Berlaar

Berlaar is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Berlaar proper and Gestel. On January 1, 2011, Berlaar had a total population of 10,891. The total area is 24.57 km² which gives a population density of 443 inhabitants per km². The current municipality of Berlaar was founded on 1 January 1965. Berlaar is actually a fusion of the former municipality Gestel and the Core of Berlaar itself. Berlaar is a part of the Belgische Kempen.

According to legend, the citizens of the early Middle Ages couldn't agree on where the church had to be built. They let fate decide and let two bears fight over it. Where the one bear killed the other, that would be the location the church should be built. Hence the exceptional position of the church at the end of the village square and not in the center as usual.