Introduction
City and municipality in Flemish Community, BelgiumAarschot City and municipalityBegijnhof and the tower of the Church of Our Lady FlagCoat of armsLocation of Aarschot in Flemish BrabantInteractive map of AarschotAarschotLocation in BelgiumCoordinates: 50°59′N 04°50′E / 50.983°N 4.833°E / 50.983; 4.833CountryBelgiumCommunityFlemish CommunityRegionFlemish RegionProvinceFlemish BrabantArrondissementLeuvenGovernment • MayorGwendolyn Rutten (OpenVld) • Governing partiesOpenVLD, Vooruit, N-VAArea • Total63.04 km2 (24.34 sq mi)Population (2018-01-01) • Total29,965 • Density475.3/km2 (1,231/sq mi)Postal codes3200, 3201, 3202NIS code24001Area codes013 - 016 - 014Websitewww.aarschot.be Aarschot (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈaːrsxɔt] ⓘ) is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Aarschot proper and the towns of Gelrode, Langdorp and Rillaar. On 1 January 2019, Aarschot had a total population of 30,106. The total area is 62.52 km2 (24.14 sq mi) which gives a population density of 446 inhabitants per km2. It is located in the part of Flemish Brabant called Hageland, located to the east of Leuven. Aarschot is a very typical town with a long history, dating back to the era of the Roman emperors, according to myths. The church, which dominates the look of the city, is built with the typical brown stone quarried from the hills in the surrounding areas. These same hills were in the Middle Ages home to some of the most well-regarded vineyards of Europe. Today the chain hills, which originate in Bolderberg, Heusden-Zolder, and continue as far as Calais in France, are mainly covered with woods and fruit yards. The title of Duke of Aarschot, created in 1533, is the oldest (not-Sovereign) Ducal title in Belgium (title created for the House of Croÿ, later inherited by the House of Arenberg that still holds it). While the Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) definitely leaves its mark on the appearance of the city, nothing defines Aarschot better than the river that passes through it: the Demer. Aarschot is situated in the valley of this brown-colored river. Aarschot was hit very hard in World War I. When German troops occupied the city on 19 August 1914, Colonel Stenger, commander of the 8th German Infantry Brigade, was shot dead on the balcony of the house of Mayor Tielemans, in which he was quartered. Later on it was established that the deadly shots were fired by one of his own German soldiers. The German reprisal was extremely harsh. Many houses were set alight and 156 people were executed, including Mayor Tielemans and his 15-year-old son. The next day, the entire population was ordered to evacuate the city. Aarschot is known as one of the seven Martyr cities of Belgium because of this event. Hertogensmolens downstream side Tower of the Church of Our Lady (from the south)