Donk, Mol
| Donk | |
|---|---|
| Township | |
 Donk
|
|
| Coordinates: 51°10′42″N 5°5′17″E / 51.17833°N 5.08806°ECoordinates: 51°10′42″N 5°5′17″E / 51.17833°N 5.08806°E | |
| Country | Belgium |
| Province | Antwerp |
| Municipality | Mol |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6.612 km2 (2.553 sq mi) |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Total | 1,465 |
| • Density | 220/km2 (570/sq mi) |
| Dialling code | +32 |
Donk is a township in the municipality of Mol in the province of Antwerp in Belgium. Donk resides at the southern side of the Bocholt–Herentals Canal and is an industrial area, especially in past.
The Bocholt–Herentals Canal was constructed in 1846, the same year that "Turnhoutse Baan", a road between Turnhout and the centre of Mol, which crossed the canal was also constructed. This was the start of the industrial evolution in Donk. In 1896 a railway was built next to Turnhoutse Baan but this was already closed some decades later. It took until 1986 until the tracks were removed.
In 1860 the exploitation of white sand started and some of such companies raised. A notable factory was Sablières et Carrières Réunies (SCR), founded in 1872." In 1921 it took over the shares of competitor Anciennes Sablières Stanislas Emsens. In 1955 the company was renamed to Sibelco. Another notable company was Grandes Sablières de la Campine, founded in 1882. Although it got bankrupt some decades later the company activities led to the creation of a huge lake of 210 acres, named Miramar, which is now used as a recreation lake for water sports. Another of such lake, Zandkot, is around 20 acres. This is currently used by the nuclear plants for water cooling. There were a lot of other sand winning companies but only Sibelco remains.
Besides the sand winning companies a lot of other companies arose. Notables are
Although there was industry as from 1860 it took until 1900 before Emiel Becquaert (Dessel, 1865 – Donk, 1932), then owner of SCR, and the priest of nearby township Achterbos decided to establish an area with working-class houses. These houses still exist and are in the eastern part of Donk.
In 1949 the church Sint-Antonius was built. According rumors it was built upon a huge pit which was created by a bomb during World War II. The presence of the pit was a reduction in digging costs. Furthermore, the pit was only about 100 metres from the working-class houses and thus an ideal place.
Between 1954 en 1961 a residential village, Atoomwijk (also known as Atoomdorp), was built in the west part of Donk around the nuclear sites. The design was created by architect Jacques Wybauw. This village contains apartments, dormitoria, terraced houses and some villa's. These buildings are owned by the nuclear companies and they initially rented it to their temporary workers, students, foreign workers... Later on, the houses were also rented to non-employees. In 2008 the owners decided not to invest anymore in the buildings as the cost for renovation was too much and renting houses was not considered to be a core activity. It was announced some of the buildings were to be pulled down, but an action committee was set up to classify Atoomwijk as cultural heritage. Upon today no further action was taken to decommission Atoomwijk although there is now a lot of vacancy due to the announcement. It is still possible to turn in a request to rent property.
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Wikipedia