| Page Views: 1,347 Last Visit to Niel-bij-As: - | Niel-bij-As, the place I grew up! by Ann75 - last update: Jun 23, 2006 |
| The yellow part in the circle the Niel-bij-As area |
Niel-bij-As (As), a small Belgian village This little place has always been called Niel-bij-As, but now belongs to the town of As. I was born in Genk, which is about 10km from Niel-bij-As, but I was raised in Niel-bij-As and lived here for 24 years with my parents until I met the love of my life who is from Vancouver, Canada. I moved to Vancouver, Canada permanently on April 3, 2000 and I love it.
I love Vancouver, Canada very much...but of course Belgium has its own charmes too and once a Belgian, always a Belgian they say!!!
It's located in the province of Limburg in Belgium, to be more specific in the eastern part of the province. From here you can be in the Netherlands (for example the city of Maastricht) or Germany (for example the city of Aachen) within 20-30 minutes.
The municipality As (Ash) is since 1971 a fusion of the two villages As and Niel-bij-As located in the middle between the rivers the Demer and the Meuse. Both villages have arisen as settlements along the Bosbeek or Oeter. The position of the settlements close to the water in this dry region gave the name to the villages:
As is a prehistoric water name (ASKA) which name was first appointed to the Bosbeek and later to the village itself: Assche, Asghe, Asch, ash.
Archaeological finds indicate on an early prehistoric settlement. The archaeological findings in this are included objects made from flint that date back to the stone age times. Only since 500 bc it is certain that there were people living here as a graveyard between Genk and As proves this. The history starts with the Romans who build the road between Tongeren and Venlo via Munsterbilzen and As.
The people from Niel-bij-As however still had to go for their religious obligations to Dilsen or its nearer neighbour As. Until pastor Bex of Dilsen created an independent church in Niel on January 3 in 1721. As and Niel-bij-As were more farmer villages until they discovered the coals in As in 1901. Industrialisation starts which was especially good for the Meuse country and Genk. Now is As is a residential municipality among large heather fields and forests for everybody to enjoy! |
| A panorama when entering Niel-bij-As |
The local train station This A view of Niel-bij-As while looking over the local train station that is now a museum. This pictures was taken from the officiale website of As: http://www.as.be/ |
| The beautiful Saint Aldegondis Church |
The Saint Aldegondis Church This A beautiful church in the center of As that was there since 1932...there are no services anymore but you can still visit this beautiful church. This picture was taken from the official website of As: http://www.as.be/ |
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| Pros: | "Very quiet place, very calm and relaxing." | | Cons: | "No malls or stores around within 10km, just the local small stores...which are expensive!" | | In A Nutshell: | "A lovely country side village with friendly people and a relaxing athmospheer" |
 Comments for Ann75 about Niel-bij-As | | | | |
Aitana Fri May 15, 2009 10:38 UTC
Happy birthday, Ann. Nice pages on Niel-bij-As and Brugge! Congrats for your love story :) | belgianchocolate Wed Aug 27, 2003 18:25 UTC
lol. just was wondering why anyone foreign would visit Niel-bij-as. I expected some great discoveries here. ;-) | Alain_Smeets Sat Jul 26, 2003 10:57 UTC
Van As, landelijk gelegen in het mooie Limburg, and now in the big city in Vancouver, but the soil of Limburg makes strong roots, nice page. | kiwi Wed Jun 25, 2003 11:36 UTC
Ah so this is As! Sounds like a very nice town, I'm glad you are there with your family right now. You know you have my best wishes Ann. love, Pam. |
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