Kortrijk City Map Poster

About Kortrijk

The official language is Dutch, but the main spoken language is French. In Kortrijk, both Dutch and French are official languages; however, they have equal status. The city has a large number of immigrants from different countries: about 50% of the inhabitants speak a foreign language as their mother tongue (mainly Turkish and Arabic). Kortrijk also houses many international and regional headquarters such as those for ArcelorMittal Steel Europe (formerly known as Mittal), Avis Budget Group (Europe) or Eureko BVBA/SAS. Kortrijk originated from a Gallo-Roman town built at the crossroads between two Roman roads: Viae Neerlandicae ("Dutch Route") connecting Cologne to Boulogne via Tongeren and Bavay with Amiens through north France; another road connected it with Tournai to its south-east in modern day Belgium along what was called "Voie Romaine" ("Roman Way").