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Tournai

Tournai or Tournay (Doornik ; Tornai; Tornè ; Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies 89 km by road southwest of the centre of Brussels on the river Scheldt, and is part of Eurometropolis Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai, In 2022, the municipality of Tournai had an estimated population of 68,518 people.

Tournai is one of the oldest cities in Belgium and has played an important role in the country's cultural history. It was the first capital of the Frankish Empire, with Clovis I being born here.

Geography
Tournai lies 89 km by road southwest of the centre of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Administratively, the town and municipality is part of the Province of Hainaut, in the Wallonia region of southwest Belgium. The municipality has an area of 213.75 km2.

Tournai has its own arrondissements, both administrative and judicial. The municipality consists of the following: Barry, Beclers, Blandain, Chercq, Ere, Esplechin, Froidmont, Froyennes, Gaurain-Ramecroix, Havinnes, Hertain, Kain, Lamain, Marquain, Maulde, Melles, Mont-Saint-Aubert, Mourcourt, Orcq, Quartes, Ramegnies-Chin, Rumillies, Saint-Maur, Templeuve, Thimougies, Tournai, Vaulx, Vezon, Warchin, and Willemeau.

History
Tournai, known as Tornacum, was a place of minor importance in Roman times, a stopping place where the Roman road from Cologne on the Rhine to Boulogne on the coast crossed the river Scheldt. It was fortified under Emperor Maximiam in the 3rd century AD, when the Roman limes was withdrawn to the string of outposts along the road. It came into the possession of the Salian Franks in 432. Under King Childeric I, whose tomb was discovered there in 1653, Tournai was the capital of the Frankish Empire. In 486, Clovis moved the center of power to Paris. In turn, a native son of Tournai, Eleutherius, became bishop of the newly created bishopric of Tournai, extending over most of the area west of the Scheldt. In 862, Charles the Bald, first king of Western Francia and still to become Holy Roman Emperor, would make Tournai the seat of the County of Flanders.

After the partition of the Frankish Empire by the Treaties of Verdun (843) and of Meerssen (870), Tournai remained in the western part of the empire, which in 987 became France. The city participated in 11th-century rise of towns in the Low Countries, with a woollen cloth industry based on English wool, which soon made it attractive to wealthy merchants. An ambitious rebuilding of the cathedral was initiated in 1030. Odo of Orléans was appointed at the cathedral school of Tournai in 1087. Under Odo's leadership, Saint-Martin Abbey flourished and by 1105 had 70 monks. The commune's drive for independence from the local counts succeeded in 1187, and the city was henceforth directly subordinated to the French Crown, as the seigneurie de Tournaisis, as the city's environs are called. The stone Pont des Trous (Bridge of the Holes) over the Scheldt, with defensive towers at either end, was built in 1290, replacing an earlier wooden structure.

In 1340, as a part of the Hundred Years' War, Edward III of England gathered a large army and besieged Tournai for a month. The operation was unsuccessful, bankrupting Edward and forcing him to sign the Truce of Espléchin.

During the 15th century, the city's textile trade boomed and it became an important supplier of tapestry. The art of painting flourished too: Jacques Daret, Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden all came from Tournai. It was captured in 1513 by Henry VIII of England, making it the only Belgian city ever to have been ruled by England. It was also represented in the 1515 Parliament of England. The city was handed back to French rule in 1519, following the Treaty of London (1518).

In 1521, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V added the city to his possessions in the Low Countries, leading to a period of religious strife and economic decline. During the 16th century, Tournai was a bulwark of Calvinism, but eventually it was conquered by the Spanish governor of the Low Countries, the Duke of Parma, following a prolonged siege in 1581. After the fall of the city, its Protestant inhabitants were given one year to sell their possessions and emigrate, a policy that was at the time considered relatively humane, since very often religious opponents were simply massacred.

