Herenthout

Herenthout is a municipality located in the province of Antwerp in Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Herenthout proper, including Uilenberg. On January 1, 2006, Herenthout had a total population of 8,361. The total area is 23.55 km², with a population density of 355 inhabitants per km². This village is also well known for having the officially recognized oldest organized carnival parade in Belgium, with the first edition dating back to February 1882. The mascot of the parade is named "Peer Stoet, The guilt break of Reynegom is a guild break , which Norbert van Voorspoel ,

lord of Herenthout and his wife Livine van Voorspoel gave to the king of the Saint Sebastian guild of Herenthout in 1740 . Herenthout is known for its carnival . In 1892 , the first procession took place in this village, making it one of the oldest carnival festivities in Belgium. It was long thought that the procession was the oldest. In 1978 , then Minister of Dutch Culture, Rika De Backer, confirmed that Herenthout has the oldest organized Lent-evening Parade in Belgium until proven to the contrary. In the meantime, it has become apparent that the Half-fast Procession of Maaseik is even older.