Hoogstraten

Hoogstraten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦoːxstraːtə(n)]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Hoogstraten, Meer, Meerle, Meersel-Dreef, Minderhout and Wortel (Meersel-Dreef includes the northernmost point in Belgium).

Hoogstraten (originally Hoogstraeten), has a population of 18,900, and lies in Flanders at the northern border of Belgium within an enclave surrounded on three sides by the Netherlands. Today, over ten percent of the population consists of Dutch people who have chosen to live in Hoogstraten while working in the Netherlands, while the remaining ninety percent of the population is overwhelmingly Flemish.

The town is named after the hoge straat or ’high road’ – a military highway that linked the old towns of Antwerp and 's-Hertogenbosch. In the town’s early days, little trade existed. Villages and towns produced just enough for their own support, with little or no surplus to be ‘sold’ to other areas. Thus, most travelers along this high road were soldiers and armies.

Hoogstraten (surname)

Hoogstraten is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp.

It is the surname of the following people: