Essen, Belgium

Essen
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Essen Location in Belgium
Location of Essen in the province of Antwerp
Coordinates: 51°28′N 04°28′E / 51.467°N 4.467°ECoordinates: 51°28′N 04°28′E / 51.467°N 4.467°E
Country	Belgium
Community	Flemish Community
Region	Flemish Region
Province	Antwerp
Arrondissement	Antwerp
Government
• Mayor	Gaston Van Tichelt (CD&V)
• Governing party/ies	CD&V, sp.a
Area
• Total	47.48 km^2 (18.33 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)[1]
• Total	18,615
• Density	390/km^2 (1,000/sq mi)
Postal codes	2910
Area codes	03
Website	www.essen.be

Essen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛsə(n)]) is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp which comprises the towns of Essen Centrum, Heikant, Horendonk, Wildert, Statie and Hoek. In 2007, Essen had a population of 17,143. The total area is 47.48 km² which gives a population density of 358 inhabitants per km².

The town is near the border with the Netherlands. It has a railway station, and is the last stop in Belgium for rail services travelling north. The station before Essen is Wildert. The next station is Roosendaal, North Brabant, Netherlands.

The Grand Prix Rouwmoer is a cyclo-cross race held in December, which is part of the BPost Bank Trophy.

Notable living inhabitants

• Raf and Mich Walschaerts: cabaret duo (Kommil Foo)
• Frank Focketyn, actor
• Zdeněk Štybar, Czech cyclist
• Tom Meeusen, cyclist
• Bart Aernouts, cyclist
• Jan Goossenaerts, supercentenarian

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Essen is twinned with:

• Žilina, Slovakia^[2]

Horendonk

Wildert

References

1. Population per municipality as of 1 January 2016 (XLS; 397 KB)
2. "Žilina - oficiálne stránky mesta: Partnerské mestá Žiliny [Žilina: Official Partner Cities]". © 2008 MaM Multimedia, s.r.o.. Retrieved 2008-12-11.

External links

• Media related to Essen, Belgium at Wikimedia Commons
• (Dutch) Official website