Genk () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

and

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 A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

of Limburg near

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as ...

. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, located on 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 ...

, between Antwerp and Liège.

History

Celtic and medieval origins

Genk probably originated as a

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

ic village, and was converted to Christianity in the 10th century. The remains of a little wooden church dating from that period were found in the area. The first mention of Genk as ''Geneche'' can be found in a document dating from 1108, ceding the territory to the Abbey of

Rolduc Rolduc is the name of a medieval abbey located on the edge of the town of Kerkrade in the far south-east of the Netherlands. It is today a Roman Catholic seminary with an affiliated conference center. The abbey is a ''rijksmonument'' (Dutc ...

. Politically, Genk belonged to the

County of Loon The County of Loon ( , , ) was a county in the Holy Roman Empire, which corresponded approximately with the Belgian province of Limburg. It was named after the original seat of its count, Loon, which is today called Borgloon. During the middle a ...

until it was annexed by the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince ...

in 1365.

19th century

During a century of on-going

industrialisation Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econ ...

further south in Belgium, Limburg modernised only slowly: Genk remained unimportant and small, growing slowly to a population of 2,000 around 1900. The peaceful village was the home of landscape painters and writers such as

Neel Doff Cornelia Hubertina "Neel" Doff (Buggenum, Netherlands, 27 January 1858 – Ixelles, Belgium, 14 July 1942) was an author of Dutch origin living and working in Belgium and mainly writing in French. She is one of the most important contributors to ...

20th-century development

In 1901,

André Dumont André Dumont may refer to: * André Dumont (geologist) * André Dumont (politician) * André Dumont (cyclist) André Dumont (4 May 1903 – 16 August 1994) was a French racing cyclist. He rode in the 1928 Tour de France The 1928 Tour de ...

found a large quantity of coal in the nearby village of As. Soon after, the "Black Gold" was also found in Genk. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the village started to attract a large quantity of both Belgian and foreign immigrants, and quickly became the biggest town in Limburg after Hasselt, peaking to a population of 70,000. However, in 1966 the coal mine of Zwartberg closed down, and Genk had to develop new industries, mainly along the

and highways. By the end of the 1980s, the two remaining coal mines at Winterslag and Waterschei were also closed. In 2000, Genk officially became a city.

Economy

Genk is the industrial centre of the province of Limburg and offers over 45,000 jobs, making it economically the third most significant city in

. In 1900, Genk was a quiet village with around 2,000 residents. At that time, Genk was known for its natural environment, popular among artists and painters who used Genk as a setting for their pieces. In 1901, coal was discovered in Genk and three mining sites were developed: Zwartberg, Waterschei and Winterslag (C-mine today). As a result, the population grew exponentially: today Genk has about 65,000 inhabitants with 107 different ethnic backgrounds. The mines had some good years, but in 1966 the Zwartberg mine closed, followed by Winterslag (C-mine today) in 1986 and Waterschei in 1987. The

Genk Body & Assembly ''Genk Body & Assembly'' was a Ford Motor Company automobile factory in Genk, Belgium, just over an hour to the west of the company's European head office in Cologne, Germany. The site spanned . The plant employed approx 4,300 workers in 2014. T ...

factory of

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles ...

was the largest and most important employer in Genk until recently, employing some 5,000 people and building the Mondeo sedan and hatchback, the

Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar Sys ...

(second generation, from 2006 and onwards) MPV/minivan, and the S-MAX sub-MPV. The factory closed in 2014.

C-Mine

The city went looking for new opportunities for the enormous mine sites on its territory, including the Winterslag site. In 2000, the idea began to grow to accommodate a creative hub in the buildings of the old coal mine of Winterslag. In 2001, the city of Genk bought the site from LRM (Limburgse Reconversie Maatschappij) and the name "C-mine" was born in 2005. As regards content, the creative hub works on four cornerstones: education, creative economy, creative recreation and artistic creation and presentation. With a university college specialised in various artistic graduation subjects, an incubator for young entrepreneurs, a cultural centre, a design centre, a cinema, C-mine expedition, etc. the C-mine mission has succeeded. It has created 330 jobs in 42 companies and organisations, including around 200 jobs in the creative sector in 33 creative companies. Each day, C-mine produces: games, apps, websites, sets for television, drones, light shows, design items, stage productions, etc. C-mine is a site of creative makers in each of the four segments. * Companies in C-Mine: * E-nventors Lab / C-mine crib: E-nventors Lab is the research & development department of E-nvention that examines the latest technologies.

