Mol
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Mol in the province of Antwerp
Mol, Belgium Location in Belgium
Sovereign state	Belgium
Region	Flemish Region
Community	Flemish Community
Province	Antwerp
Arrondissement	Turnhout
Coordinates	51°11′0″N 05°07′0″E / 51.183333°N 5.116667°E / 51.183333; 5.116667Coordinates: 51°11′0″N 05°07′0″E / 51.183333°N 5.116667°E / 51.183333; 5.116667
Area	114.26 km²
Population – Males – Females – Density	32,751 (2006-01-01) 49.78% 50.22% 287 inhab./km²
Unemployment rate	9.02% (1 January 2006)
Mean annual income	€13,648/pers. (2003)
Mayor	Paul Rotthier (CD&V)
Governing parties	CD&V, VLD
Postal codes	2400
Area codes	014, 011
Website	www.gemeentemol.be

Mol is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Mol proper. On January 1, 2007 Mol had a total population of 33,054 inhabitants. The total area is 114.26 km² which gives a population density of 289 inhabitants per km². ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Mol is a popular holiday resort, with a number of lakes surrounded by woods. The two main tourist lakes are Zilvermeer, which opened as a Provincial Park in 1959 and offers a white sand beach as well as facilities such as an outdoor playground, and Kempensen Meren, which is bordered on its southern edge by the large Sun Parks holiday centre.

The museum of Jakob Smits is located in the former vicarage of Mol-Sluis. This displays works of the artist Jakob Smits (1885-1928) and other painters of the Mol school, who were attracted to the area by its rustic views including several windmills (of which only one remains).

In the north-east corner of Mol, near the Dutch border, lies the Norbertine Postel Abbey. Mol is also home to the SCK•CEN Belgian Nuclear Research Centre and the Flemish institute for technological research (VITO). The first industries in Mol were the Vieille Montagne company and the explosive factory N.V. La Forcite. In 1872 the Sablières et Carrières Réunies (SCR), now Sibelco, was founded in order to extract the silica sand layers in Mol for industrial applications. The company became the global market leader in this sector with production sites all over the world.

The 15 chapels [1] were built by Pater Helsen in 1815 with 14 co-workers of the region. It is a protected monument.

[edit] Municipality structure

The municipality of Mol is divided in different townships respectively named:

• Mol-Centrum;
• Mol-Donk;
• Mol-Ezaart;
• Mol-Ginderbuiten;
• Mol-Gompel;
• Mol-Heidehuizen;
• Mol-Millegem;
• Mol-Postel;
• Mol-Wezel.

See the corresponding maps or zoom from here.

[edit] Famous born or raised inhabitants

• Tom Boonen, professional cyclist, 2005 World Road Race Champion.
• Filip Dewulf, tennis player, semi-finalist on the French Open.
• Kirsten Flipkens, tennis player, ITF Junior World Champion in 2003.
• Hadise Açıkgöz, former Pop Idol 2003 contestant, and now a singer.
• Joël Smets, former motocross world champion.
• Barbara Dex, singer.
• Tanja Dexters, former Miss Belgium (1998)
• Ann Van Elsen, former Miss Belgium (2002)
• Wilfried Peeters, ex-cyclist, now groupsleader of cyclingteam Quick-Step.
• Rob Peeters, cyclo-cross rider.
• Rob Teuwen, actor.
• Zjef Vanuytsel, artist.
• Guy Dufour Footballer.
• Edmond van Eetvelde († 8 December 1925), former diplomat and State Secretary.
• Charles de Broqueville († 5 September 1940), former prime minister.
• Senne Rouffaer († 14 July 2006), actor en director.
• Johan Gielen (23 February 1968), professional DJ.

[edit] References

1. ^ http://statbel.fgov.be/ (see Mol)
2. ^ http://statbel.fgov.be/verkiezingen2006/downloads/com_gem_13025_nl.doc.pdf
3. ^ http://statbel.fgov.be/elections2006/downloads/com_gem_13025_fr.doc.pdf

[edit] External links

• Official website