Tienen, on the edge of the
Hageland, is a sugar town, with a large refinery capacity and fields of sugar beets in the surrounding area. Tienen has an enormous market square, with a 12th century stone church at its center. This Church, Our Lady of the Lake, is named for a body of water which is now drained; a spring remains, and is the destination of many pilgrimages.
Tienen lies 50 kilometers east of Brussels, and has a population of 31,000.
Bost, Bunsbeek, Goetsenhoven (Gossoncourt), Hakendover, Kumtich, Oorbeek, Oplinter, Sint-Margriete-Houtem, and Vissenaken are boroughs within the municipal district of Tienen.