Tessenderlo (; li, Loei) 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 go ...

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 of

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 ...

. It is where the three Belgian provinces of Limburg,

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Haina ...

and

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

meet at the front gate of the

Averbode Abbey Averbode Abbey is a Premonstratensian abbey situated in Averbode, in the municipality Scherpenheuvel-Zichem (Flemish Brabant), in the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels in Belgium. It was founded about 1134, suppressed in 1797, and reestablished ...

. The municipality Tessenderlo encompasses the villages of Tessenderlo proper, Schoot, Engsbergen,

Hulst Hulst () is a municipality and city in southwestern Netherlands in the east of Zeelandic Flanders. History Hulst received city rights in the 12th century. Hulst was captured from the Spanish in 1591 by Maurice of Orange but was recaptured b ...

and

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...

. On January 1, 2006, Tessenderlo had a total population of 16,811. The total area is 51.35 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 327 inhabitants per km². The name ''Tessenderlo'' means "''(the open place in) the forest of the Taxandrians''". It is along the

Albert Canal The Albert Canal (, ) is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river. It also connects with the Dessel� ...

and the

European route E313 The European route E 313 is a road in Europe and a part of the United Nations International E-road network. Approximately long, it connects the Belgian port city of Antwerp to Liège, the commercial and industrial centre of Wallonia. ...

, the highway between

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

and

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, one of the reasons it was the place for the first Belgian "Industrial Zone of National Importance" in the 1960s. Tessenderlo was the scene of an infamous industrial disaster during World War II, when a stock of 150 tonnes of

ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...

at the chemical plant of ''Produits Chimiques de Tessenderloo'' (now Tessenderlo Group) - located near the centre of town - exploded on April 29, 1942, killing 189 people at the plant and in the town. Tessenderlo is part of a small western zone of Limburg where the local dialect is not the

Limburgian dialect 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 and in the neigh ...

, but

Brabantic Brabantian or Brabantish, also Brabantic or Brabantine ( nl, Brabants, Standard Dutch pronunciation: , ), is a dialect group of the Dutch language. It is named after the historical Duchy of Brabant, which corresponded mainly to the Dutch provi ...

Notable people

Kate Ryan Kate Ryan (born Katrien Verbeeck, 22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter, and the winner of a World Music Award. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of M ...

, Belgian singer *

Chantal Calin Chantal () is a feminine given name of French origin. The name Chantal can be traced back to the Old Occitan word ''cantal'', meaning "stone." It came into popular use as a given name in honor of the Catholic saint, Jeanne de Chantal. It may also ...

, Belgian singer *

Tia Hellebaut Tia Hellebaut (; born 16 February 1978 in Antwerp) is a retired Belgian track and field athlete, as well as a chemist, who started out in her sports career in the heptathlon, and afterwards specialized in the high jump event. She has cleared 2.05 ...

, Olympic Champion 2008 Highjump *

Minus van Looi The plus and minus signs, and , are mathematical symbols used to represent the notions of positive and negative, respectively. In addition, represents the operation of addition, which results in a sum, while represents subtraction, resulti ...

, writer

References

External links

*
Official website
Municipalities of Limburg (Belgium) {{LimburgBE-geo-stub