Mol, Belgium
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mol () is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
located in the Belgian province of
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
. The municipality only comprises the town of Mol. In 2021, Mol had a total population of 37,021 inhabitants. The total area is 114.19 km2. Mol is a popular holiday resort, with many lakes surrounded by woods. There are two main tourist lakes: *Zilvermeer, which opened as a Provincial Park in 1959 and offers a white sand beach as well as facilities such as an outdoor playground and an underwater museum for divers. *Zilverstrand: Originally, it had only an outdoor lake with a white sand beach. Later, a caravan park was built and mid-1990s an indoor swimming pool was created. Furthermore, there is a Sun Parks holiday centre called "Kempense Meren" with an indoor swimming pool. The museum of Jakob Smits is located in the former vicarage of Mol-Sluis. This displays works of the artist Jakob Smits (1855–1928) and other painters of the Molse School, who were attracted to the area by its rustic views including several windmills (of which only one remains). In the north-east corner of Mol, near the Dutch border, lies the Norbertine Postel Abbey. Mol is also home to the
SCK•CEN SCK CEN (the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre), until 2020 shortened as SCK•CEN, is the Belgian nuclear research centre located in Mol, Belgium. SCK CEN is a global leader in the field of nuclear research, services, and education. History ...
Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, the
Flemish institute for technological research Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...
(VITO) and a
European School A European School () is a type of international school emphasising a multilingual and multicultural pedagogical approach to the teaching of nursery, primary and secondary students, leading to the European Baccalaureate as their secondary lea ...
. The first industries in Mol were the ''Vieille Montagne'' company and the explosive factory ''N.V. La Forcite''. In 1872 the ''Sablières et Carrières Réunies'' (SCR), now , was founded in order to extract the
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...
sand layers in Mol for industrial applications. The company became the global market leader in this sector with production sites all over the world. The 15 chapels208erbos.be
/ref> were built by Pater Helsen in 1815 with 14 co-workers of the region. It is a protected monument.


Municipality structure

The municipality of Mol is divided in different townships respectively named: * Mol-Centrum * Mol- Achterbos * Mol- Donk * Mol- Ezaart * Mol-Ginderbuiten * Mol-Gompel * Mol-Heidehuizen * Mol-Millegem * Mol-Postel * Mol-Rauw * Mol-Sluis * Mol-Wezel


Places of interest


Civil architecture

* Waterlock along the canal Dessel-Schoten *
Bailey bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, Prefabrication, pre-fabricated, Truss Bridge, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British Empire in World War II, British for military use during the World War II, Second World War and saw ...
(Postel) * Mill of Ezaart Ezaart * Casino (Gompel)


Religious architecture

* Saint-Peter and Paul church (Mol) * The Postel Abbey, a 12th-century
Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...
abbey * The 15 chapels in Achterbos (België) Achterbos * Saint-Willibrord chapel (Ezaart) * Lourdes cave (Sluis) * Saint-Bernard church (Sluis)


Museum

* Jakob Smitsmuseum in Sluis. Smits was a central artist to the Molse School. The museum's collection contains mostly works of his alongside several other artists of the Molse School.


