Walloon Brabant is a province of
Wallonia in
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of
Flemish BrabantFlemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
(
Flemish RegionThe Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as Flanders, of which it is the institutional iteration within the context of the Belgian political system...
) and the provinces of
LiègeLiège is the easternmost province of Belgium and belongs to the Walloon Region. It is an area of French and German ethnicity. It borders on the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and in Belgium the provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, Walloon Brabant , and those of Flemish Brabant and Limburg . Its...
,
NamurNamur is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and on France. Its capital is the city of Namur...
and Hainaut (
Wallonia). Its capital is
WavreWavre is a town and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, of which it is the capital.Wavre is located in the Dyle valley. Most of its inhabitants speak French as mother tongue and are called "Wavriens" and "Wavriennes"...
. It has an area of 1,093 km² and contains only one administrative district (
arrondissement in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
), the
Arrondissement of NivellesThe Arrondissement of Nivelles is the only administrative arrondissement in the Belgian Province of Walloon Brabant, and thus comprises the whole province.It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement...
, with 27 municipalities.
Walloon Brabant was created in 1995 when the former
Province of BrabantBrabant was a province of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1815 until 1830 and a province of Belgium from 1830 until 1995, when it was split into the Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant, the French-speaking Walloon Brabant and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.-United Kingdom of the...
was split into three parts: two new provinces, Walloon Brabant and Flemish Brabant; and the Brussels Capital Region, which no longer belongs to any province. The split was made to accommodate the federalisation of Belgium in three regions (
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
,
Wallonia and Brussels).
The provincial population was recorded at 347,423 in January 1999, giving a population density of 318 inhabitants / km²
The history of Brabant is at
BrabantThe Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
; see also
Duke of BrabantThe Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...
.
List of municipalities
Nivelles District:
- Beauvechain
Beauvechain is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 6,529 inhabitants. The total area is 38.58 km², giving a population density of 169 inhabitants per km²....
(Bevekom)
- Braine-l'Alleud
Braine-l'Alleud is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, about 20 kilometers south of Brussels. The Braine-l'Alleud municipality includes the former municipalities of Braine-l'Alleud proper, Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, and Lillois-Witterzée. It also includes...
(Eigenbrakel)
- Braine-le-Château
Braine-le-Château is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Braine-le-Château had a total population of 9,446...
(Kasteelbrakel)
- Chastre
Chastre is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Chastre had a total population of 6,734. The total area is 31.27 km² which gives a population density of 215 inhabitants per km²....
- Chaumont-Gistoux
Chaumont-Gistoux is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 2006 Chaumont-Gistoux had a total population of 10,926...
- Court-Saint-Etienne
Court-Saint-Étienne is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Court-Saint-Étienne had a total population of 9,408. The total area is 26.64 km² which gives a population density of 353 inhabitants per km².See also: List of municipalities in...
- Genappe
Genappe is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 2006 Genappe had a total population of 14,136...
- Grez-Doiceau
Grez-Doiceau is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Grez-Doiceau had a total population of 12,403. The total area is 55.44 km² which gives a population density of 224 inhabitants per km².-References:...
- Hélécine
Hélécine is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 2006 Hélécine had a total population of 3,068. The total area is 16.62 km² which gives a population density of 185 inhabitants per km².-References:...
(Heilissem)
- Incourt
Incourt is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006, Incourt had a total population of 4,585. The total area is 38.79 km² which gives a population density of 118 inhabitants per km²....
- Ittre
Ittre is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Ittre had a total population of 6,064. The total area is 34.92 km² which gives a population density of 174 inhabitants per km²...
- Jodoigne
Jodoigne is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Jodoigne had a total population of 12,440...
(Geldenaken)
- La Hulpe
La Hulpe is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 La Hulpe had a total population of 7,224...
(Terhulpen)
- Lasne
Lasne is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, to the south east of Brussels. On January 1, 2008 Lasne had a total population of 14,043. The total area is 47.22 km² which gives a population density of 297 inhabitants per km². Lasne is the richest commune in the...
