Tienen or Thienen (ˈti.nə(n)) is a city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 and municipality

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...

 in the province of Flemish Brabant

Flemish Brabant

Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...

, in Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

, one of the three regions of Belgium

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...

. The municipality comprises the city of Tienen proper and the towns of Bost, Goetsenhoven, Hakendover, Kumtich, Oorbeek, Oplinter, Sint-Margriete-Houtem and Vissenaken

Vissenaken

Vissenaken is a village in Belgium. It is part of the municipality Tienen.It is located north of the city of Tienen and is divided into two parishes: Sint-Maartens and Sint-Pieters.The saint Himelin is known only in Vissenaken....

. On January 1, 2006 Tienen had a total population of 31,835. The total area is 71.77 km² (27.71 sq mi) which gives a population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 444 inhabitants per km².

Tienen is known in Belgium as the center of sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

 production. The huge sugar beet

Sugar beet

Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...

 processing factory, Sugar refinery of Tienen

Sugar refinery of Tienen

The Sugar refinery of Tienen , a subsidiary of Raffinerie Tirlemontoise Group , is a Belgian sugar producing company...

 (Tiense Suikerraffinaderij - Raffinerie Tirlemontoise), is located at the eastern edge of the town. The company Citrique Belge

Citrique Belge

Citrique Belge or Citric Belge, located in Tienen is a Belgian biotech company and one of the biggest producers of citric acid. The company produces about 100,000 tonne of citric acid per year.-History:...

, is one of the biggest producers of citric acid

Citric acid

Citric acid is a weak organic acid. It is a natural preservative/conservative and is also used to add an acidic, or sour, taste to foods and soft drinks...

. Tienen has a facility for making energy saving lamps by Havells-Sylvania.

Other noticeable facts about Tienen include the railway station building, which is the oldest in Belgium

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...

 that is still being used and the inversed roundabout

Roundabout

A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...

.

Tienen is also well known for its summer rock festival Suikerrock.

Dumouriez' last victory

In the late eighteenth century, under the French name Tirlemont, the city was the site of a small-scale battle during the French Revolutionary Wars

French Revolutionary Wars

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...

. The French Republican army of General Charles François Dumouriez

Charles François Dumouriez

Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. He shared the victory at Valmy with General François Christophe Kellermann, but later deserted the Revolutionary Army and became a royalist intriguer during the reign of Napoleon.-Early life:Dumouriez...

 met and turned back the Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n army of Prince Josias of Coburg

Prince Josias of Coburg

Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was a general in the Austrian service.-Biography:...

 on 16 March 1793. For the veteran Dumouriez, the hero of Valmy

Battle of Valmy

The Battle of Valmy was the first major victory by the army of France during the French Revolution. The action took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops commanded by the Duke of Brunswick attempted to march on Paris...

 and Jemappes

Battle of Jemappes

The Battle of Jemappes took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Belgium, near Mons. General Charles François Dumouriez, in command of the French Revolutionary Army, defeated the greatly outnumbered Austrian army of Field Marshal Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen and his second-in-command...

, this was to be the very last victory. Within a week his army suffered such catastrophic defeats that the victor of Tirlemont defected, infamously and ignominiously, to the royalist

Royalist

A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...

s for the rest of his life.

External links

• Official website - Only available in Dutch
  Dutch language
  Dutch 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...
  
  
• tienen.info - All news from Tienen, only available in Dutch
  Dutch language
  Dutch 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...
  
  
• Suikerrock