Blankenberge

:"This article relates to the Belgian coastal town of Blankenberge. The near-homophonous Blankenberg is a town in Germany."Infobox Belgium Municipality
name=Blankenberge
picture=Blankenberge-DePier.jpg
picture-



map-
West Flanders
arms=Blankenberge wapen.gif


region=BE-REG-FLE
community=BE-NL
province=BE-PROV-WV
arrondissement=Bruges
nis=31004
pyramid-date=01/01/2006
0-19=17.13
20-64=58.79
65=24.08
foreigners=2.58
foreigners-date=01/07/2005
mayor=Ludo Monset (Open VLD)
majority=Open VLD, CD&V
postal-codes=8370
telephone-area=050
web= [http://www.blankenberge.be/ www.blankenberge.be]
lat_deg=51
lat_min=18
lon_deg=03
lon_min=07

Blankenberge is a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitkerke.

On 1 January 2007 Blankenberge had a total population of 18,329. The total area of the municipality is 17.41 km², giving a population density of 1,053 inhabitants per km².

There is a sandy beach and a structure unique along the Belgian coast: a 350-m long pier, constructed in 1933.

History

Famous events

* Carnival Parade
* Two Day Marching event, every first weekend of May [http://www.2daagse.be/index.e.htm]
* Klankenberge
* Flower Parade, every last Sunday of August

Famous inhabitants

* Adolf Eugen Fick, the inventor of the contact lens, who died in Blankenberge in 1901
* Frans Masereel, Flemish painter and woodcutter born here in 1889
* [http://www.rudipillen.be/ Rudi Pillen] , Belgian Contemporary Painter

External links

* [http://www.blankenberge.be/en/ Official website] in English (also available in Dutch, French and German)
* [http://www.blankenberge.info/en/ Tourist Information Blankenberge]
* [http://www.depierblankenberge.be The Pier Blankenberge]