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Charleroi - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charleroi

Flag of Charleroi

Country Belgium

Communauté Communauté française

Région Wallonia

Province Hainaut

Post codes From 6000 to 6061

Old communes (before merger Charleroi, Couillet, Dampremy, Gilly, Gosselies, Goutroux, Jumet, Lodelinsart, Marchienne-au-Pont, Marcinelle, Monceau-sur-Sambre, Montignies-sur-Sambre, Mont-sur-Marchienne, Ransart, Roux

Mayor

Jean-Pol Demacq (ad interim)

Political majority PS (left)

Longitude E 4°26'

Latitude N 50°24'

Elevation mean: 121 m

lowest: 100 m

highest: 216 m

Area 10 208 ha = 102,08 km²

Population

(City) 201 300 inhabitants

(1 January 2006)

Population

(City area) 421 586 inhabitants

(1 July 2005)

Density 1 972 inhab./km²

Official website http://www.charleroi.be/

Charleroi (Walloon: Tchålerwè) is the first city and municipality of Wallonia in population. It is located in Belgium in the Walloon province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Charleroi had a total population of 201,300. The agglomeration has a population of around 500,000. The inhabitants are called Carolorégiens or simply Carolos.

The municipality features an industrial area, iron and steel industry, glassworks, chemicals, and electrical engineering. Charleroi is in the center of a vast coal basin, called Pays noir. Many slag heaps still surround the city.

Contents

1 History

1.1 Origins

1.2 Foundation of the City

1.3 From 1666 to the Belgian Revolution

1.4 From 1830 until now

2 Politics

2.1 Municipal elections

3 Sights

4 Transport

4.1 Air

4.2 Public transport

4.3 The métro: grand plans unrealized

5 People born in Charleroi

6 Twin cities

7 See also

8 External links

History

Origins

The Charleroi area was already settled in the Prehistoric period, with traces of metallurgical and commercial activities along the Sambre. Several public buildings, temples and villas were built in that area in the Roman period. Burying places, with jewels and weapons, were also found. The first written mention of a place called Charnoy dates from a 9th-century offering in the Lobbes abbey, which lists various neighbouring towns and related tithe duties. During the Middle Ages, Charnoy was just one of the many small hamlets in the area, with no more than about 50 inhabitants, part of the County of Namur.

Foundation of the City

The history of the city of Charleroi starts in 1666. In the spring of that year, Francisco Castel Rodrigo, Governor of the Netherlands at the service of the five-year-old Charles II of Spain, expropriated the area from the local lords to build a fortress near the Sambre. In September of that same year, the name Charnoy is officially ended and replaced by that of the newly founded city of Charles-Roy, so named in honour of Charles II. The chronogram FVNDATVR CAROLOREGIVM (MLCDVVVI), can be found in the register of the parish of Charnoy for the year 1666. A year later, Louis XIV’s armies under the command of Turenne besieged the unfinished fortress. Vauban completed the fortification work; the future city was granted its privileges; a bridge was built over the river; and free land was distributed to the inhabitants.

From 1666 to the Belgian Revolution

Shortly after its foundation, the new city was in turn besieged by the Dutch, ceded to the Spanish in 1678 (Treaty of Nijmegen), taken by the French in 1693, ceded again to the Spanish in 1698 (Treaty of Rijswijk), then taken by the French, the Dutch, and the Austrians in 1714 (Treaty of Baden). The French Prince of Conti took the city again in 1745, but it was ceded back to Austria in 1748, starting a period of prosperity under Joseph II. The glass, steel and coal industries, which had already sprung up a century earlier, could now flourish.

Trouble started again in 1790, year of the civil uprising that eventually led to the United States of Belgium. The Austrians occupied the city, were forced out by the French after the Battle of Jemappes on November 6, 1792, but took it back again four months later. On June 12, 1794, the French revolutionary Army of Sambre-et-Meuse under the command of Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, invested Charleroi and won a decisive victory in the ensuing Battle of Fleurus. The city took the revolutionary name of Libre-sur-Sambre until 1800. Napoleon stayed in Charleroi for a couple of days in July 1815, just before the Battle of Waterloo. After his defeat, the whole area was annexed to the Netherlands and new walls were built around the city.

