Olen
Encyclopedia
Olen is a municipality
located in the Belgian
province of Antwerp
. The municipality actually comprises 3 towns, situated on a north-south axis.
On January 1, 2009 Olen had a total population of 11,655. The total area is 23.10 km².
company, operating in the then Belgian colony of Congo, had a virtual monopoly of the world uranium
market (holding most of the deposits known at the time). The uranium mined in Congo was mostly transported to the UMHK refinery for uranium ore which was located in Olen. Some 1200 tonnes of uranium stored at the Olen refinery were captured by the Germans during the invasion and occupation of Belgium in 1940, and only recovered by US troops at the end of the war.
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...
located in the Belgian
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...
province of Antwerp
Antwerp (province)
Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
. The municipality actually comprises 3 towns, situated on a north-south axis.
- South of the motorway E313 and the Albertkanaal (canal) is Olen proper, also called Olen-St-Martinus (Saint-Martins parish).
- Between the Albertkanaal and Olen-station (railroad from Antwerp to Neerpelt and Hasselt) is the town of Boekel, also called Achter-Olen (Behind-Olen) or Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Olen (parish).
- North of the railroad is the town of St-Jozef-Olen (parish), also called Olen-Fabrieken (Olen-Factory, actually a refinery along the old canal Herentals-Bocholt, that was at its origin).
On January 1, 2009 Olen had a total population of 11,655. The total area is 23.10 km².
In history of Uranium mining
In the 1920's and 1030's the Union Minière du Haut KatangaUnion Minière du Haut Katanga
The Union Minière du Haut Katanga was a Belgian mining company, once operating in Katanga, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
company, operating in the then Belgian colony of Congo, had a virtual monopoly of the world uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
market (holding most of the deposits known at the time). The uranium mined in Congo was mostly transported to the UMHK refinery for uranium ore which was located in Olen. Some 1200 tonnes of uranium stored at the Olen refinery were captured by the Germans during the invasion and occupation of Belgium in 1940, and only recovered by US troops at the end of the war.
External links
- Official website - Information available in DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, limited information available in EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...