Hasselt

• Dutch in Hasselt is often spoken with a distinctive Limburgish accent, and vocabulary, which should not be confused with the Limburgish language.
• Limburgish (or Limburgian) is the overlapping term of the tonal dialects spoken in the Belgian and Dutch provinces of Limburg. The Hasselt dialect is only one of many variants of Limburgish.[9] Limburgish is a language, and not the same as the regional variation of Dutch spoken in Dutch Limburg and Belgian Limburg. Since Limburgish is still the mother tongue of many inhabitants, Limburgish grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation can however have a significant impact on the way locals speak Dutch in public life.[10]
• French was historically spoken by some of the city population within living memory.

Hasselt is the main town of the diocese of Hasselt, which covers the entire Belgian province of Limburg. The main church is the St. Quentin's Cathedral. Hasselt also consists of about 30 parishes. Next to the catholic church, Hasselt houses both a Moroccan and Turkish mosque as both communities are well-established in the city and the surrounding municipalities.

• The Virga Jesse festival, featuring a Procession of the historic wooden statue of infant Jesus with Mary, is celebrated every seven years, most recently in August 2010.[12]
• The yearly "Jeneverfeesten" celebrate the history of the jenever beverage in Hasselt.
• Hasselt celebrates Carnival, but at a slightly different date than most places.[13]
• Many events take place in the Ethias Arena, the largest arena in Belgium.
• Kiewit is the location of the yearly Pukkelpop (Pimplepop) festival, one of Europe's largest alternative music festivals with over a hundred concerts, at the end of August in the suburb of Kiewit. Rimpelrock (Wrinklerock), a festival with music for an older audience, is held at the same location, one week earlier.
• Like in most Belgian cities, there is an annual Kermesse, on a date associated with the local church's patron saint, in this case Saint Lambert, which takes place in September.[14]
• The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was held in Hasselt.
• The Grand Prix van Hasselt is a cyclo-cross race held in November which is part of the BPost Bank Trophy.

United Hasselt Distillers distills the famous brands Fryns and Smeets of Hasselt jenevers or gins

Hasselt is famous for its gin, locally known as jenever. Even though the spirit is produced across the entire country of Belgium, Hasseltse jenever became famous when the city escaped the 1601 ban on the sale and production of jenever imposed by Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and Isabella Clara Eugenia, both Archduke and Archduchess of the Habsburg Netherlands, because it belonged to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. Dutch troops stationed in the city from 1675 to 1681 ensured that Hasselt jenever, more than other Belgian jenever, carried aromas of herbs and berries. At the end of the 17th century, jenever production got off to a good start.

At the end of the 19th century, misery among the working population and cheap jenever prepared from sugar beet molasses led to a consumption of 9.5 litres of jenever (50% vol) per inhabitant per year in Belgium. Jenever production was the most important industrial industry in Limburg in the 19th century with most distilleries located in Hasselt. An increase in excise duty, competition from cheap industrial alcohol, the confiscation of copper stills by the Germans during World War I, and the Vandervelde law against alcohol abuse caused most distilleries in Hasselt to disappear or to be taken over by larger competitors.

Apart from the distillery (known as 'stokerij' in Dutch) of the Hasselt National Jenever Museum,[11] Hasselt had one more jenever distillery left in the early 21st century: Stokerij Wissels from 1920. Koen De Jans bought this company in 2005; out of respect for tradition, the name remained unchanged. In 2017, Stokerij Wissels, went bankrupt. Michel Fryns, 4th generation of the Hasselt gin family Fryns, took over Wissels, moving the distillery from the city to the Hasselt industrial estate of Ekkelgaarden under the name Wissels Distillery. In 2018, Michel Fryns and Distillery Bruggeman, located in Ghent, set up the company United Hasselt Distillers to jointly distill jenever in Hasselt. Bruggeman has owned and produced the famous Hasselt gin brand Smeets since 2011 and had owned the 'Fryns' brand name since 1988. When United Hasselt Distillers was founded, it was agreed that the 'Fryns' brand would be transferred back by Bruggeman to Michel Fryns. Wissels Distillery is since then renamed Fryns Distillery.

Het Borrelmanneke, symbolising the Hasselt gin culture and history

In 2012, the new distillery 't Stookkot was established in the suburb of Stevoort. In 2017, Stokerij Vanderlinden commenced production in Hasselt.