- Mont-Saint-Guibert
Mont-Saint-Guibert is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Mont-Saint-Guibert had a total population of 6,400. The total area is 18.63 km² which gives a population density of 344 inhabitants per km²....
- Nivelles
Nivelles is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the old communes of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux....
(Nijvel)
- Orp-Jauche
Orp-Jauche is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Orp-Jauche had a total population of 7,872. The total area is 50.50 km² which gives a population density of 156 inhabitants per km²....
(Gete)
- Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve
Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve had a total population of 29,521. The total area is 32.96 km² which gives a population density of 896 inhabitants per km².The two main towns in the...
- Perwez
Perwez is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 7,487 inhabitants. The total area is 50.81 km², giving a population density of 147 inhabitants per km²....
- Ramillies
Ramillies is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Ramillies had a total population of 5,756. The total area is 48.68 km² which gives a population density of 118 inhabitants per km²....
- Rebecq
Rebecq is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 10,241 inhabitants. The total area is 39.08 km², giving a population density of 262 inhabitants per km².-Notable people:...
- Rixensart
Rixensart is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Rixensart had a total population of 21,355. The total area is 17.54 km² which gives a population density of 1,217 inhabitants per km²....
- Tubize
Tubize is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1 2006 Tubize had a total population of 22,335. The total area is 32.66 km² which gives a population density of 684 inhabitants per km²....
(Tubeke)
- Villers-la-Ville
Villers-la-Ville is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Villers-la-Ville had a total population of 9,572...
- Walhain
Walhain is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Walloon Brabant. It consists of the former municipalities of Nil-Saint-Vincent-Saint-Martin, Tourinnes-Saint-Lambert and Walhain-Saint-Paul....
- Waterloo
Waterloo is a Walloon municipality located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. On December 31, 2009, Waterloo had a total population of 29,573. The total area is 21.03 km² which gives a population density of 1,407 inhabitants per km²...
- Wavre
Wavre is a town and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, of which it is the capital.Wavre is located in the Dyle valley. Most of its inhabitants speak French as mother tongue and are called "Wavriens" and "Wavriennes"...
(Waver)
History, university, industry
Etymology
Walloon in
Walloon Brabant is likely one of the first uses of the word. Louis de Haynin wrote
Belgium is a great country between FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the North SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
(...). This country is divided in two regions, FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
and Wallonia (...). Wallonia is divided in (the following provinces...) TournesisTournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
, Flandre wallonneFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, Haynaut, NamurNamur is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and on France. Its capital is the city of Namur...
, Principauté de LiègeLiège is the easternmost province of Belgium and belongs to the Walloon Region. It is an area of French and German ethnicity. It borders on the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and in Belgium the provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, Walloon Brabant , and those of Flemish Brabant and Limburg . Its...
and Walloon Brabant.
University and industry
The
Université catholique de LouvainThe Université catholique de Louvain, sometimes known, especially in Belgium, as UCL, is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It is located in Louvain-la-Neuve and in Brussels...
is located in this province. A part of the Walloon industrial power was out of the
Sillon industrielThe sillon industriel is the former industrial backbone of Wallonia and thus of Belgium. It runs across Wallonia, passing from Dour, in Borinage, in the west, to Verviers in the east, through Mons, La Louvière, Charleroi, Namur, Huy, and Liège, following the valleys of the rivers Haine, Sambre,...
as the steel industry of
ClabecqClabecq is part of the Walloon municipality of Tubize , located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant.It was formerly its own municipality until the period of fusion of Belgian municipalities in 1977....
where there is until now some activities. The
Battle of WaterlooThe Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
also took place in this province, the smallest province of Wallonia.
