Editing Olen, Belgium

{{use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox Belgium municipality
|name            = Olen
|picture         = Olen - Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Geboortekerk.jpg
|picture-legend  = 
|map             = Olen Antwerp Belgium Map.svg
|map-legend      = Location of Olen in the province of Antwerp
|arms            = Olen wapen1.svg
|flag            = Olen vlag.svg
|region          = {{BE-REG-FLE}}
|community       = {{BE-NL}}
|province        = {{BE-PROV-AN}}
|arrondissement  = [[Arrondissement of Turnhout|Turnhout]]
|nis             = 13029
|pyramid-date=
|0-19=
|20-64=
|65=
|foreigners= 
|foreigners-date= 
|mayor           = Seppe Bouquillon ([[CD&V]])
|majority        = [[CD&V]], sp.a, [[Groen!|Groen]]
|postal-codes    = 2250
|telephone-area  = 014, 04
|web             = [http://www.olen.be www.olen.be]
|coordinates     = {{coord|51|09|N|04|51|E|region:BE|display=inline,title}}
}}
'''Olen''' ({{IPA|nl|ˈoːlə(n)}}) is a [[Municipalities of Belgium|municipality]] located in the [[Belgium|Belgian]] province of [[Antwerp (province)|Antwerp]]. The municipality comprises three towns, situated on a south–north axis:
*South of the motorway E313 and the [[Albert Canal]] is Olen proper, also called Olen-Centrum (Saint-Martins parish).
*Between the Albert Canal and Olen-station (railroad from Antwerp to Neerpelt and Hasselt) is the town of Boekel, also called Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Olen (parish) or Achter-Olen (Behind-Olen).
*North of the railroad is the town of St.-Jozef-Olen (parish), also called Olen-Fabriek (Olen-Factory, a refinery along the old canal Herentals-Bocholt that was at its origin).

In 2021, Olen had a total population of 12,600.<ref name="stat">{{cite web|url=https://statbel.fgov.be/sites/default/files/files/opendata/bevolking/sectoren/OPENDATA_SECTOREN_2021.xlsx |title=Bevolking per statistische sector - Sector 13029 |website=Statistics Belgium |access-date=10 May 2022 }}</ref> The total area is 23.10&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.

==History of Uranium mining==

In the 1920s and 1930s the [[Union Minière du Haut Katanga]] company, operating in the then [[Belgian Congo|Belgian colony of Congo]], had a virtual monopoly of the world [[uranium]] market (holding most of the deposits known at the time). The uranium mined in Congo was mostly transported to the UMHK refinery for uranium ore which was located in Olen.<ref name="Heinrich">{{cite book|last1=Heinrich|first1=E. Wm.|title=Mineralogy and Geology of Radioactive Raw Materials|date=1958|publisher=McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.|location=New York|pages=289}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Storage of historical radioactive waste in Olen well controlled|url=https://www.umicore.be/en/news/storage-of-historical-radioactive-waste-in-olen-well-controlled/|access-date=2021-03-29|website=www.umicore.be|language=en}}</ref>

Some 1200 tonnes of uranium stored at the Olen refinery were captured by the Germans during the invasion and occupation of Belgium in 1940, and only recovered by US troops at the end of World War 2.

==Notable Person==
* [[Walter van den Broeck]] (b. Olen 28 March 1941), writer

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.olen.be Official website] - Information available in [[Dutch language|Dutch]], limited information available in [[English language|English]] and [[French language|French]]

{{Geographic location
|Centre = Olen
|N = [[Kasterlee]]
|E = [[Geel]]
|S = [[Westerlo]]
|W = [[Herentals]]
}}
{{Municipalities in Antwerp}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Municipalities of Antwerp Province]]
[[Category:Populated places in Antwerp Province]]
{{Antwerp-geo-stub}}