One century later, in 1668, the city briefly returned to France under King Louis XIV in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle following the siege of Tournai. The city was besieged by the Duke of Marlborough during the War of Spanish Succession in 1709. At the end of the war in 1713, under terms of the Treaty of Utrecht the former Spanish Netherlands, including Tournai, came into possession of the Austrian Habsburgs. The city was again successfully besieged by France in 1745. In 1794, France annexed the Austrian Netherlands during the French Revolutionary Wars and Tournai became part of the department of Jemmape. From 1815 on, following the Napoleonic Wars, Tournai formed part of the United Netherlands and after 1830 of newly independent Belgium. Badly damaged in 1940 during World War II, Tournai has since been carefully restored.

Main sights

Tournai is considered to be one of the most important cultural sites in Belgium. The mixed Romanesque- and Gothic-style Cathedral of Our Lady and the city's Belfry, considered the oldest in Belgium, have been designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. Inside the cathedral, the Châsse de Notre-Dame flamande, a beautifully ornate 12th-century reliquary, gives witness to Tournai's wealth in the Middle Ages.

Other places of interest are the 13th-century Scheldt bridge (Pont des Trous) and the main square (Grand-Place), as well as several old city gates, historic warehouses, and a variety of museums. As in many Belgian cities, there are a number of cafés and pubs on the Grand-Place. In the middle of the square, there are a series of water fountains, while a circular staircase to the top of the Belfry can be climbed.

On the Rue Barre-St-Brice are two of the oldest private houses in Europe, dating from between 1175 and 1200 and built in the Romanesque style, while the Rue des Jésuites includes a Gothic house from the 13th century. There are also several buildings in the Art Nouveau style across the city.

A French-speaking Walloon town

Tournai is a French-speaking town of Belgium. The local language is tournaisien, a Picard dialect similar to that of other municipalities of Hainaut and Northern France. Tournai also belongs to Romance Flanders, like Lille, Douai, Tourcoing, and Mouscron. The city was one of the greatest cultural and economic centres of the County of Flanders. Some traces can still be seen today:
 * The Gothic choir of Our Lady's Cathedral is a precursory element of the Scaldian (meaning from the Scheldt area), typically Flemish, Gothic art.
 * The Bishopric of Tournai was the religious capital of Flanders during more than a millennium (from 496 to 1559).
 * The tapestries and draperies of Tournai belong to the great Flemish school of tapestry and Tournai was part of the Flemish Hansa of London, which also included the draper towns of Flanders.
 * The Church of St. Brice, dedicated to Saint Britius, is one of the first examples of the hallekerk style, so typical of the Flemish countryside.
 * The Church of St. Quentin, a Catholic parish church in Romanesque style with Gothic elements, known to have existed since the 10th century. The current building was built around 1200, but has been altered several times throughout history. It contains important sculptures by the 15th-century sculptor Jean Delemer.
 * Some of the great Flemish Primitives are from Tournai: Robert Campin, Rogier van der Weyden, and Jacques Daret.

Although Tournai is in the Flemish cultural area (of the Scheldt), it also possesses some treasures of the Mosan style. Indeed, the two most beautiful shrines of the cathedral, commissioned by the Bishop of Tournai, were made in the region of Liège by the artist Nicholas of Verdun: the shrines of Saint-Eleutherius and of Our Lady of Flanders (13th century). Those shrines testify to the opulence of Tournai and Liège during the Middle Ages. The shrine of Our Lady of Flanders has been called one of the seven wonders of Belgium.

Festivities

 * The "Great Procession" (in French: Grande Procession) is a procession initiated by the bishop Radbot II during a plague epidemic. It has taken place every year since 1092, with the single exception of the year 1566, when the iconoclasts considerably damaged the religious symbols of the city. This historic procession unfolds in the streets every second Sunday of September.
 * The first Monday after January 6 is known as "Lost Monday" (in French: Lundi perdu) or "Perjury Monday" (Lundi parjuré). This tradition dates from more than 700 years ago. The wealthier city inhabitants used to prepare fastidious family dinners and elect a king. Today, the family dinners have expanded to wider groups and a rabbit dish is often served.

Education
The Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning of the French-speaking University of Louvain (UCLouvain) is located in Tournai.