Every year on the third weekend of October, all Hasselers celebrate their rich tradition at the 2-day Hasselt Jenever Festivities. It is one of the largest and most exuberant city festivals in Belgium. On Saturday, drinks are on the Borrelmanneke who changes from being a water fountain into a jenever fountain for the day. On Sunday the traditional waiter competition is held. Visitors can take part in a jenever walk or take a ride on the jenever tram. During the entire weekend the streets of Hasselt are filled with music (jazz in particular), dance, street theater, exhibitions and a culinary village.

Hasselt speculaas is a famous type of speculaas originating and only produced in Hasselt, not to be confused with the brand Speculoos. One of the differences between Hasselt speculaas and the ordinary speculaas is its thickness. In fact, Hasselt speculaas is thicker and less crispy. It also tastes softer and less spicy.

Speculaas was baked in Hasselt as early as the 14th century, but the oldest mention of Hasselt speculaas dates from 1830. Speculaas was baked during the Ten Day's Campaign because of its nutritional value for the soldiers participating in the 1830 Belgian revolution.

Hasselt speculaas

Willem Li(e)ben (1754 -1822) was the baker at Herkenrode abbey, married to a chambermaid of the abbess. He learned, probably from a Walloon monastery, the so-called "speculation préparée à la maison" and baked it for the abbess of Herkenrode.

During the occupation by the French in 1796, the abbey was evacuated and Willem settled with his son Christaen (1796 - 1877) at the corner of the Hoogstraat and Aldestraat in Hasselt in the building "De Gulden Poort". People called him "the baker of Herkenrode". Christiaen would later fine-tune the speculaas recipe to "Speculation de Hasselt". The childless Willem Li(e)bens (1844 - 1882), and third generation, taught the recipe to his assistant baker, Louis Dessart, from the Deplée family who had a shop opposite of the Li(e)bens family. Dessart started his own bakery after the death of his master. The Deplée family gave the speculaas a commercial appeal, reaching as far as the United States, but could not patent it as "Hasselt speculaas" because speculaas already existed.

Another theory for the origin of Hasselt speculaas mentions the many gin distilleries in the city, as the gin distilling process produces sugars from which brown sugar is made, a basic ingredient for speculaas.

Initially, Hasselt's speculaas was only baked around the Saint-Nicholas period, but as its consumption soared after World War II, the pastry was eventually sold all year round.

According to tradition, Hasselt speculaas is eaten with well-chilled Hasselt gin.

Hasselt railway station. All the city's local zero-fare buses, as well as regional buses and trains depart from here.

Hasselt made public transport by bus zero-fare from 1 July 1997 and bus use was said to be as much as "13 times higher" by 2006.[18][19]

In 2013, the subsidies were reduced, resulting in a 60 euro-cents fare per ride.[20]

The plan for a new, attractive bus network in Hasselt was influenced by transport minister Eddy Baldewijns, who created an integrated transport policy framework in the middle of 1996 in which public transport was allocated a primary role. The city of Hasselt was one of the first cities to subscribe to the plan. Mayor Steve Stevaert proposed to give absolute primacy on the city's Green Boulevard to public transport. The mobility policy in Hasselt developed into an example of cooperation between the bus line, the government and the city of Hasselt, under the motto "the city guarantees the right of mobility for everyone".

Following the introduction of the new zero-fare policy, the usage of public transport immediately increased by 800–900% and has remained high, being currently more than 10-fold compared to the time of the old policy.[21][22] The city's official website records[18] passenger growth as follows:

A Belgian website describes Hasselt identity cards as becoming "like gold in value", because of free bus travel.[23]

In 2013, Hasselt cancelled free public transportation due to financial reasons. The operator increased its claim towards the city, which the city could not pay. Now persons up to the age of 19 travel for free.[20]

Hasselt railway station run by NMBS is near the city centre, outside the innermost "Binnenring". The station is an IC station, which means there are several connections each day with important Belgian cities.

In February 2007, a plan was launched for the construction of an international light rail connection between Hasselt and Maastricht (Hasselt – Maastricht tramway). Agreements between the relevant governments were reached in June 2008 and December 2011. The line will reduce the current travel time of 61 minutes by bus to only 36 minutes. Construction should have started in 2014, with the line expected to go into service in 2017.[24] The construction eventually got delayed several times due to problems with the Wilhelminabrug in Maastricht, concerns about the profitability and numbers of passengers making use of the planned line and opposition from the Hasselt city council on the planned route through the city.[25] The Flemish government eventually pulled the plug on the project, with various Dutch governments reporting to have spent more than €20 million without any major construction. The line might now be replaced by a so-called electric "trambus" system.[26] However, concerns were raised too as the new alternative might not fulfill the cross-border high-quality public transport needs of the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg.[27]