Meerhout

Meerhout is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Meerhout proper. As of January 1, 2008, Meerhout had a total population of 9,578. The total area is 36.29 km² which gives a population density of 264 inhabitants per km². In Meerhout some famous people have lived, like Kate Ryan (well known in France and Belgium, The UK, Turkey, Spain and the rest of western Europe).Meerhout is a part of the Economic Network of the Albertkanaal (Albert Canal, named after King Albert 1).DemographicsAs of 1 January 2008, there are 9578 people living in Meerhout. 50.4% of them are men, 49.6% are women. Most people are older than 40.TourismThere is quite a lot of tourism in Meerhout. There are many beautiful routes, like the "drieprovincieënroute" (three provinces route), which is a cycling route going through the provinces of Antwerp, Vlaams Brabant and Limburg. There are also some B&Bs available, and most shopkeepers understand English. Meerhout is very popular among people from The Netherlands, Germany and Ireland. A lot of (older) English people visit Meerhout too because of "The Wing" and other memorial icons of WW2. Every year, around the last week-end of April around 30'000 people from all over the world travel to Meerhout to go to Groezrock, one of the world's largest punk rock festivals.EducationThere are only 5 schools in Meerhout, these schools are both Pre- and Primary schools for children between the age of 3 and 12 years old.There are secondary schools in the neighbourhood which are easily reachable by public transport or car/bicycle, in Geel, Mol, Diest and Tessenderlo.