People born in Tournai

 * Clovis I, first king of all Salian Franks (5th century)
 * Gilles Li Muisis, French chronicler and poet (13th century)
 * Rogier van der Weyden, Flemish painter (15th century)
 * Jacques Daret, Flemish painter (15th century)
 * Pierre de La Rue, Franco-Flemish composer (15th century)
 * Perkin Warbeck, impostor and pretender to the throne of England (15th century)
 * Marbrianus de Orto, Franco-Flemish composer (15th-16th century)
 * Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy, courtier and patron of learning (16th century)
 * Isaac Le Maire, pioneering merchant of the VOC, the Dutch East India Company (16th century)
 * Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1673–1743) illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV of France and his most famous mistress Madame de Montespan.
 * Peter Minuit, generally credited with orchestrating the purchase of Manhattan Island for the Dutch from the Lenape Native Americans.
 * Donat Casterman, publisher (18th century)
 * Philippe de la Motte, 1556–1617, Pastor at Tournai (1582/3) and of Walloon Church, Southampton (1586).
 * Piat Sauvage, painter (19th century)
 * Louis Gallait, painter (19th century)
 * Jean-Baptiste Moëns, philatelist (19th century)
 * Jules Bara, statesman (19th century)
 * Georges Rodenbach, Symbolist poet and novelist (19th century)
 * Hélène Dutrieu, cycle racer, stunt driver and aviator (19th and 20th centuries)
 * Marc Quaghebeur, writer (20th century)
 * Xaveer De Geyter, architect (20th century)
 * Gabrielle Petit, spy for the British Secret Service during the First World War, executed in 1916 by the Germans (20th century)
 * Viviane Nicaise, cartoonist and colorist (21st century)

Twin towns

 * 🇫🇷 Troyes, France
 * 🇫🇷 Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France
 * Bethlehem, Palestine
 * 🇧🇴 Tarija, Bolivia

title: Tournai


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Declaration of Indulgence (1672)

The Declaration of Indulgence was Charles II of England's attempt to extend religious liberty to Protestant nonconformists and Roman Catholics in his realms, by suspending the execution of the Penal Laws that punished recusants from the Church of England. Charles issued the Declaration on 15 March 1672.

It was highly controversial and Sir Orlando Bridgeman, son of a bishop, resigned as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, because he refused to apply the Great Seal to it, regarding it as too generous to Catholics.

In 1673 the Cavalier Parliament compelled Charles to withdraw the declaration and implement, in its place, the first of the Test Acts (1673), which required anyone entering public service in England to deny the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and to take Anglican communion. When Charles II's openly Catholic successor James II attempted to issue a similar Declaration of Indulgence, an order for general religious tolerance, it became one of the grievances that led to the Glorious Revolution which ousted him from the throne.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Declaration of Indulgence (1672)


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Talk:Autograph collecting

Comment
Is this an appropriate encyclopedia topic? From my understanding, the wiki is not a "How to" manual. In any case the opening sentence needs to be revised since it does not conform to the manual of style. Any other opinions? -Frecklefoot
 * I was thinking along the same lines. Perhaps a more general article about autograph collecting would be appropriate. This could then be listed under List of hobbies and Collecting. D.D. 20:29 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

 * Agreed. It's a personal essay which breaches point 9 of What Wikipedia is not Either delete or send it to meta

Content has been moved to Autograph collecting...now it just needs some editing. Most of the information in the entry is useful and correct. --The Cunctator

 * I disagree. The 'information' here is highly POV and non-encyclopedical. Most of the things are "one should do..." rather than "one generally does..." in nature. An encyclopedia should not be telling people what they should or should not do, that's POV. Andre Engels 10:24 21 May 2003 (UTC)

This is absolute garbage that has no place in encyclopædia. What next? How to Cut Grass? FearÉÍREANN

Reboot as article
3 December 2019: redirect converted to article, starting with content split off from the Autograph article (including multi-issues tag). --Francis Schonken (talk) 07:39, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

title: Talk:Autograph collecting


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Douglas Wilder

Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 66th governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He was the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction era, and the first African American ever elected as governor. He is currently a professor at the namesake Wilder School at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Born in Richmond, Virginia, Wilder graduated from Virginia Union University and served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He established a legal practice in Richmond after graduating from the Howard University School of Law. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilder won election to the Virginia Senate in 1969. He remained in that chamber until 1986, when he took office as the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, becoming the first African American to hold statewide office in Virginia. In the 1989 Virginia gubernatorial election, Wilder narrowly defeated Republican Marshall Coleman.

