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city in Limburg, Belgium
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Hasselt (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦɑsəlt] ⓘ, Limburgish pronunciation: [ˈɦɑsəlt], French pronunciation: [ʔasɛlt]) is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium.
As of 1 January 2025, Hasselt had a total population of 90,249. The old town of Hasselt is surrounded by a number of satellite hamlets including Kiewit, Runkst, Banneuxwijk, Godsheide and Rapertingen. Further away are several sub-municipalities which were once within other municipalities, including Guigoven, Kermt, Kortessem, Kuringen, Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Spalbeek, Stevoort, Stokrooie, Wimmertingen, Vliermaal, Vliermaalroot, and Wintershoven.
Geographically, Hasselt is located between the Campine region, north of the Demer river, and the Hesbaye region, to the south. Both the Demer river and the Albert Canal run through the municipality.
In terms of economic regions, Hasselt is within the transnational Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, connecting neighbouring regions in Wallonia, the Netherlands and Germany.
Hasselt was founded in approximately the 7th century on the Helbeek, a tributary of the Demer river. During the Middle Ages it became one of the free cities of the county of Loon (which had borders approximately the same as the current province of Limburg). It was first named in a document in 1165. In 1232 Arnold IV, Count of Loon gave the city the same freedoms as those enjoyed in Liège. Hasselt became the biggest city in present-day Limburg thanks to its favourable setting, and the proximity of the count's castle at Herkenrode in Kuringen. In 1366 the county of Loon came under the direct rule of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and remained so until the annexation by France in 1794.
During the First French Empire, the city of Maastricht became the capital of the French Department of the Lower Meuse. This comprised not only the area of the modern province of Limburg in Belgium, but also what is now the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, all of what is now Belgium became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. During this time, it was King William I who renamed the Lower Meuse department after the medieval Duchy of Limburg. This Duchy was in fact named after Limbourg on the Vesdre river, now in the Liège province of Belgium, which had never encompassed Hasselt or Maastricht. Belgium split from the Netherlands in 1830, but the status of Limburg was only resolved nine years later in 1839, with the division of Limburg into Belgian and Dutch parts. Hasselt became the provisional capital of the Belgian province of Limburg. In ecclesiastical terms, Belgian Limburg became an independent entity from the Diocese of Liège only in 1967, and Hasselt became the seat of the new Diocese of Hasselt.
In 1977, Hasselt merged with several surrounding municipalities attaching the current sub-municipalities of Kermt, Kuringen, Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Stevoort and Wimmertingen.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, many urban renewal projects have taken place in the city, including the construction of the Two Towers (TT) neighborhood. On 1 January 2025, the neighboring village of Kortessem merged into Hasselt, introducing several new sub-municipalities.
The name Hasselt is derived from the Germanic word Hasaluth which refers to the common hazel.
The centre is mostly car-free and contains a number of historical buildings. Among the oldest buildings in the town centre are the St. Quentin's Cathedral (11th to 18th centuries) and the Refuge of Herkenrode Abbey, the city's oldest civic building (1542). The Grote Markt (Grand Market) and the nearby streets are lined with restaurants brasseries, cafes and taverns.
The Demerstraat and the Koning Albertstraat are the most important shopping streets, while the Kapelstraat and Hoogstraat house upscale shops and brands. Another major religious building besides the cathedral is the Virga Jesse Basilica. The churches must cede domination of the skyline of the city to the modern twin towers of the TT-wijk (TT Quarter), however. In 2003, the renovation of this complex, now including a shopping mall and a hotel, gave the centre a new boost. In 2004, Hasselt was the first city to receive the title "most sociable city in Flanders".
In 1977, the merger of Hasselt with several surrounding municipalities added 22.309 inhabitants at the time to its own population of 40.446 inhabitants. As of 1 October 2024, Hasselt had a total population of 81.708 (40.070 men and 41.638 women).
