| Oudsbergen | |
|---|---|
|  Commandery of Gruitrode | |
|  Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Location of Oudsbergen | |
|   Oudsbergen Location in Belgium
 Location of Oudsbergen in Limburg  | |
| Coordinates: 51°05′12″N 5°35′19″E / 51.0866°N 5.5885°E | |
| Country | .svg.png.webp) Belgium | 
| Community | Flemish Community | 
| Region | Flemish Region | 
| Province | Limburg | 
| Arrondissement | Maaseik | 
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Marco Goossens (CD&V) | 
| • Governing party/ies | CD&V | 
| Area | |
| • Total | 116.37 km2 (44.93 sq mi) | 
| Population  (2022-01-01)[1] | |
| • Total | 23,611 | 
| • Density | 200/km2 (530/sq mi) | 
| Postal codes | 3660, 3670 | 
| NIS code | 72042 | 
| Area codes | 011, 089 | 
| Website | oudsbergen.be | 
Oudsbergen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʌudzˌbɛrɣə(n)]; Limburgish: Audsberge [ˈawdzbæʀ(ə)ɣə]) is a municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg that arose on 1 January 2019 from the merging of the municipalities of Opglabbeek and Meeuwen-Gruitrode.
The merged municipality has an area of 116.24 km2 and a population of 23,520 people in 2021.[2]
Creation
The Flemish Government provides incentives for municipalities to voluntarily merge. The municipal councils of Opglabbeek and Meeuwen-Gruitrode approved a merge in principle in November 2016. Definitive approval occurred on 26 June 2017, which was ratified by Flemish decree of 4 May 2018 alongside several other merges, all to be effective per 1 January 2019.
As of 1 January 2018, the municipality of Opglabbeek had a population of 10,332 and Meeuwen-Gruitrode a population of 13,091.
Government
The first elections for the new municipality were held during the regular local elections of 14 October 2018, electing a municipal council for the legislative period of 2019–2024. CD&V obtained a majority of seats in the municipal council (17 out of 27). Lode Ceyssens, who was mayor of Meeuwen-Gruitrode until then, became mayor of Oudsbergen.
References
- ↑ "Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2022". Statbel.
- ↑ "Bevolking per statistische sector - Sector 72040". Statistics Belgium. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
External links
- Official site (in Dutch)
 Media related to Oudsbergen at Wikimedia Commons
 Media related to Oudsbergen at Wikimedia Commons
