Ekeren

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Ekeren
Hof van Veltwijck.jpg
The Hof van Veltwijck, home of the district council
Ekeren flag.svg
Blason district be Ekeren.svg
Location of Ekeren
Ekeren
DistrictEkerenLocation.png
Location of Ekeren in Antwerp
Belgium location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ekeren
Belgium Antwerp location map.svg
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Ekeren
Coordinates: 51°17′00″N4°25′00″E / 51.28333°N 4.41667°E / 51.28333; 4.41667
CountryFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Community Flag of Flanders.svg Flemish Community
Region Flag of Flanders.svg  Flemish Region
Province Flag of Antwerp.svg  Antwerp
Arrondissement Antwerp
Municipality Antwerp
Area
[1]
  Total13.48 km2 (5.20 sq mi)
Population
 (2021-01-01) [1]
  Total28,500
  Density2,100/km2 (5,500/sq mi)
Postal codes
2180
Area codes 03
Website

Ekeren (Dutch pronunciation: ['eːkərə(n)] ) is a northern district of the municipality of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The suburb celebrated its 850th birthday in 2005; the name of the town was first mentioned in 1155, as "Hecerna". The name possibly originates from Vikings who settled there in the ninth century after using the oak trees. [2]

Contents

Ekeren used to be the home town of the Germinal Ekeren football club until Germinal merged with K. Beerschot V.A.C. into K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot (in 1999). The new club is based in the Olympisch Stadion in Antwerp.

Ekeren is home to the Jozef Pauly municipal academy for music and diction, which has around 2000 pupils as of 2004 (also counting branches in some other districts of the city of Antwerp, and one in the nearby municipality of Kapellen). The academy hosts many musical ensembles; the Jozef Pauly flute ensemble has made concert tours to Australia and the United States. Municipal music academies in Belgium are distinct from the public educational system; attending these academies is entirely optional, and merely a hobby for most of the students.

The 1 square kilometre large domain of the Oude Landen is a unique and extremely diverse natural sanctuary situated near the border with the Antwerp city district. Since it was a military area until 1972 (but not often used as such) where trespassing was strictly forbidden, nature was allowed to have its way for decades; the area now contains a rich mixture of plants and animals in eight more or less separate miniature ecosystems.

The border between Ekeren and the Antwerp district was changed per 1 January 2019, which transferred several Antwerp neighbourhoods with about 5,000 inhabitants to Ekeren.

Ekeren is also the hometown of well known Belgian/American musician Christian Olde Wolbers of legendary American music group Fear Factory

History

In 1703, Ekeren was the site of a battle in the War of the Spanish Succession, known as the Battle of Ekeren. Some street names in Ekeren (for example, the "Successiestraat", "Vierkerkenstraat", and "Tweekronenstraat") still refer to this historical event.

During the Liberation of Belgium, Ekeren was liberated on 4 October 1944 by the Essex Scottish Regiment and the Royal Regiment of Canada. The last V-Bomb to land in the area of Antwerp was in Ekeren, on 28 March 1945.

Government

Ekeren was a distinct municipality with its own town hall, mayor, and city council until 1983, when most of it, along with 8 other municipalities was merged into the city of Antwerp. In 2000 the Antwerp city council initiated additional district councils with responsibilities including sports, culture, youth and elderly people. Since this decentralization, the Antwerp municipality consists of nine districts (the old city, seven former municipalities at its borders, and the Bezali merger of three towns). The first district council of Ekeren, elected in 2000, was led by Christophe Thomas (Open Vld); the second district council, elected in 2006, by Ronny Kruyniers (sp.a). The current district council chairman is Koen Palinckx (N-VA) (elected in 2012). The district council gathers in the 16th century-era Hof van Veltwijck, which had seen major restructuring works around 2000; this complex also houses local administrative offices.

Notable residents

Sister cities

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  6. Ekeren
  7. Hoboken
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Gunther Jozef Hofmans is a former Belgian professional footballer who spent his entire career in Belgium playing as an attacking midfielder and striker for Germinal Ekeren and Germinal Beerschot. He also represented the Belgium national team, winning one cap. He currently works as a team manager for Royal Antwerp, since 2011, having previously worked in the same position, at one of his previous clubs, Germinal Beerschot, from 2008 to 2011.

Marinus de Jong was a Belgian composer and pianist of Dutch origin.

Urbain Haesaert is a Belgian football scout and former football manager. Haesaert started coaching at Lokeren. Together with Josef Vacenovský, he reached the quarter-finals of the 1980–81 UEFA Cup with Lokeren, and was vice-champion of Belgium, placing second behind Anderlecht in the 1980–81 Belgian First Division.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bevolking per statistische sector - Sector 11002P". Statistics Belgium. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  2. "EKEREN IN THE 9th CENTURY AND THE VIKING VISIT" (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 April 2024.