Hasselt is the main seat of the Catholic diocese of Hasselt, which covers the entire Belgian province of Limburg. The main church is St. Quentin's Cathedral. Hasselt also consists of about 30 parishes. Next to the Catholic Church, Hasselt houses both a Moroccan and Turkish mosque as both communities are established in the city and the surrounding municipalities. There was a Jewish community in Hasselt for centuries, but most of their Jews were deported and murdered during the war. The synagogue was destroyed together with its contents, including ceremonial objects and Torah scrolls. The cemetery is now maintained by the local authorities. A Hebrew inscription on a local war monument memorializes the murdered Jews of Hasselt.
Hasselt brands itself as the "Capital of Taste", owing to its local distilleries of Jenever, the Hasselt Jenever Festival, Hasselt speculaas, and chocolate production.
Hasselt is famous for its gin, locally known as Jenever. Even though the spirit is produced across the entire country of Belgium, Hasselt Jenever became famous when the city escaped the 1601 ban on the sale and production of the beverage imposed by Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and Isabella Clara Eugenia, both Archduke and Archduchess of the Habsburg Netherlands, because it belonged to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. Dutch troops stationed in the city from 1675 to 1681 ensured that Hasselt Jenever, more than any other Belgian jenever, carried aromas of herbs and berries.
At the end of the 19th century, dire living conditions among the working population and cheap Jenever prepared from sugar beet molasses led to the annual consumption of 9.5 litres of Jenever (50% vol) per inhabitant of Belgium. Jenever production was the most important industry in Limburg in the 19th century with most distilleries being located in Hasselt. However, increase in excise duty, competition from cheap industrial alcohol, the confiscation of copper stills by the Germans during World War I, and the Vandervelde law against alcohol abuse caused most distilleries in Hasselt to disappear or to be taken over by larger competitors.
By the early 21st century, Hasselt only housed two distilleries (known as 'stokerij' in Dutch): the National Jenever Museum and Stokerij Wissels, which was later bought by the larger Stokerij Fryns, based in Ghent, which resumed Jenever production on the former Wissels grounds under the Fryns name. Today, three Jenever distilleries operate in Hasselt: the National Jenever Museum, Stokerij Fryns, and Stokerij Vanderlinden, founded in 2017.
Every year during the third weekend of October, the two-day Hasselt Jenever Festival takes place. It includes, among other elements, musical, dance, and street theatre performances, the Borrelmanneke fountain on Maastricherstraat being transformed from a water fountain into a Jenever fountain for the day and a Waiters' Race through the city center.
Hasselt speculaas is a type of speculaas originating from and only produced in Hasselt. It differs from the type of speculaas eaten in the rest of Belgium in its greater thickness, its smaller reliance on spices – which gives it a milder taste -, and in its structure, with a crispy crust and soft, doughy insides.
Speculaas was baked in Hasselt as early as the 14th century. According to tradition, Hasselt speculaas was eaten with chilled Jenever. The early 19th century saw the introduction of the Spéculation de Hasselt – the Hasselt speculaas -, which was soon exported to Brussels and to Liège, among others. Until the Second World War, Hasselt speculaas was only baked around Saint Nicholas Day, since then it has been sold throughout the entire year.
Since the early 2000s, Hasselt has been known within Flanders for its distinctive and sometimes outspoken branding as a city. In 2002, former mayor, Steve Stevaert, introduced the catchphrase "Hasselt Capital of Taste" (Dutch: Hasselt Hoofdstad van de Smaak), creating a well-known brand image across the Flemish region to promote its touristic attractions, stores and local industries.
After 15 years the city decided to rebrand to "Hasselt has it" (Dutch: Hasselt heeft het). However, the city's old branding remained in use by its citizens and beyond. Five years later, due to this brand recognition, the city decided to reverse to the original catchphrase in spoken communication, and use "Hasselt Smaakmaker Spraakmaker" in written communication and visuals.
In 2023, a dating platform had selected Hasselt as the Belgian city with the most eligible singles. The city developed a tourism campaign based on this claim, showing diverse couples throughout the city within promotional videos and posters, while also strategically highlighting the claims of the dating platform. The campaign saw the use of a new catchphrase "Hasselt tastes like more" (Dutch: Hasselt smaakt naar meer), building further on their earlier catchphrase "Hasselt Capital of Taste".
Text from the Wikipedia article “Hasselt”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.