Wilder left the gubernatorial office in 1994, as the Virginia constitution prohibits governors from immediately seeking re-election. He briefly sought the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination, but withdrew from the race before the first primaries. He also briefly ran as an independent in the 1994 Virginia Senate election before dropping out of the race. Wilder returned to elective office in 2005, when he became the first directly elected mayor of Richmond. After leaving office in 2009, he worked as an adjunct professor and founded the United States National Slavery Museum.

Early life
Wilder was born on January 17, 1931, in the segregated Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond. He is the son of Beulah Olive (Richards) and Robert Judson Wilder. He is the grandson of slaves, his paternal grandparents having been enslaved in Goochland County. The seventh of eight brothers and sisters, Wilder was named for the African-American writers Paul Laurence Dunbar and Frederick Douglass.

Wilder's father sold insurance and his mother worked as a maid. While the family was never completely destitute, Wilder recalled his early years during the Great Depression as a childhood of "gentle poverty".

Wilder worked his way through Virginia Union University, a historically black university, by waiting tables at hotels and shining shoes, graduating in 1951 with a degree in chemistry.

Drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War, he volunteered for combat duty. At the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, he and two other men found themselves cut off from their unit, but they bluffed nineteen North Korean soldiers into surrendering, for which Wilder was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. He was a sergeant when he was discharged in 1953.

Following the war, Wilder worked in the state medical examiner's office and pursued a master's degree in chemistry. In 1956 he changed his career plans and entered Howard University Law School. After graduating in 1959, he established a law practice in Richmond, the Virginia capital.

Wilder married Eunice Montgomery in 1958. The couple had three children before divorcing in 1978: Lynn Diana; Lawrence Douglas Jr.; and Loren Deane.

Early political life
Douglas Wilder had joined the Democratic Party and began his career in public office by winning a 1969 special election for the Virginia State Senate from a Richmond-area district. He was the first African American elected to the Virginia Senate since Reconstruction. A 1970 redistricting gave Wilder a predominantly African-American district, and he became a liberal in a predominantly conservative, white-majority legislature.

Wilder briefly flirted with an independent bid for the United States Senate in 1982. He did so after the initial favorite for the Democratic nomination, State Delegate Owen Pickett of Virginia Beach, paid homage to the Byrd Organization in announcing his bid. Angered that Pickett would praise a political machine who obstinately resisted racial integration, Wilder threatened to make an independent bid for the seat if Pickett won the nomination. Pickett not only realized that Wilder was serious, but that he would siphon off enough black votes in a three-way race to hand the seat to the Republican nominee, Congressman Paul Trible. Pickett pulled out of the race, and Wilder abandoned plans to run for the Senate.

In 1985 Wilder was narrowly elected as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia on a Democratic ticket headed by Attorney General Gerald L. Baliles, the party's candidate for governor. Wilder was the first African American to win a statewide election in Virginia. Aware that he needed to reach the swath of the state's majority-white electorate, Wilder had undertaken a two-month "back roads" campaign tour of the state, visiting Virginia's predominantly rural central and western regions and enhancing his name recognition across the state.

Campaign for governor
In the 1989 campaign for governor of Virginia, Wilder had a comfortable lead in the last polls before the election. The unexpected closeness of the election may have been due to the Republicans' strong get out the vote efforts. Wilder had been candid about his pro-choice position in relation to abortion. Some observers believed the close election was caused by the Bradley effect, and suggested that white voters were reluctant to tell pollsters that they did not intend to vote for Wilder. Wilder was elected governor on November 8, 1989, defeating Republican Marshall Coleman by a spread of less than half a percent. The narrow victory margin prompted a recount, which reaffirmed Wilder's election.

