Hasselt

Hasselt stands near the Demer, between the Campine and the fertile Hesbaye. First named in a document in 1165, it became one of the free towns of the County of Loon. In 1232 Count Arnold IV granted it liberties like those of Liège. The counts moved their court from Loon to nearby Kuringen, where Herkenrode Abbey was founded, and Hasselt grew into the county's largest town.

In 1366 Loon came under the direct authority of the prince-bishops of Liège. Hasselt remained one of the bishopric's “good towns,” retaining its place in the county until French annexation in 1794. After Napoleon's defeat, it became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its position between the sandy Campine and the agricultural lands to the south helped make it a local center within Loon.