The professional tennis player Elise Mertens lives in Hamont-Achel.
Demographics
Languages
Dutch in Hamont-Achel is often spoken with a distinctive Limburgish accent, which should not be confused with the Limburgish language.
Limburgish (or Limburgian) is the overlapping term of the tonal dialects spoken in the Belgian and Dutch provinces of Limburg. The Hamont-Achel dialect is only one of many variants of Limburgish.[2]
Deadly explosion
On 18 November 1918, the municipality was the site of one of the worst train explosions in history, when two German munitions trains caught fire and exploded. Not only were the trains destroyed, but three German ambulance trains were also wiped out, along with most of the town. More than 1,000 individuals were killed.
^"Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari (1992—2020)". Statbel. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
^Bernaerts, J. (1991), Hamonts-Achels dialectwoordenboek. Etymologische verkenningen in het dialect van Hamont en Achel, Hamont-Achel{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Bibliography
Verhoeven, Jo (2007), "The Belgian Limburg dialect of Hamont", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 37 (2): 219–225, doi:10.1017/S0025100307002940
External links
Media related to Hamont-Achel at Wikimedia Commons
Website about Hamont-Achel (in Dutch)
The Pessimist's Guide to History Archived 2011-08-23 at the Wayback Machine
sporza.be report on Jelle Vanendert's return home after the 2011 Tour de France