Sights

* The biggest tourist attraction of Genk is

Bokrijk The Bokrijk Provincial Domain ( nl, Provinciaal Domein Bokrijk) is a park and museum complex near Genk, Province of Limburg in Belgium. It is known for its open-air museum which displays a large collection of historical buildings from across Flan ...

, an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

consisting of authentic relocated buildings (mainly dating from 17th till 19th century) from all over

. In the summer season, historical Flanders comes alive in Bokrijk through numerous actors and re-enactment events. * Genk was established as one of the entrance "gateways" of the Hoge Kempen National Park, the first

National Park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

in Flanders, at its opening in 2006. * Also noteworthy are the old coalmines of Zwartberg, Waterschei and Winterslag, surrounded by slag heaps, huge black mountains of dug up soil and coal remnants. Some of the mine buildings and housing can be visited. * Despite its industrial past and present, Genk is nicknamed 'De Groene Stad' (''The Green City''). It sports a nature reserve called "De Maten", the large recreational area Kattevennen (with the Europlaneterium), Bokrijk, and several other green areas. In sunny weather, you may also want to pay a visit to the ''

Sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a fl ...

Park'' ( nl, Zonnewijzerpark). The history of the landscape painters who visited Genk between 1840 and 1940 can be discovered in the Museum Emile Van Doren. * The

Europlanetarium Genk The Europlanetarium Genk is a people's observatory and planetarium in Genk, Belgium. How it began Lode Vanhoutte from Genk started the ''Young Researchers for Genk'' following the moon landing in 1969. They did popular scientific work, many su ...

has a

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

and observatory.

Events

* Genk was home of ''Motives Festival'', an annual event taking place in November and celebrating "new sounds of jazz." Recent performers have included the fiery piano jazz of

Esbjörn Svensson Trio Esbjörn Svensson Trio (or e.s.t.) was a Swedish jazz piano trio formed in 1993 consisting of Esbjörn Svensson (piano), Dan Berglund (double bass), and Magnus Öström (drums). Its music had classical, rock, pop, and techno elements. It list ...

, funky saxman

Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redma ...

, and futuristic electronics wizard

Leafcutter John Leafcutter John is the stage name, recording name of John Burton, a UK-based musician and artist. He makes frequent use of Max (software), Max/MSP in his compositions. Much of Burton's style is based in computer music and use of sampling (music ...

. Another musical event, ''Genk on Stage'', takes place during three days in the summer. This festival is celebrated no more. * Genk is also rich in tradition, with a colourful

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ...

taking place around

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the ...

, the May celebrations featuring the

May Queen In the British Isles and parts of the Commonwealth, the May Queen or Queen of May is a personification of the May Day holiday, and of springtime and also summer. The May Queen is a girl who rides or walks at the front of a parade for May Day cel ...

, a flowers parade and a huge

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

finale, and finally the Saint Martin

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

, in honour of Saint

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as th ...

, one of the most popular saints in Flanders. * In 2012 Genk was host to

Manifesta Manifesta, also known as the European Nomadic Biennial, is a European pan-regional contemporary cultural biennale. History Manifesta was founded in 1994 by Dutch art historian Hedwig Fijen. The first edition took place in Rotterdam. One of ...

, The roving European Biennial of Contemporary Art, together with events such as the biennial of Venice and the Documenta in Kassel, Manifesta is one of the foremost art events of Europe.

Transportation

Besides the Albert Canal, Genk has rail service to Hasselt and a small airport ( EBZW) northeast of the town center.

