Ekeren
Encyclopedia
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Antwerp in the Flemish Region
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as Flanders, of which it is the institutional iteration within the context of the Belgian political system...
of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. The suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
celebrated its 850th birthday in 2005; the name of the town was first mentioned in 1155, as "Hecerna".
Ekeren was a distinct municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
with its own town hall, mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, and city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
until 1983, when most of it, along with 8 other municipalities was merged into the city of Antwerp.
Decentralization
__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...
, the Antwerp municipality consists of nine districts (the old city, seven former municipalities at its borders, and the Bezali
Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo
Berendrecht, Zandvliet and Lillo are three towns along the seaport docks north of the old city of Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium. The substantial 1983 merger with former municipalities, led in 2000 to the decentralisation of this enlarged municipality of Antwerp while these three towns merged into...
merger of three towns). The first district council of Ekeren, elected in 2001, was led by Christophe Thomas; the second district council, elected in 2007, by Ronny Kruyniers. 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.
Ekeren used to be the home town of the Germinal Ekeren football team until Germinal merged with K. Beerschot V.A.C.
K. Beerschot V.A.C.
Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbal en Atletiek Club is a former Belgian football club from Antwerp. The club was founded in 1899 when most players of R. Antwerp F.C. left the club. It played in the 1920 Olympic Games Stadium named the "Kiel". After many financial problems over the years, the club was...
into K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot (in 1999). The new club is based in the Olympisch Stadion
Olympisch Stadion (Antwerp)
The Olympisch Stadion or Kielstadion was built as the main stadium for the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. For those games, it hosted the athletics, equestrian, field hockey, football, gymnastics, modern pentathlon, rugby union, tug of war, and weightlifting events. It is currently used as the...
in Antwerp.
Ekeren is home to the Jozef Pauly municipal academy for music and word, 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 ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
s; the Jozef Pauly flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
ensemble has made concert tours to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. 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 piece of nature 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 mini-ecosystems.
In 1703, Ekeren was the site of a battle in the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, known as the Battle of Ekeren
Battle of Ekeren
The Battle of Ekeren, June 30, 1703 was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The French surrounded a Dutch force, which barely avoided complete destruction...
. Some street names in Ekeren (for example, the "Successiestraat", "Vierkerkenstraat", and "Tweekronenstraat") still refer to this occurring.
Famous residents
- Vlaams BelangVlaams BelangVlaams Belang is a Belgian far-right political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels that advocates the independence of Flanders and strict limits on immigration, whereby immigrants would be obliged to adopt Flemish culture and language...
-politician Filip DewinterFilip DewinterPhilip Michel Frans "Filip" Dewinter is a Flemish politician in Belgium. He is one of the leading members of Vlaams Belang, a right-wing Flemish nationalist and secessionist political party... - Libera CarlierLibera CarlierLibera Carlier was a Belgian seaman and writer. He attended the Hogere Zeevaartschool and was a member of the resistance during World War II...
, writer - Ben Rottiers, actor