PiétrainPiétrain is a breed of domestic pig native to Wallonia, which takes its name from Piétrain, a small village of the Walloon municipality of Jodoigne. This breed became popular in the 1950s during the difficult period of the swine market in 1950-51 . Piétrain swine were imported into Germany in 1960-61...
is a breed of
domestic pigThe domestic pig is a domesticated animal that traces its ancestry to the wild boar, and is considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species in its own right. It is likely the wild boar was domesticated as early as 13,000 BC in the Tigris River basin...
taking its name from
Piétrain, a little village of
JodoigneJodoigne is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Jodoigne had a total population of 12,440...
in Walloon Brabant, and the most important town of this province is
NivellesNivelles is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the old communes of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux....
with its
Collegiate Church of Saint GertrudeThe Collegiate Church of Saint Gertrude is a historical building in Nivelles, Wallonia, Belgium consecrated in 1046 by Wazon, bishop of Liège in the presence of emperor Henry III...
and its
westwork. The
Ronquières inclined planeThe Ronquières Inclined Plane is a Belgian canal inclined plane on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal in the province of Hainaut in Wallonia that opened in April 1968 after a six year construction period...
is on the
Brussels-Charleroi CanalThe Brussels–Charleroi Canal, also known as the Charleroi Canal amongst other similar names, is an important canal in Belgium. The canal is quite large, with a Class IV Freycinet gauge, and its Wallonian portion is long. It runs from Charleroi in the south to Brussels in the north...
which connects, through the province, one of the main cities of the
Sillon industriel,
CharleroiCharleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
, with the Capital of
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and the
Port of AntwerpThe port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. Antwerp stands at the upper end of the tidal estuary of the Scheldt. The estuary is navigable by ships of more than 100,000 Gross Tons as far as 80 km inland. The inland location means that the port...
. In
RixensartRixensart is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Rixensart had a total population of 21,355. The total area is 17.54 km² which gives a population density of 1,217 inhabitants per km²....
, the company
Recherche et Industrie ThérapeutiquesRecherche et Industrie Thérapeutiques was founded in Genval, Belgium, as a penicillin factory in 1945 by Dr Pieter De Somer, who later became the founder of the Rega Institute for Medical Research and rector of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven . The industrialist Jacques Lannoy provided the...
(changed to
GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals in 2000) is one of the world’s leading vaccine manufacturers, supplying around 25% of the world’s vaccines:
GSK Biologicals employs a little over 5,300 persons on the Walloon sites of RixensartRixensart is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Rixensart had a total population of 21,355. The total area is 17.54 km² which gives a population density of 1,217 inhabitants per km²....
, WavreWavre is a town and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, of which it is the capital.Wavre is located in the Dyle valley. Most of its inhabitants speak French as mother tongue and are called "Wavriens" and "Wavriennes"...
and GemblouxGembloux is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur, on the axis Brussels-NamurOn 1 January 2006 the municipality had 21,964 inhabitants...
. The company distributes 36 doses of vaccines every second.
The castle of
Corroy-le-Château, one of the best conserved castles of this period in Northern Europe was bought by a Flemish artist
Wim DelvoyeWim Delvoye is a Belgian neo-conceptual artist known for his inventive and often shocking projects. Much of his work is focused on the body. He repeatedly links the attractive with the repulsive, creating work that holds within it inherent contradictions- one does not know whether to stare, be...
for EUR 3.3 million. He is planning to convert the Corroy-le-Château into a museum of modern art. The
Louvain-la-Neuve Science ParkCreated in 1971, Louvain-la-Neuve Science Park is the first of its kind in Belgium and is the largest in Wallonia...
is developing cooperation between industry and the
Université catholique de LouvainThe Université catholique de Louvain, sometimes known, especially in Belgium, as UCL, is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It is located in Louvain-la-Neuve and in Brussels...
and is contributing to regional economic development. It covers 231 hectares spread over the area of the town of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve and the municipality of
Mont-Saint-GuibertMont-Saint-Guibert is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Mont-Saint-Guibert had a total population of 6,400. The total area is 18.63 km² which gives a population density of 344 inhabitants per km²....
(30 km away from
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
). The main areas of activity are: Life sciences, Fine chemistry; Information technologies, Engineering, 135 innovative companies, 4,500 employees, one
business incubatorBusiness incubators are programs designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts...
.
External links