Retie is a
municipalityA municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. A municipality is typically governed by a mayor and a city council or municipal council.The notion of municipality...
located in the
CampineThe Campine is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands...
region of the
BelgianThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
province of
AntwerpAntwerp 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 only comprises the town of Retie proper. On January 1 2006 Retie had a total population of 10,321. The total area is 48.39
km²Square kilometre , symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units.1 km2 is equal to:* 1,000,000 m2...
which gives a
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
of 213 inhabitants per square kilometre.
The town is near the Dutch boarder and is in fact closer to the city of
EindhovenEindhoven is a municipality and a city located in the province of Noord-Brabant in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender streams...
than
Antwerp||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 and its total area is , giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km²...
.
The official language of the area is
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
, but many people especially in the hospitality industry also speak
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
and
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
.
Services are basic in Retie, some banks have branches including
INGING Group N.V. is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ING is an abbreviation of ' ....
and
AXAAXA is a French global insurance companies group headquartered in Paris. AXA is not the name of a single company but a group of companies independently organized and operated according to the regulations of many different countries....
.
Retie is a
municipalityA municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. A municipality is typically governed by a mayor and a city council or municipal council.The notion of municipality...
located in the
CampineThe Campine is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands...
region of the
BelgianThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
province of
AntwerpAntwerp 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 only comprises the town of Retie proper. On January 1 2006 Retie had a total population of 10,321. The total area is 48.39
km²Square kilometre , symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units.1 km2 is equal to:* 1,000,000 m2...
which gives a
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
of 213 inhabitants per square kilometre.
The town is near the Dutch boarder and is in fact closer to the city of
EindhovenEindhoven is a municipality and a city located in the province of Noord-Brabant in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender streams...
than
Antwerp||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 and its total area is , giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km²...
.
The official language of the area is
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
, but many people especially in the hospitality industry also speak
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
and
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
.
Services
Services are basic in Retie, some banks have branches including
INGING Group N.V. is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ING is an abbreviation of ' ....
and
AXAAXA is a French global insurance companies group headquartered in Paris. AXA is not the name of a single company but a group of companies independently organized and operated according to the regulations of many different countries....
.
SupermarketA supermarket, also called a grocery store in some parts of North America, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
shopping is available.
BakeriesA bakery is an establishment which produces or/and sells bread, pies, pastries, cakes & cupcakes, biscuits, cookies, muffins, rolls, pretzels, doughnuts, and other baked goods prepared by bakers. Many retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to enjoy the freshly...
in Retie are very good. Like most of Belgium the shops are generally closed on
SundaySunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In the Jewish law, Sunday is the first day of the Hebrew calendar week. In most Christian traditions it is considered the "Christian Sabbath", which is a change from seventh-day Sabbath or Jewish Shabbat...
.
Things to do in and around Retie
There is a pretty town hall in the center of the town, but unlike many Belgian towns it is not organized around a town square (well it is now just a large intersection) and therefore does not have the quaint village feel as many other small towns in this part of Belgium (for example
LommelLommel is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1 2006 Lommel had a total population of 31,898. The total area is 102.37 km² which gives a population density of 312 inhabitants per km².-Lutlommel:...
, Mol).
The main attraction of the town is the Prinsenpark - a public forest that is popular with families and walking/jogging groups. Dogs on leads are allowed. There are picnic tables and toilets.
Famous inhabitants
- Lodewijk de Koninck
Lodewijk De Koninck was a Flemish writer.He studied at the school for teachers Lier and became a teacher in Antwerp. Later he became an inspector of the Catholic primary schools and a teacher at the school for teachers in Mechelen.As a writer he wrote poems which reflected his strict catholic belief...
(1838-1924), writer
- Peter van Hove
Peter van Hove was a Flemish Friar Minor, lector in theology and exegete.-Biography:Peter was born at Retie, in the Campine region of Flanders...
, (18thC.) Friar Minor