From 1830 until now

CharleroiThe Belgian Revolution of 1830 ushered in a new era of prosperity, still based mostly on glass, metallurgy, and coal, hence the area’s name of “Black Country” (in French Pays Noir). After the Industrial Revolution, Charleroi benefited from the increased use of coke in the metallurgical industry. People from all over Europe were attracted by the economic opportunities and the population grew rapidly. By 1871, the fortified walls around the city were completely torn down. Heavy fighting took place in World War I because of the city’s strategic location on the Sambre. After World War II, Charleroi witnessed a general decline of its heavy industry. Following the recent merger with several surrounding municipalities, the city is today the largest city in Wallonia and the fourth largest in Belgium.

Politics

The Socialist Party (parti Socialist, PS) has been a stronghold in Charleroi for some time. However, in October 2006, PS mayor Jacques Van Gompel was jailed on fraud and forgery charges [1]. It is unknown who will become the new mayor, the PS still holds a majority of seats in the council, but opposition parties are demanding a non-PS candidate.

Municipal elections

Party 2000 (%) 2006 (%)

Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste) 51.4 31.9

Reformist Movement (Mouvement Réformateur) 16.1 23.1

Humanist Democratic Centre (Centre Démocrate Humaniste) 9.6 14.9

Ecolo 11.4 11.0

National Front (Front National) 6.9 16.5

Sights

The belfry is included in the list of World Heritage Sites.

The Maison Dorée was built in 1899 by the Art Nouveau architect Alfred Frère. The name of this masterpiece comes from the golden sgraffiti that adorn the façade.

The city is also the home of several museums (fine-arts, glass, photogtaphy…)

Transport

Air

The local airport, Charleroi Brussels South, is a base of low-cost airline Ryanair. Eastern european low-cost carrier Wizz Air flies to Budapest, Ljubljana and Warsaw, while italian operator OnAir has seasonal services to Pescara, Italy.

The current terminal, which has exceeded capacity, is to be replaced by a new one in 2007 (currently under construction), boosting total capacity to 3.000.000 passengers a year.

Public transport

Public transport is run by TEC (Transport En Commun), the Wallon public transport company. The greater Charleroi region is served by bus lines and a light rail Metro system (Métro Léger de Charleroi). Part of the latter is famous for incorporating one of the few remnants of the Vicinal, the former Belgian national tramway network.

The métro: grand plans unrealized

The TEC Light Rail Métro is equally famous for the parts of it which were never built, partially built, or fully completed but not opened. It was planned in the 1960s as a 48-km light rail network, operating on heavy rail metro infrastructure, consisting of eight lines radiating from a central loop downtown. However only one line (to Petria), part of another line (to Gilly), and three-quarters of the loop were actually built and opened to traffic, all between 1976 and 1996. The high costs of construction, together with a decline in Charleroi's traditional "smokestack" industries, and questioning of the scope of the whole project in proportion to the actual demand for it, are all cited as reasons for the original plan going unfulfilled.

Completion of the central loop and the Gilly line to Soleilmont are planned within the next five years. Part of another branch (to Châtelet) was fully completed but never placed in service, and is unlikely ever to be opened or completed.

People born in Charleroi

François-Joseph Navez, painter (18th century)

Jules Destrée, lawyer and politician (born in Marcinelle, 19th century)

Joseph Maréchal, philosopher (19th century)

Fernand Verhaegen, painter and etcher (born in Marchienne-au-Pont, 19th century)

Georges Lemaître, priest and astronomer (19th century)

Marcel Thiry, poet (19th century)

Chantal Mouffe, political theorist (20th century)

Joëlle Milquet, politician (20th century)

Fabrice Lig, music producer (20th century)

Twin cities

France: Hirson

France: Saint-Junien

Germany: Schramberg

Germany: Waldkirch

Italy: Manoppello

Italy: Casarano

Italy: Follonica

Japan: Himeji, Hyogo

Ukraine: Donetsk

United States: Pittsburgh