Aarschot

Aarschot
	Aarschot
	Aarschot
State :	Belgium
Region :	Flanders
Province :	Flemish Brabant
District :	Lions
Coordinates :	50 ° 59 ′ N , 4 ° 50 ′ E Coordinates: 50 ° 59 ′ N , 4 ° 50 ′ E
Area :	62.52 km²
Residents:	30,115 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density:	482 inhabitants per km²
Height:	14 m
Post Code:	3200 (Aarschot, Gelrode) ; 3201 (Langdorp) ; 3202 (Rillaar)
Prefix:	013 - 016 - 014
Mayor:	André Peeters ( CD&V )
; Local government address :	Stadhuis, ; Ten Drossaarde 1, ; 3200 Aarschot
Website:	www.aarschot.be

Aarschot is a Belgian city on the Demer , which is located in the province of Flemish Brabant on the northern edge of the Hageland and has around 30,000 inhabitants.

history

In the late antiquity Aarschot was probably a Roman camp and in the Middle Ages an important trading center. Since 1125, the city has been the center of a rule that Emperor Charles V elevated to margraviate (marquisate) in 1518 and duchy in 1533 , and conferred it on a sideline of the Croÿ family . After they died out in 1612, Aarschot came to a branch of the Arenberg family . In the 18th century, the city was repeatedly conquered by French forces, in particular in 1705, 1746 and 1748.

At the beginning of the First World War , 156 residents of Aarschot were killed in German war reprisals between August 19 and September 6, 1914. Around 400 male residents were deported to Germany.

Attractions

The town has windmills from the 13th to 16th centuries , among other things . The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady), a church in the Demergotik style from the years 1337 ff. With an 85 m high tower, late Gothic rood screen (1510–1525) and carved choir stalls with original misericords is important . This structure suffered little damage in World War II , although Aarschot was often the target of bombing. On the other hand, the beguinage , founded in 1259, was demolished but later partially rebuilt. Only one tower is left of the fortifications that Aarschot owned in the Middle Ages.

Rail connections and economy

Aarschot is a railway junction and is on the Tongeren - Brussels - Ghent - Bruges - Knokke railway line . There are also interregional connections to Antwerp and Liège . Around 240 trains run daily from Aarschot station.

The industries operated in Aarschot include the production of batteries, breweries and the food industry; The cultivation of asparagus is important .

sons and daughters of the town

Rik Daems (* 1959), Flemish politician, painter and wine merchant
Garry De Graef (born 1974), football player
Arthur Meulemans (1884–1966), composer and conductor
Jean Arnold Antoine Tuerlinckx (1753–1827), musical instrument maker
Gunnar Riebs (* 1960), writer
Frans Verbeeck (* 1941), racing cyclist
Pieter Jozef Verhaghen (1728–1811), painter
Scala & Kolacny Brothers , girls' choir

literature

Evrard Op de Beeck: Aarschot, evolution van een stadsbeeld . Aarschot 1982.

Web links

Commons : Aarschot - collection of images, videos and audio files

Official website of the municipality (Dutch)
Illustration by Frans Hogenberg from 1578: The Spaniard approached the State of Leger because a large skin cell was raised above it on August 1st, 1578 ( digital copy )

swell

^ Gerhard Köbler : Historical Lexicon of the German Lands. The German territories from the Middle Ages to the present. 7th, completely revised edition. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-54986-1 , p. 7.
^ John N. Horne, Alan Kramer: German Atrocities, 1914: A History of Denial. Yale University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-300-10791-9 , pp. 29 f.

[1] Gerhard Köbler : Historical Lexicon of the German Lands. The German territories from the Middle Ages to the present. 7th, completely revised edition. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-54986-1 , p. 7.

[2] John N. Horne, Alan Kramer: German Atrocities, 1914: A History of Denial. Yale University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-300-10791-9 , pp. 29 f.