Editing Genk (section)

==History==
{{Quote box |width=22em |align=left |bgcolor=#B0D4DE
|title=Historical affiliations
|fontsize=85% |quote=<poem>{{flagicon image|Loon Arms.svg}} [[County of Loon]] 1108–1366
{{flagicon image|LuikVlag.svg}} [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]] 1366–1789
{{flagicon image|LuikVlag.svg}} [[Republic of Liège]] 1789–1791
{{flagicon image|LuikVlag.svg}} [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]] 1791–1795
{{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794-1815).svg}} [[French First Republic|French Republic]] 1795–1804
{{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794-1815).svg}} [[First French Empire|French Empire]] 1804–1815
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Netherlands.svg}} [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands|Kingdom of the Netherlands]] 1815–1830
{{flag|Kingdom of Belgium}} 1830–present</poem>
}}

===Celtic and medieval origins===
Genk probably originated as a [[Celt]]ic village, and was converted to Christianity in the 10th century. The remains of a little wooden church dating from that period were found in the area.  The first mention of Genk as ''Geneche'' can be found in a document dating from 1108, ceding the territory to the Abbey of [[Rolduc]].  Politically, Genk belonged to the [[County of Loon]] until it was annexed by the [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]] in 1365.

=== 19th century ===
During a century of on-going [[Industrial Revolution#Belgium|industrialisation]] further south in Belgium, [[Limburg (Belgium)|Limburg]] modernised only slowly: Genk remained unimportant and small, growing slowly to a population of 2,000 around 1900. The village was the home of landscape painters and writers such as [[Neel Doff]] and became an artist colony where over 400 landscape painters painted en plein air.

===20th-century development===
In 1901, [[André Dumont (geologist)|André Dumont]] found a large quantity of coal in the nearby village of [[As (municipality)|As]]. Soon after, the "Black Gold" was also found in Genk. After [[World War I]], the village started to attract a large quantity of both Belgian and foreign immigrants, and quickly became the biggest town in Limburg after Hasselt, peaking to a population of 70,000. However, in 1966 the coal mine of Zwartberg closed down, and Genk had to develop new industries, mainly along the [[Albert Canal]] and highways.  By the end of the 1980s, the two remaining coal mines at Winterslag and Waterschei were also closed.

In 2000, Genk officially became a city.