Tenure as Governor of Virginia
Douglas Wilder was sworn in on January 13, 1990, by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. In recognition of his landmark achievement as the first elected African-American governor, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awarded Wilder the Spingarn Medal for 1990.

During his tenure as governor, Wilder worked on crime and gun control initiatives. He also worked to fund Virginia's transportation initiatives, effectively lobbying Congress to reallocate highway money to the states with the greatest needs. Much residential and office development had taken place in Northern Virginia without its receiving sufficient federal money for infrastructure improvements to keep up. He also succeeded in passing state bond issues to support improving transportation. In May 1990 Wilder ordered state agencies and universities to divest themselves of any investments in South Africa because of its policy of apartheid.

Wilder made a failed attempt to enter into an agreement with the Washington Redskins to build a stadium at Potomac Yard in Alexandria. Wilder and Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke had made an agreement for the move which entailed a $130 million subsidy by the state of the Virginia. However, legislators revised the agreement to reduce the cost to taxpayers by $40 million (relative to the original plan by Cooke and Wilder), which led Cooke to pull out of the agreement.

Capital punishment
During his term, Wilder carried out Virginia's law on capital punishment, although he had opposed the death penalty when he served in the Virginia Senate. There were 14 executions by the electric chair, including the controversial case of Roger Keith Coleman. In January 1994 Wilder commuted the sentence of Earl Washington Jr., an intellectually disabled man, to life in prison based on testing of DNA evidence that raised questions about his guilt. Virginia law has strict time limits on when such new evidence can be introduced post-conviction. But in 2000, under a new governor, an STR-based DNA test led to the exclusion of Washington as the perpetrator of the murder for which he had been sentenced. He was fully exonerated by Governor Jim Gilmore for the capital murder and he was released from prison.

As Virginia limits consecutive gubernatorial terms, Wilder was succeeded in 1994 by George Allen.

Campaigns for president and senate
Wilder declared himself a candidate for President in 1992, but withdrew before the primary season had ended. He briefly ran for the U.S. Senate as an independent in 1994.

In the mid-1990s Wilder was scrutinized for his attacks on fellow Democrat Chuck Robb and support of Republican Mark Earley.

Mayor of Richmond
On May 30, 2004, Wilder announced his intention to run for Mayor of Richmond. Until 2004, the Richmond City Council had chosen the mayor from among its 9 members. The move to change this policy succeeded in November 2003 when voters approved a mayor-at-large referendum, with roughly 80 percent voting in favor of the measure. Wilder was a leading proponent of the mayor-at-large proposal.

On November 2, 2004, Wilder received 79% of the vote (55,319 votes) to become the first directly elected mayor of the city in sixty years. Upon winning the election, Wilder communicated his intentions to take on corruption in the city government, issuing several ultimatums to the sitting city council before he took office. He was sworn in on January 2, 2005.

He was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a bipartisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition was co-chaired by former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

On May 16, 2008, Wilder announced that he would not seek reelection to another four-year term as mayor.

Post-political career
Wilder has continued as a distinguished professor in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. He writes occasional editorials for Virginia newspapers.

Douglas Wilder is the founder of the United States National Slavery Museum, a non-profit organization based in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The museum has been fundraising and campaigning since 2001 to establish a national museum of slavery in America. In June 2008 Wilder requested that the museum be granted tax exempt status, which was denied. From that time, taxes on the land had not been paid and the property was at risk of being sold at auction by the city of Fredericksburg.

Beset by financial problems the museum has been assessed delinquent property taxes for the years 2009, 2010, and 2011 amounting to just over $215,000. The organization filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection on September 22, 2011. Early in 2011 Douglas Wilder was refusing to respond to or answer any questions from either news reporters or patrons who had donated artifacts.

Wilder made news in 2012 when he refused to support Barack Obama, the nation's first black president, for another term. He noted that he supported Obama in 2008, but said the president's tenure in the Oval Office thus far had been a disappointment. Wilder did not endorse Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger, and later said that he hoped for an Obama victory despite having gone to a Romney fundraiser.

