt et Montjardin originated i ...
(b. 26 February 1794), politician and former
Belgian Prime Minister german: Premierminister von Belgien , insignia = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Coat of arms , insigniaalt = , flag = Government ...
* Aldous Huxley, English author (1894–1963), married Maria Nys from Sint-Truiden and briefly resided on the town's central square *
Désiré Collen Désiré, Baron Collen (born in Sint-Truiden, Belgium, 21 June 1943) is a Belgian physician, chemist, biotechnology entrepreneur and life science investor. He made several discoveries in thrombosis, haemostasis and vascular biology in many of wh ...
(b. 21 June 1943), physician and chemist * Frank De Winne, astronaut, born in Ghent in 1961, but residing in Sint-Truiden since 1986 * Koen Vanmechelen (b. 26 August 1965), artist *
Danny Boffin Daniel Edouward Boffin (born 10 July 1965) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a left winger and current football coach. During his professional career, which spanned nearly two decades, he played for four clubs in his coun ...
,
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player (1965–) *
Ruud Boffin Ruud Jorge Boffin (born 5 November 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Süper Lig club Antalyaspor. Career Early career Born in Sint-Truiden, Boffin began his career with the youth team of Racing Genk, before ...
,
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player *
Tina Bride Tina Bride (birth name Kim Poelmans) is a Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native ...
(b. 23 December 1977), musician and dancer *
Kristof Delorge Kristof is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Kristof: * Kristof Beyens (born 1983), Belgian sprint athlete * Kristof Imschoot (born 1980), Belgian footballer * Kristof Maes (born 19 ...
(1986–2021),
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player *
Simon Mignolet Simon Luc Hildebert Mignolet (, ; born 6 March 1988) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge and the Belgium national team. Mignolet started his career with Belgian Second Divisi ...
(b. 6 August 1988), football player *
Tim Wellens Tim Wellens (born 10 May 1991) is a Belgian professional road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is the son of former racing cyclist Leo Wellens and the nephew of cyclists Paul and Johan Wellens. Career Born in Sint-Truiden, Wel ...
(b. 10 May 1991), cyclist *
Yorick Antheunis Yorique Antheunis (born 26 June 1991) is a professional football defender. He last played for Sporting Hasselt. Prior to Bocholt, Antheunis played with Sint-Truiden, first achieving promotion from the Belgian Second Division in 2009, then thr ...
(b. 26 June 1991), professional football player * Nina Derwael (b. 26 March 2000), gymnast


Sister cities

Sint-Truiden is twinned with the following cities: * Duras, France * Weert, Netherlands *
Nueva Guinea Nueva Guinea () is a town and a municipality in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region of Nicaragua. Nueva Guinea was founded in the 1960s and saw significant growth in the early 1970s as the US Peace Corps helped to move families from the ...
, Nicaragua


References


External links

*
Official news website
{{Authority control Municipalities of Limburg (Belgium) Romanesque architecture in Belgium World Heritage Sites in Belgium