Ekeren

Ekeren is a northern district of the municipality of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The suburb celebrated its 850th birthday in 2005; the name of the town was first mentioned in 1155, as "Hecerna".

The name possibly originates from Vikings who settled there in the ninth century after using the oak trees.Ekeren used to be the home town of the Germinal Ekeren football club until Germinal merged with K. Beerschot V.A.C. into K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot. The new club is based in the Olympisch Stadion in Antwerp.

Ekeren is home to the Jozef Pauly municipal academy for music and diction, which has around 2000 pupils as of 2004. The academy hosts many musical ensembles; the Jozef Pauly flute ensemble has made concert tours to Australia and the United States.