Martelange

Martelange Martelingen (German)
Municipality
St. Martin's church St. Martin's church
Martelange Location in Belgium
Location of Martelange in Luxembourg province 250x250px
Coordinates:
Country	Belgium
Community	French Community
Region	Wallonia
Province	Luxembourg
Arrondissement	Arlon
Government
• Mayor	Daniel Waty
• Governing party/ies	UC
Area
• Total	29.67 km2 (11.46 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2013)
• Total	1,719
• Density	58/km2 (150/sq mi)
Postal codes	6630
Area codes	063
Website	www.martelange.be

Martelange (German: Martelingen, Luxembourgish: Maartel, Walloon: Måtlindje) is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg.

On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 29.67 km², had 1,584 inhabitants, giving a population density of 53.4 inhabitants per km². Besides Martelange itself, the municipality includes the population centers of Grumelange and Radelange.

For some 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi), the N4 Brussels to Arlon road, which passes through the village, forms the border with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Because fuel, tobacco, and alcohol taxes are lower in Luxembourg than in Belgium, the eastern, Luxembourgish side of this stretch of road has become lined with numerous filling stations and liquor stores.

File:Border in Martelange (Be-Lux).jpg

The street itself and the houses on the right side belong to Belgium, the red house and all the gas stations are on Luxembourgish territory.

History

Between 1830 and 1947, the town was a major slate quarrying centre, though the industry has now completely disappeared.

On August 21, 1967, a French tanker lorry containing 45.000 litres of liquid gas suffered from failing brakes while driving downhill. It exploded in the middle of the village, killing 22 people and injuring over 120. Dozens of houses were completely destroyed.

See also

• List of protected heritage sites in Martelange

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons