Genk, Municipality in Arrondissement of Hasselt, Belgium
Genk is a municipality in Arrondissement of Hasselt in the Belgian province of Limburg. It sits at an elevation of 324 meters (1063 feet) and covers gently rolling terrain with pine forests and heathland in the southern parts.
The settlement was first recorded in 1108 as Geneche and remained a small village in a remote heathland region for centuries. Coal extraction between 1901 and 1987 transformed it into an industrial town with thousands of workers from Mediterranean countries.
The name likely comes from a Celtic word referring to marshy or wet ground, pointing to the natural surroundings of the area. Today, the town is home to descendants of miners who arrived from Italy, Greece, Turkey and Morocco in the first half of the 20th century.
Public facilities such as recycling parks and municipal offices are spread across the town and offer services like waste disposal and administrative support. Many parks and open spaces invite walking and connect residential areas with former industrial zones.
In the town center, you can still find street signs in several languages, recalling the time when many immigrants spoke no Dutch. The former workers' neighborhoods show to this day a mix of Flemish architecture and Mediterranean influences in gardens and house fronts.
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