Hainaut (province)

Hainaut
Province of Belgium

Flag
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 50°30′N 3°55′E / 50.5°N 3.92°E / 50.5; 3.92Coordinates: 50°30′N 3°55′E / 50.5°N 3.92°E / 50.5; 3.92
Country  Belgium
Region  Wallonia
Capital Mons
Government
 • Governor Claude Durieux
Area
 • Total 3,800 km2 (1,500 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2013)[1]
 • Total 1,323,196
 • Density 350/km2 (900/sq mi)
Website www.hainaut.be

Hainaut (Archaic English: Hainault, Heynalt, Heynowes; French: Hainaut, French pronunciation: ​[ɛno]; Dutch: Henegouwen, IPA: [ˈɦeːnəˌɣʌuwə(n)]; German: Hennegau; Walloon: Hinnot; Picard: Hénau) is a province of Belgium in the Walloon region.

To its south lies the French Nord department, while within Belgium it borders (clockwise from the North) on the Flemish provinces of West Flanders, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant and the Walloon provinces of Walloon Brabant and Namur.

Its capital is Mons (Dutch Bergen) and the most populous city is Charleroi, also the province's major urban, economic and cultural hub. The city is also the financial capital of Hainaut and one of the most important commercial centers in Belgium, being the fifth largest city in the country by population.

History

Historical map of the County of Hainaut, with in red the current French-Belgian border.

The province derives from the French Revolutionary Jemmape department, formed in 1795 from part of the medieval County of Hainaut, Tournai and the Tournaisis, a part of the county of Namur (Charleroi) and of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (Thuin). (A large part of the historical county is now within France and sometimes referred to as French Hainaut.)

Subdivisions

Hainaut province is divided into 7 administrative districts (arrondissements), subdivided into a total of 69 municipalities. It has an area of 3,800 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi).

Map no. Municipality Arrondissement
1 Aiseau-Presles Charleroi
2 Anderlues Thuin
3 Antoing Tournai
4 Ath Ath
5 Beaumont Thuin
6 Belœil Ath
7 Bernissart Ath
8 Binche Thuin
9 Boussu Mons
10 Braine-le-Comte Soignies
11 Brugelette Ath
12 Brunehaut Tournai
13 Celles Tournai
14 Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont Charleroi
15 Charleroi Charleroi
16 Châtelet Charleroi
17 Chièvres Ath
18 Chimay Thuin
19 Colfontaine Mons
20 Comines-Warneton Mouscron
21 Courcelles Charleroi
22 Dour Mons
23 Écaussinnes Soignies
24 Ellezelles Ath
25 Enghien Soignies
26 Erquelinnes Thuin
27 Estaimpuis Tournai
28 Estinnes Thuin
29 Farciennes Charleroi
30 Fleurus Charleroi
31 Flobecq Ath
32 Fontaine-l'Evêque Charleroi
33 Frameries Mons
34 Frasnes-lez-Anvaing Ath
35 Froidchapelle Thuin
36 Gerpinnes Charleroi
37 Ham-sur-Heure-Nalinnes Thuin
38 Hensies Mons
39 Honnelles Mons
40 Jurbise Mons
41 La Louvière Soignies
42 Le Roeulx Soignies
43 Lens Mons
44 Les Bons Villers Charleroi
45 Lessines Soignies
46 Leuze-en-Hainaut Tournai
47 Lobbes Thuin
48 Manage Charleroi
49 Merbes-le-Château Thuin
50 Momignies Thuin
51 Mons Mons
52 Mont-de-l'Enclus Tournai
53 Montigny-le-Tilleul Charleroi
54 Morlanwelz Thuin
55 Mouscron Mouscron
56 Pecq Tournai
57 Péruwelz Tournai
58 Pont-à-Celles Charleroi
59 Quaregnon Mons
60 Quévy Mons
61 Quiévrain Mons
62 Rumes Tournai
63 Saint-Ghislain Mons
64 Seneffe Charleroi
65 Silly Soignies
66 Sivry-Rance Thuin
67 Soignies Soignies
68 Thuin Thuin
69 Tournai Tournai

Governors

  • Jean-Baptiste Thorn (1836–1841)
  • Charles Liedts (1841–1845)
  • Édouard Mercier (1845–1847)
  • Augustin Dumon-Dumortier (1847–1848)
  • Adolphe de Vrière (1848–1849)
  • Louis Troye (1849–1870)
  • Joseph de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay (1870–1878)
  • Auguste Wanderpepen (1878)
  • Oswald de Kerchove de Denterghem (1878–1884)
  • Auguste Vergote (1884–1885)
  • Joseph d'Ursel (1885–1889)
  • Charles d'Ursel (1889–1893)
  • Raoul du Sart de Bouland (1893–1908)
  • Maurice Damoiseaux (1908–1937)
  • Henri Van Mol (1937–1940)
  • Émile Cornez (1944–1967)
  • Emilien Vaes (1967–1983)
  • Michel Tromont (1983–2004)
  • Claude Durieux (2004 – present day)

Miscellaneous

The patron saint of the province Hainaut is Saint Waltrude.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Population per municipality on 1 January 2013 (XLS; 607.5 KB)
  2. ↑ St. Waltrude at saints.sqpn.com. Retrieved 26.March 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hainaut.
 West Flanders East Flanders, Flemish Brabant Walloon Brabant
Nord (FR) Namur
   Hainaut  
Nord (FR), Aisne (FR) Ardennes (FR)
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, February 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.