In 2015, Wilder published an autobiography, Son of Virginia: A Life in America's Political Arena.

In March 2018, Wilder filed suit against John Accordino, who was serving as the Dean of his namesake college, for harassing Wilder's assistant. This led to Accordino stepping down from his position and Susan Gooden being named as the interim dean of the college and then Wilder dropping the suit 4 months after filing.

In March 2019, Sydney Black filed a complaint under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 against Wilder for sexual harassment after she claims he made sexual advances to her, which she rebuffed, and then told her later that there was no funding for her position at the Virginia Commonwealth University. In July 2019, the university's independent investigator concluded that Wilder did kiss the student without her consent. In response, Wilder provided a detailed rebuttal, in which he denied "non-consensual sexual contact” between Black and him. In addition, he denied retaliating against her by saying her position had been eliminated. Wilder also claimed the investigator ignored contradictory evidence, including his claim that Black called him eight times after the night during which he supposedly kissed her, something she presumably would not have done if she felt harassed or threatened. The university planned to consider the investigator's findings and Wilder's rebuttal before deciding what action to take, if any. On October 24, 2019, Wilder announced that the university's internal review panel had cleared him of wrongdoing.

In 2020, Wilder raised concerns that the state archives at the Library of Virginia had failed to provide access to the records of his gubernatorial administration.

In 2021, following the gubernatorial election of Republican Glenn Youngkin, Wilder joined Governor Youngkin's transition team, alongside former Republican governors Jim Gilmore, Bob McDonnell, and George Allen.

Honors and awards

 * In 2004, Virginia Commonwealth University named its School of Government and Public Affairs in honor of L. Douglas Wilder. Wilder serves as an adjunct faculty member at the school.
 * The Virginia Union University library, Norfolk State University's performing arts center, and a Hampton University dormitory are also named after Governor Wilder.
 * Wilder also received an Honorary Doctorate from Arizona State University in 2004.
 * Virginia State University named its Cooperative Extension Building the L. Douglas Wilder Building
 * In 1996, L. Douglas Wilder Middle School was named in honor of former governor Wilder.
 * 1990 Harold Washington Award from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
 * 1987: Adam Clayton Powell Award from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

Personal papers
The L. Douglas Wilder Collection resides at the L. Douglas Wilder Library and Learning Resource Center at Wilder's alma mater, Virginia Union University. The collection contains press office photographs from Wilder's time as governor, over 600 audio cassette tapes of Wilder's WRVA radio talk show as well as other speeches, and over 350 video cassettes of political events, campaign materials, and news appearances. A gallery located in the library also displays many of Wilder's political recognitions and awards.

title: Douglas Wilder


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Beauvechain

Beauvechain (Bôvètchén ; Bevekom, ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium.

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.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Beauvechain, Hamme-Mille, L’Écluse, Nodebais, and Tourinnes-la-Grosse.

Beauvechain has several protected heritage sites. It is also home to Beauvechain Air Base which formerly flew F-16 Fighting Falcon jets.

Sports
Beauvechain is the home of SC Beauvechain football club. Since the 2011–2012 season the club has benefited from investment allowing the creation of new pitches (one synthetic and one grass) as well as a new club house and changing rooms.

title: Beauvechain


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Braine-l'Alleud

Braine-l'Alleud (Eigenbrakel ; Brinne-l'-Alou) is a municipality of Wallonia, in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about 20 km south of Brussels.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud (including the hamlet of Sart-Moulin), Lillois-Witterzée, and Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac. Bordering Flanders, the town is home to a minority of Dutch speakers.

The famous Lion of Waterloo, where the eponymous battle took place, is in the territory of Braine-l'Alleud.

