Genk probably originated as aCeltic 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 asGeneche can be found in a document dating from 1108, ceding the territory to the Abbey ofRolduc. Politically, Genk belonged to theCounty of Loon until it was annexed by thePrince-Bishopric of Liège in 1365.
During a century of on-goingindustrialisation further south in Belgium,Limburg modernised only slowly: Genk remained unimportant and small, growing slowly to a population of 2,000 around 1900. The village was the home of landscape painters and writers such asNeel Doff and became an artist colony where over 400 landscape painters painted en plein air.
In 1901,André Dumont found a large quantity of coal in the nearby village ofAs. Soon after, the "Black Gold" was also found in Genk. AfterWorld War I, 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 theAlbert Canal and highways. By the end of the 1980s, the two remaining coal mines at Winterslag and Waterschei were also closed.
Genk is the industrial centre of the province of Limburg and offers over 45,000 jobs, making it economically the third most significant city inFlanders.[citation needed]
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.
TheGenk Body & Assembly factory ofFord Motor Company was the largest and most important employer in Genk until recently, employing some 5,000 people and building theMondeo sedan and hatchback, theGalaxy (second generation, from 2006 and onwards) MPV/minivan, and theS-MAX sub-MPV. The factory closed in 2014.[3]
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.[4]
The biggest tourist attraction of Genk isBokrijk, anopen-air museum consisting of authentic relocated buildings (mainly dating from 17th till 19th century) from all overFlanders. In the summer season, historical Flanders comes alive in Bokrijk through numerous actors andre-enactment events.
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 theSundial Park (Dutch:Zonnewijzerpark). The history of the landscape painters who visited Genk between 1840 and 1940 can be discovered in the Museum Emile Van Doren.
Genk was home ofMotives Festival, an annual event taking place in November and celebrating "new sounds of jazz." Recent performers have included the fiery piano jazz ofEsbjörn Svensson Trio, funky saxmanJoshua Redman, and futuristic electronics wizardLeafcutter John. 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 colourfulcarnival taking place aroundAsh Wednesday, the May celebrations featuring theMay Queen, a flowers parade and a hugefireworks finale, and finally the Saint Martinprocession, in honour of SaintMartin of Tours, one of the most popular saints in Flanders.
In 2012 Genk was host toManifesta, 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.[needs update]
Besides the Albert Canal, Genk has rail service to Hasselt and a small airport (EBZW) 6 km (3.7 mi) northeast of the town center.De Lijn is the sole bus transport service provider within Genk.
Genk's majorfootball club,KRC Genk, promoted from the second division in 1996 and quickly became one of Belgium's top clubs. They finished first in thehighest football league in 1999, 2002, 2011 and 2019 and won theBelgian Cup in 1998, 2000, 2009, 2013 and 2021. Because of this success, theLuminus Arena (formerly known asFenix Stadium andCristal Arena) 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 theUEFA Europa League by defeating fellow Belgian sideK.A.A. Gent over two legs, one of which was a 5–2 win.[5]
24% of the inhabitants are of foreign origin from about 85 different nationalities, mostly Italians,Turks, andGreeks.[7] It is believed that Genk has the largest Turkish community in Belgium relative to its population.[8]
