Borgerhout () is the smallest

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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 ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. , the district housed 45,769 inhabitants on 3.93 km². It was an independent municipality until January 1983. The postal area code for Borgerhout is 2140.

Geography

Borgerhout is divided into two parts by a highway and the historical walls. The part inside those walls is "intra muros," meaning (within the walls). It is built around a big boulevard, the Turnhoutsebaan

Demographics

Borgerhout has an extremely diverse population, with 63% of inhabitants having non-Belgian ancestry, mostly Moroccans and sub-Saharan Africans. Of the nine districts of Antwerp, it has the highest population density.

History

Borgerhout was first mentioned in the year 1214 in an act written by the Duke of Brabant. It was then named 'Borgerholt'.

Etymology

"Borger" likely comes from the old word for citizen or city dweller. Currently, the Dutch word for this is "burger". It might also refer to the word "borgh", meaning a fortress or fortified building. Borghmeester (1254) or borgermeyster (1286) are mentioned in written sources as the word for "mayor", literally "master of the fortress" or "master of the citizens". "Hout" (or previously "holt) means "wood". It is similar to some naming conventions in English, for example "Hollywood". It refers to a time when Borgerhout was still much greener, and had not yet merged with greater Antwerp. It likely also explains the tree on the coat of arms.

People from Borgerhout

Born in Borgerhout

* Bachir Boumaaza (born 1980), known by his pseudonym ''Athene'', gaming social activist and internet personality * Guillaume Geefs (1805–1883), sculptor * Floris Jespers (1889–1965), painter * Nahima Lanjri (born 1968), politician * Sister Leontine (1923–2012), pioneer of palliative care * Milow (Jonathan Vandenbroeck) (born 1981), singer-songwriter * André Nelis (1935–2012), sailor * Joris Note (born 1949), writer * Stan Ockers (1920–1956), cyclist * Hugues C. Pernath (1931–1975), poet *

Maria Rosseels Maria, Baroness Rosseels (23 October 1916 – 18 March 2005), also known with her pen name "E. M. Vervliet", was a Belgium, Belgian Catholic writer. Biography The first years of her life, she lived in the Goedendagstraat in Borgerhout. When Mar ...

(1916–2005), journalist and actor * Michel Seuphor (1901–1999), artist * Paul van Morckhoven (1910–1990), dramatist and theatre critic * Robert Van Straelen (born 1934), economist * Thomas Vinçotte (1850–1925), sculptor * Eddy Wauters (born 1933), football player

(Former) inhabitants of Borgerhout

* Tom De Cock (born 1983), writer and radio–DJ * Saskia De Coster (born 1976), writer * Bart Martens (born 1969), politician and a member of the SP.A * Alfred Ost, (1884–1945), artist * Anne Provoost (born 1964), writer * Wouter Van Besien (born 1972), politician, chairman of the ecologist party Groen! * Tom Van Laere (born 1974), musician * Erik Van Looy (born 1962), film director * Rik Van Steenbergen (1924–2003), racing cyclist * Carl Verbraeken (born 1950), president of the Union of Belgian Composers https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuskens van Borgerhout

Gallery

File:Borgerhout Reuzenhuis.JPG, Town hall until 1890 File:Reuskens.jpg, Reuskens of Borgerhout

References

External links

* {{Authority control Districts of Antwerp Former municipalities of Antwerp Province