Opglabbeek

Opglabbeek has been part of the new merger municipality Oudsbergen since January 1, 2019 . The district has more than 10,000 inhabitants and is located in Central Limburg , north of Genk and approximately 25 kilometers from the provincial capital Hasselt . Opglabbeek was until 31 December 2018 a municipality that belonged to the judicial canton of Bree , of which it is still part, and the electoral canton of Genk , while after the merger it became part of the electoral canton of Bree. The merger of Opglabbeek and Meeuwen-Gruitrode was approved on 26 June 2017official property on the municipal councils of both municipalities.

In the Middle Ages Opglabbeek together with Neerglabbeek formed the municipality of Glabbeek , belonging to the County of Loon . In 1219, Count Louis III van Loon donated the domain to the Abbey of Averbode . The titre and patronage law of the Opglabbeek Sint-Lambertus parish also fell into the hands of this abbey. In addition to agriculture, peat was also extracted. At the end of the eighteenth century, Opglabbeek is visible on the Ferraris maps as a small village on the edge of the heath.