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Overpelt (Municipality, Province of Limburg, Belgium)

Municipal flag of Overpelt - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 18 September 2007

Presentation of Overpelt
Municipal flag of Overpelt

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Presentation of Overpelt

The municipality of Overpelt (13,581 inhabitants on 1 January 2007; 4,085 ha) is located in Kempen, close to the border with the Netherlands.

Overpelt, a fairly ancient settlement, formed together with Neerpelt, Kaulille and Kleine-Brogel, the domain of Pelta, mentioned for the first time in 815, as Palethe, from Middle Dutch pael, "a pond" (in modern Dutch, poel). The domain of Pelta, renamed in 1585 Pelt-Gravenbroek, was one of the six domains forming the County of Loon, with Overpelt as its capital. Most of the village belonged to the Norbertine abbey of Floreffe.

Located on the Antwerp-Cologne road, Overpelt was an important trading place. A cloth hall was planned in 1545, which was never built because of the Religious Wars. In the XIXth century, the main activities in Overpelt were agriculture and hawking - like all villages in Kempen, Overpelt had its teuten. Industrialization started with the building of the Kempen Canal (1846), of the Eindhoven-Hasselt (1866) and Mol-Neerpelt-Mönchengladbach (1879) railways. The first significant factory in Overpelt was set up by Schulte & Co. in 1888.

Source: Municipal website

Ivan Sache, 18 September 2007

Municipal flag of Overpelt

The flag of Overpelt is horizontally divided yellow-red-yellow-red-yellow-red-yellow (seven stripes) with the black letters "P", "E", "L" and "T" placed in each of the yellow stripes, centered.
According to Gemeentewapens in België - Vlaanderen en Brussel, the flag was adopted by the Municipal Council on 24 March 1981, confirmed by Royal Decree on 2 February 1982 and published in the Belgian official gazette on 21 April 1982 and, again, on 4 January 1995.
The flag is a banner of the municipal arms.

Arnaud Leroy, Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 18 September 2007