Sint-Truiden
Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, near the towns of Hasselt and Tongeren. The municipality includes the former communes (now "deelgemeenten") of Aalst, Brustem, Duras, Engelmanshoven, Gelinden, Gorsem, Groot-Gelmen, Halmaal, Kerkom-bij-Sint-Truiden, Melveren, Metsteren, Ordingen, Runkelen, Velm, Wilderen, and Zepperen. The city is in the centre of Belgium's fruit-producing region, "Haspengouw" (Hesbaye), and is renowned for its pears, apples (Jonagold), and sweet cherries. History. Origins and Golden Age. The municipality formed around an abbey founded by St. Trudo, a Frankish nobleman, in the  7th century. Legend has it that as a boy, Trudo was playing while building a small church with some rocks. When a woman scornfully kicked over the rocks she was struck by sudden blindness. Trudo cured her from this blindness after she asked for his forgiveness. He also allegedly was able to spring water and cure other illnesses. After Trudo's death, the abbey (the later Sint-Truiden Abbey) became the centre of a pilgrimage, which brought wealth to the neighbouring town. The 11th century was particularly prosperous and witnessed an important growth in population. This was the time when  abbot Adelardus, reporting to the prince-bishop of Metz, built the abbey's main church and two additional churches in town: Our Lady ("") and "Sint-Gangulfus". Under his direction, Sint-Truiden also received an earth wall surmounted by a wooden fence and fortified gates. A proper stone wall, gates and towers, were built in 1129. The economy of this new oppidum city was based on the linen industry and commerce with foreign lands such as England, Champagne, and Germany. In the 13th century, the fortified town became one of the 23 "bonnes villes" (main cities) belonging to the Bishopric of  Liège. A market hall was built at the site where the current city hall stands, the social life of the city was organized by the various guilds, and a "perron" was erected on the central square, symbolizing the local government's authority in political affairs. 15th century until now. Charles the Bold captured the town in 1467, marking the beginning of a slow decline that lasted until the 19th century. The city's fortifications were dismantled in 1675, and many of the religious congregations were disbanded under the French regime at the end of the 18th century. After 1830, these  empty buildings were turned into educational and medical facilities. The city was also the centre of a prosperous agricultural region, which from the end of the 19th century became well known for its fruit production. It occupied an important strategical position with regard to the N.E. frontier of Belgium, and General Henri Alexis Brialmont recommended its fortification. On 9 August 1914, at the outset of Germany's invasion of Belgium, 20 civilians were executed and a number of houses destroyed. The reconstruction and building of brand new neighbourhoods accelerated well into the 20th century. During World War II, its airfield  was the base of one of the most famous Luftwaffe Night Fighter squadron, NJG1, with units II/NJG1 and IV/NJG1 operating Junkers Ju88 and Heinkel He219 aircraft from here in 1944. The highest scoring German night fighter pilot, Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (121 air victories, most of them on night) was referred to as "The spook of St. Trond" by British Bomber crews that flew over Germany on night raids. The airport EBST is still in use. Transport. Air. The airport of Sint-Truiden, Limburg Regional Airport – EBST is PPR. It is a former Belgian Air Force Air Base and  retains the long hard 06 – 24 runway, though only 1199 metres (3933 ft) is used. Fuel (Jet A-1 and Avgas) are available. All is located in hangar 41 (turn right at the end of the runway when taxiing heading 06). Opening hours from 09:00 LT until sunset 7/7. There is also a flight school (airplane and helicopter) Fly One. There are no scheduled flights. Rail. The town is served by Sint-Truiden railway station. Sports. A football club is based in Sint-Truiden: K. Sint-Truidense V.V. Sister cities. Sint-Truiden is twinned with the following cities: Sint-Truiden Sint