Middle Ages
Several archaeological finds point to prehistoric settlements in this area. The first historical mention of a parish on Braine-l'Alleud's current territory, then called Dudinsart, dates from 1131, date at which Godfrey I, Duke of Brabant ceded it to the Abbey of Gembloux. The Duke, however, still owned exempt land (or franchise) on this territory, as specified in a legal document by Henry I dated 1197. The name of the municipality changed to the current one, derived from “Braine”, former name of the stream that crosses its territory (now called the “Hain”), and “alleu(d)”, a medieval French word designating exempt land (English allod). The latter name was added to the former to distinguish this community from two neighbouring ones also called Braine.

At the beginning, the franchise might not have been much more than a right to local administration. By 1489, however, the local lord enjoyed complete juridical power on its territory, which was still formally part of the fiefdom obtained from the Duke of Brabant.

Battle of Waterloo
In 1815, part of the fighting that took place at the Battle of Waterloo actually occurred on the territory of Braine-l’Alleud. The town's church of Saint-Étienne became a field hospital.

Sights

 * The Lion's Mound, erected on the site of the Battle of Waterloo, attracts thousands of visitors every year. A nearby visitor centre, a wax museum and a painted Waterloo Panorama also help retrace the events that led to Napoleon's defeat in 1815.
 * Converted into a tourist information centre, the former house of Cardinal Mercier is a good starting point to explore the town.
 * Braine-l'Alleud is also home to a (slightly) smaller version of the well-known Manneken Pis, named El Gamin qui piche ("The Peeing Kid" in Walloon).
 * The hamlet of Sart-Moulin is the inverted name of which inspired Hergé's Moulinsart castle.

Sport
Braine l'Alleud is home to RCS Braine football club, founded in 1913 and one of the oldest continuously existing clubs in the country.

The city also has a successful women's basketball club, BC Castors Braine.

The free-to-play, 18-hole Parc du Bourdon disc golf course is situated 1 kilometer from Braine L'Alleud train station.

Folklore

 * Both Ophain and Braine-l'Alleud host yearly carnivals featuring giant puppets like in most other Belgian towns.

Famous inhabitants

 * Johannes Tinctoris, Franco-Flemish musicologist and composer (c. 1435–1511), was born in the municipality.
 * Désiré-Joseph Mercier, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and national hero (1851–1926)
 * Paul-Henri Spaak, politician and statesman (1899–1972)
 * Gaston Reiff, track-and-field athlete (1921–1992)
 * Amaury Bonduel, racing driver (born 1999)

Transportation
It is served by the following 10 bus lines:
 * Rail: Braine l'Alleud has its own railway station part of the SNCB/NMBS network, served by the line number 124. See Braine-l'Alleud railway station.
 * Bus: Société Régionale Wallonne du Transport (SRWT) (Walloon Regional Transport Company) operates under the name of "TEC Brabant Wallon".
 * Taxi: Multiple taxi services exist and pick up and drop off around the town.
 * Bicycle: Dedicated bicycle paths exist in the surroundings.

Twin towns – Sister cities
Braine-l'Alleud is twinned with:

title: Braine-l'Alleud


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Braine-le-Château

Braine-le-Château (Brinne-Tchestea; Kasteelbrakel, ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant.

On January 1, 2006, Braine-le-Château had a total population of 9,446. The total area is 22.70 km² which gives a population density of 416 inhabitants per km².

The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-le-Château and Wauthier-Braine, which were municipalities of their own until 1977.

Braine-le-Château is a medieval village in which remain many buildings from the Middle Ages. Among them are the pillory (1521), the village mill (c. 1200) and the Maison du Bailli (c. 1535).

title: Braine-le-Château


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Chastre

Chastre ( Tchåsse, ) is a French-speaking municipality in Belgium that is located in Wallonia, in the province of Walloon Brabant.

Its name comes from the Gallo-Roman word castra "fortress, fortified camp", from the Latin castra which is the plural form of castrum meaning "entrenchment, fortified place".

Chastre is a rural and at the same time residential municipality, with 7,684 inhabitants. Chastre comprises seven former villages: Chastre, Villeroux, Blanmont, Cortil-Noirmont, Gentinnes and Saint-Géry. It is crossed by the old Chaussée Brunehaut, a Roman way that connected Bavay to Cologne.

