Creativity on a bed of coal

Garniture with a heavenly top

Light dish grandma’s style

with a basket of homemade bread

Buffet

Mix of greens and coals with a dash

of exotic spices

Including tasty wines that have been chambré perfectly

Fancy a little bit of sport? Then, why not visit GoalMine, an interactive football museum; hit a ball on the Stiemerheide golf course; roar around the karting track or glide through the air in Zwartberg?

Genk has a delicious discovery menu. Roam the city, discover and experience the qualities of these special places and their atmosphere throughout the city.

Genk welcomes everyone. Do you prefer a little bit of chicness, Genk will surprise you, do you prefer a more traditional atmosphere, Genk will move you.

C-MI

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ON A

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Genk also knows how to combine economic activi-ties together with the image of the greenest town in Flanders. In the stunning, vast green areas of the city, you’re able to go for a walk, cycle or horse-ride to your heart’s content. You’ll also discover surpri-sing experiences. In Kattevennen, the gateway into the Hoge Kempen National Park, you can glimpse the heavens and its secrets at the Cosmodrome planetarium. On the other side of the city, there is another oasis of greenery, Bokrijk. Here, you can experience the past with its traditional crafts and popular traditions at a vast open-air museum filled with atmosphere. Previously, the green city knew how to attract landscape painters from far and wide to the city. The Emile Van Doren museum displays the charms of this artistry. www.uitingenk.be

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Nearly 25 years ago, the coalmines were closed in Genk but their heritage remains visible in the city. The mines attracted workers from all corners of Europe: workers who brought not only their fami-lies but also their cultures. Communities that based themselves in the typical garden suburbs with their stunning architecture. This exotic mix of people co-loured and seasoned the town. In the Genk garden suburbs, you’ll taste the Mediterranean atmosphere in the numerous shops and restaurants. A stroll through the garden suburbs is a chance to enjoy the wonderful popular images and flavours.

But there is also the monumental industrial heritage of the mining industry. With this monumental heri-tage site, Genk developed powerful projects, which brought about a new symbiosis between the art economy and heritage. C-mine, the former mining site of Winterslag, focuses on creativity and brings together a cluster of activities which surprises and moves everyone, whether they are tourists, artists or entrepreneurs. Anyone who visits C-mine is im-pressed by the power and spirit, which emanates from this site. The Thor Park, the former mining site of Waterschei, is in a position to grow into a knowledge economy site focusing on energy re-search and development. Even this particular site is capable of tempting the international artistic world with special projects such as Manifesta.

DASH

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LIGHT

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’S ST

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A B

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BOKR

IJK

Genk is a young town, a green

farmers’ village that grew into a

modern city with its own distinctive identity due to the

establishment of three coal mines deep beneath its

soil. An identity that is worth

exploring.

Photographs Sixties: Luc Daelemans

The head frames of the Winterslag mine are landmarks on this impressive industrial mining estate that have been given a new contemporary fate whilst still respecting the past. C-mine represents a successful symbiosis between industrial heritage and contemporary creativity. A refreshing mix of relaxation, design, culture and creative activity.