Pelt (municipality)
Pelt is a municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg. It arose on 1 January 2019 from the merging of the municipalities of Neerpelt and Overpelt.[1]
Pelt | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
  Pelt Location in Belgium
Location of Pelt in Limburg  | |
| Coordinates: 51°13′N 05°25′E | |
| Country | Belgium |
| Community | Flemish Community |
| Region | Flemish Region |
| Province | Limburg |
| Arrondissement | Maaseik |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Frank Smeets |
| • Governing party/ies | CD&V, Samen Pelt |
| Area | |
| • Total | 83.63 km2 (32.29 sq mi) |
After Neerpelt and Overpelt had previously agreed in principle to a merger, the new name of the municipality was announced on 4 November 2017 after a local referendum on the question. Out of the three possibilities Dommelpelt, Pelt or Pelten more than 74 percent of the votes eventually went to Pelt. The name goes back to the Romans, who called the sandy area Palethe, meaning boggy land.
The municipal councils definitively approved the merger on 18 December 2017. Neerpelt and Overpelt thus ceased to exist on 31 December 2018. A day later, on 1 January 2019, Pelt officially became a new municipality in Limburg.[2]
The merged municipality has an area of 83.63 km2 and counts more than 32,000 inhabitants.
References
- Verstraete, Alexander. "Inwoners van Overpelt en Neerpelt willen samen als Pelt verder". vrt NWS. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- De Wolf, Ludwig. "Definitief groen licht voor fusiegemeente Pelt (Neerpelt en Overpelt)". vrt NWS. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
