Kinrooi
{{Infobox Belgium municipality
|name = Kinrooi
|picture = Kinrooi - Gemeentehuis.jpg
|picture-legend = Kinrooi town hall
|map = Kinrooi Limburg Belgium Map.svg
|map-legend = Location of Kinrooi in Limburg
|arms = Kinrooi wapen1.svg
|flag = Kinrooi vlag.svg
|region = {{BE-REG-FLE}}
|community = {{BE-NL}}
|province = {{BE-PROV-LI}}
|arrondissement = Maaseik
|nis = 72018
|pyramid-date=
|0-19=
|20-64=
|65=
|foreigners=
|foreigners-date=
|mayor = {{Ill|Jo Brouns|nl}} (CD&V)
Wim Rutten (interim mayor)
|majority = CD&V
|postal-codes = 3640
|telephone-area = 089
|web = [http://www.kinrooi.be/ www.kinrooi.be]
|coordinates = {{coord|51|09|N|05|45|E|region:BE|display=inline,title}}
}}
Kinrooi ({{IPA|nl|ˈkɪnroːi}}; {{langx|li|Kinder}}) is a municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg, between Maaseik and Bree. On January 1, 2006, Kinrooi had a total population of 11,978. The total area is 54.76 km2, which gives a population density of 219 inhabitants per km2.
Kinrooi was formed on September 18, 1971, when the four municipalities Kinrooi, Kessenich, Geistingen-Ophoven and Molenbeersel were fused. There have been three mayors. The current mayor is Jo Brouns.
History
Before, Kinrooi was a hamlet of the village of Kessenich. The flag reminds to that; the clarions stood on the shield of Kessenich. After the independence of Belgium in 1839 it became a little municipality, together with some nearby hamlets. In 2005 there are prehistoric remains found in the center, when it was being renovated.
Economy
Image:Kinrooi, molen foto2 2011-03-20 13.08.JPG
Kinrooi's main economic activities are agriculture, tourism and the reclamation of gravel, sand and loam.
The downside of this reclamation is that a lot of land surface gets lost. Tourism is also an important resource. Kinrooi attracts a lot of tourists because it has seven nature reserves that harbor rare animal and plant species, it has a marina and because it has several old windmills. Besides, there is a lot of watersporting, in the old gravel pools. One of them, lying in Ophoven, is now the greatest inner harbour of Europe.
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Places of interest
- The {{Ill|Lemmensmolen|nl}}, a windmill built in 1856
- {{Ill|Sint-Martinuskerk (Kinrooi)|nl}}, a neogotical church built in 1853
References
{{Reflist}}