Notable born or raised inhabitants

* Tom Boonen, professional
cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
, 2005 World Road Race Champion (born 1980) * Evelien Bosmans, actress (born 1989) *
Charles de Broqueville Count, Comte Charles de Broqueville (; 4 December 1860 – 5 September 1940) was the prime minister of Belgium from 1911 to 1918 and again from 1932 to 1934, serving during the majority of World War I. Before 1914 Charles de Broqueville was b ...
, former prime minister (1860–1940) * Jacob Buyens van Mol, writer, Dominican friar and priest (?–1604) * Filip Dewulf, tennis player, semifinalist in the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
(born 1972) * Barbara Dex, singer (born 1974) * Tanja Dexters, Miss Belgium 1998 (born 1977) * Guy Dufour, footballer (born 1987) * Edmond van Eetvelde, diplomat, first General Administrator of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Independent State of the Congo (1852–1925) * Wout Faes, footballer (born 1998) *
Kirsten Flipkens Kirsten "Flipper" Flipkens (; born 10 January 1986) is a Belgian tennis coach and a former professional player. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 13 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Flipkens has won one singles title on the WTA T ...
, tennis player (born 1986) * Sylvain Geboers, professional motocross racer and race team manager (born 1945) * Dirk Geukens, professional motocross racer (1963–2020) * Johan Gielen, professional DJ (born 1968) * Jo Gilis, professional footballer (born 2000) * Nele Gilis, professional squash player, European junior champion, world no. 18 on PSA World Tour (born 1996) * Tinne Gilis, professional squash player, European junior champion, world no. 22 on PSA World Tour (born 1997) *
Hadise Hadise Açıkgöz (born 21 October 1985) hadisemusic.com is a Belgian-born Turkish singer, songwriter, dancer and television personality. Born and raised in Belgium, her family is of Lezgins, Lezgin-Kumyks, Kumyk origin who settled in Sivas Pr ...
, former Pop Idol 2003 and Eurovision 2009 contestant, and now a singer (born 1985) *
Viktor Lazlo Sonia Dronnier (born 7 October 1960), known by her stage name Viktor Lazlo, is a French writer, singer, and comedian. Born in France, she studied in Belgium, where she is primarily known. Her biggest hit was "Breathless" in 1987. That year sh ...
, singer and actor (born 1960) * Yannick Michiels, competitor in orienteering and athletics (born 1991) * Guy Mortier, journalist and radio and television personality (born 1943) *
Rob Peeters Rob Peeters (born 2 July 1985) is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist, who primarily competed in the cyclo-cross discipline of the sport. In January 2012, he finished second at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. He also competed in ...
, cyclo-cross rider (born 1985) * Wilfried Peeters, ex-cyclist, now groupsleader of cyclingteam Quick-Step (born 1964) * Jasper Philipsen, cyclist (born 1998) * Tom Saintfiet, football coach (born 1973) * Joël Smets, former
motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...
world champion (born 1969) * Henricus Smeulders, Abbot and pontifical delegate (1826–1892) * Jakob Smits, painter (1855–1928) * Ann Van Elsen, Miss Belgium 2002 (born 1979) * Raymond Van Gestel, footballer (1930–2020) * Joris Van Hout, footballer (born 1977) * Zjef Vanuytsel, artist (1945–2015)


Gallery

File:Oud gemeentehuis en Sint-Pieter en Pauwelkerk Mol-Centrum.jpg, The old town hall and the Sint-Pieter and Pauwelkerk File:Mol - Steen der 7 Heerlijkheden.jpg, Stone of the Seven Seigniories on the border of the municipalities of Mol and
Lommel Lommel () is a municipality and city in the Belgian province of Limburg. Lying in the Kempen, it has about 34,000 inhabitants and is part of the arrondissement of Maaseik. Besides the residential town, Lommel also has a number of nature reserv ...
File:Voormalige Gemeenschapsinstelling voor Bijzondere Jeugdbijstand Mol centrum.jpg, 19th-century building currently housing the Academy of Visual Arts File:Herenhuis 'De Clercq' of 'De Arend' Mol-Centrum.jpg, ''Huis De Clercq'' on Mol's Markt File:Abdij Postel hoofdgebouw februari 2004.jpg, Baroque refectory of Postel Abbey File:Monument voor de gesneuvelden van WO 1 Mol-Centrum.jpg, Monument for the victims of the World War I File:A Mol, Molen van Ezaart, grondzeiler 10W.JPG, Mill of Ezaart File:Fabrieksschooltje Glaverbel Mol-Gompel.jpg, Former factory workers school of the glass factury Glaverbel in Gompel File:Kempense Meren - Faune et Flore.JPG, Sunparks resort 'De Kempische Meren - Rauwse Meer' File:Sint-Antoniuskapel te Mol-Hutten.jpg, Saint-Anthony chapel and roadside cross File:Oude kerkof.jpg, The old enclosed churchyard in the center File:Station Mol, Belgium.jpg, Station Mol


References


External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities of Antwerp Province Populated places in Antwerp Province