Neerpelt

Neerpelt
Neerpelt
Municipality
	Neerpelt - Sint-Niklaas church
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of Neerpelt
	Neerpelt Location in Belgium Location of Neerpelt in Limburg
	Coordinates: 51°14′N 05°26′E / 51.233°N 5.433°E
Country	Belgium
Community	Flemish Community
Region	Flemish Region
Province	Limburg
Arrondissement	Maaseik
Government
• Mayor	Raf Drieskens (CD&V)
• Governing party/ies	CD&V, sp.a
Population (2018-01-01)
• Total	17,174
Postal codes	3910
NIS code	72025
Area codes	011
Website	www.neerpelt.be

Neerpelt is a former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. In December 2012, it had a total population of 16,742, of which 3.090 were foreigners, mainly from neighbouring The Netherlands. The total area is 42.78 km² which gives a population density of 384 inhabitants per km².

Effective 1 January 2019, Neerpelt and Overpelt were merged into the new municipality of Pelt.

Culture

Provinciaal Domein Dommelhof is the cultural center of Neerpelt. This institute houses several smaller organisations:

Musica: Impulse Center for music, and manager of het Klankenbos (the sound forest) on the Dommelhof site
Zebracinema: arthouse cinema in Belgian Limburg
Circus Center: Flemish anchor point for circus art
Jazzcase: Northern Limburg jazz platform

The Klankenbos is the biggest sound art collection in public space in Europe. In the forest there are 15 sound installation pieces by artists such as Pierre Berthet, Paul Panhuysen, Geert Jan Hobbijn (Staalplaat Soundsystem), Hans van Koolwijk, and others.

Famous inhabitants

Famous people who were born or lived in Neerpelt include:

Stijn Coninx, director of Academy Award nominated film "Daens"
Ken De Dycker, motocross racer
Eric Geboers, motocross world champion
Bart Goor, football (soccer) player, played 65 times for the Belgian national football team
Wim Mertens, composer, musician, and musicologist (b. 1953)
Stijn Meuris [nl], singer-songwriter with the bands Monza and Noordkaap
Belle Perez, singer
Raf Simons, fashion designer
Jelle Vanendert, professional cyclist who currently rides for Lotto-Belisol
Joost Zweegers, singer-songwriter with the band Novastar