Hoogstraten, Antwerpen, Belgium Genealogy

History
Hoogstraten 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 over 20,000, and lies in Flanders at the northern border of Belgium within an enclave surrounded on three sides by the Netherlands. Today, about 15% percent of the population consists of Dutch people.