De Lijn Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn (English: Flemish transport company ''De Lijn''), usually known as De Lijn (, "The Line"), is a company run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transportation with about 2240 buses and 399 ...

is the sole bus transport service provider within Genk.

Sports

Genk's major football club,

KRC Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four cha ...

, promoted from the second division in 1996 and quickly became one of Belgium's top clubs. They finished first in the highest football league in 1999, 2002, 2011 and 2019 and won the

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

in 1998, 2000, 2009, 2013 and 2021. Because of this success, the '' Luminus Arena'' (formerly known as '' Fenix Stadium'' and ''

Cristal Arena The Cegeka Arena is a multi-purpose stadium in Genk, Belgium. It is currently used mostly for association football matches and is the home ground of K.R.C. Genk. The stadium holds 23,718

'') of KRC Genk (place for 25 500 supporters) has become an important centre of both sport and non-sport activities in recent years. In the 2016–2017 season Genk reached the quarter-finals of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

by defeating fellow Belgian side K.A.A. Gent over two legs, one of which was a 5–2 win. Karting Genk is a

kart racing Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ...

CIK FIA track. In 2011 it hosted the

Karting World Championship The Karting World Championship is a kart racing competition organised by the CIK- FIA. It is held annually since 1964, and is karting's flagship event. The FIA (International Automobile Federation) created the CIK (International Karting Commis ...

Demography

24% of the inhabitants are of foreign origin from about 85 different nationalities, mostly Italians,

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, and

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, Albania, Greeks in Italy, ...

. It is believed that Genk has the largest Turkish community in Belgium relative to its population.

Notable people

, writer (1858–1942) *

Jacques Germeaux Jacques Germeaux (born 11 May 1956) is a doctor and a Belgian politician of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD). He studied medicine at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (''Free University of Brussels''). Since 1995 he is a member of the loc ...

, former politician and former

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

(b. 1956) *

Peter Vanhoutte Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, former politician and former

Belgian MP The Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: , french: link=no, Chambre des représentants, german: link=no, Abgeordnetenkammer) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered ...

(b. 1956) *

Martin Margiela Martin Margiela (born 9 April 1957) is a Belgian fashion designer, artist, and founder of French luxury fashion house Maison Margiela. Throughout his career, Margiela has maintained a low profile, refusing to grant face-to-face interviews or be ...

, fashion designer (b. 1957) * Jo Vandeurzen, politician and

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

in the

Flemish region The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and ...

(b. 1958) *

Dirk Medved Dirk Medved (born 15 September 1968) is a Belgian retired footballer who played as a defender (right or central). Football career During his professional career, Genk-born Medved played for K. Waterschei S.V. Thor Genk, K.R.C. Genk, K.A.A. G ...

, football defender (b. 1968) * Ronny Gaspercic, football

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

(b. 1969) * Karel Geraerts,

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

(b. 1982) * Benjamin De Ceulaer,

(b. 1983) * Siglo XX, 1980's Coldwave band

Twin cities

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

, Botswana *

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabita ...

, Poland *

Isparta Isparta is a city in western Turkey and the capital of Isparta Province. The city's population was 222,556 in 2010 and its elevation is 1035 m. It is known as the "City of Roses". Isparta is well-connected to other parts of Turkey via roads. Ant ...

, Turkey *

San Giovanni in Fiore San Giovanni in Fiore (; nap, label= Calabrian, Sangiuvanni ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, ...

, Italy

Gallery

File:Genk - Woning Stationsstraat 13.jpg, Built in 1844, Stationsstraat 13, Genk File:Genk - Voormalig gemeentehuis.jpg, The Old Town Hall, built in neoclassical style File:Genk - Station Genk-Goederen.jpg, Train station Genk-Goederen File:Genk - Christus Koningkerk.jpg, "Mine cathedral" of Christ the King File:Genk Vogelkersstraat Watertoren.JPG, Water tower

References

External links

Official website
– Only available in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Official website of soccer club KRC Genk

Official website of the Open-Air Museum Bokrijk

Official website of C-Mine Genk

Official website of Pingvalue
{{Authority control Municipalities of Limburg (Belgium)