Located between Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve and Gembloux, 40 km from Brussels, Chastre is well served by road and railway networks. A small river called the Orne passes right through Chastre. With its tributaries, the Orne creates enchanting landscapes, surrounding magnificent farmhouses, often still fully in use. Chastre's highest point has an elevation of 165 metres. The municipality is twinned with Lespignan, Hérault department, France (since 1998) and Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Canada.

History
In the early 10th century, half of Cortil (Curtils) was owned by Saint Guibert (Wichpertus). He donated it to Gembloux Abbey, which he had just founded, in 936. The donation was confirmed in a charter of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 946.

Chastre was a municipality of the Dyle department under the French regime.

Postal history
The Chastre-Villeroux post office opened on 10 May 1876, that of Gentinnes on 28 April 1905, that of Blanmont on 27 November 1908.

Chastre has had the postal code 1450 since at least October 1990.

In 1969 (before the merger of municipalities in 1977) the postal codes were: - 5860 Chastre-Villeroux-Blanmont - 5861 Cortil-Noirmont - 5862 Gentinnes - 5863 Saint-Géry.

Heraldry
Chastre received its coat of arms on 4 July 1978. It is the coat of arms of the former municipality of Chastre-Villeroux-Blanmont, which received it on 22 April 1969, of the Kessel family (lozenges), the last lords of Blanmont, and also of the Onyn family, last lords of Chastre.

Location
Along the N4 road, approximately halfway between Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve and Gembloux, Chastre is also reachable by train (SNCB line 161 stops at Blanmont and Chastre), and by the TEC buses (depot). Chastre is surrounded by the municipalities of Walhain-Saint-Paul, Gembloux, Mont-Saint-Guibert, Sombreffe and Villers-la-Ville.

Hydrography
Chastre is crossed by two charming small rivers: the Orne and the Houssière. The former rises in Bertinchamps (Gembloux, province of Namur), and waters the villages of Cortil, Noirmont, Chastre and Blanmont before flowing by Mont-Saint-Guibert and eventually emptying into the Dyle, via the Thyle, in Court-Saint-Étienne. The latter rises in Sombreffe, near Gentinnes, which it runs through, then crosses Villeroux and eventually empties into the Orne at Mont-Saint-Guibert. It cannot be said that these two small rivers have made much of a dent in this part of the Brabant high plateau, which has an elevation of between 145 and 155 metres.

Natural environment
Despite being very green, the natural environment of Chastre is quite poor. The essentially rural vocation has changed with the population's growth and diversification. The number of agricultural enterprises is continuously decreasing. Due to its location between Brussels and Namur and to the high road and railroad connections, Chastre's countryside has had to face a strong urbanisation for more than 30 years.

Demography
On 1 November 2019, Chastre had 7,684 inhabitants (3,805 men and 3,879 women), giving a population density of 245.73 inhabitants per square km for a surface of 31.27 square km.

title: Chastre


text:
Chaumont-Gistoux

Chaumont-Gistoux (Tchåmont-Djistou) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 2006 Chaumont-Gistoux had a total population of 10,926. The total area is 48.09 km2 which gives a population density of 227 inhabitants per km2.

It was formed from the fusion, in 1977, of Dion-Valmont (itself a fusion in 1971 of Dion-le-Val and Dion-le-Mont), Bonlez, Corroy-le-Grand, Longueville and Chaumont-Gistoux. The administrative offices are now in the village of Gistoux.

It is a semi-rural municipality with several working farms, large areas given over to fields and forests, although there is a major industry of sand extraction, now mostly in decline. Due to this history there are now several haulage and construction firms based in the municipality.

Chaumont-Gistoux is on the KW-line, a defensive line erected early in the Second World War, intended to prevent invasion from Nazi Germany. A small museum houses information about the line and many exhibits from the war.

Princess Claire of Belgium grew up in Chaumont-Gistoux. The Coombs family still resides there to this day, and the Princess, her husband Prince Laurent and their children are often seen in the municipality.

Villages in the municipality
Bonlez, Chaumont, Corroy-le-Grand, Dion-le-Mont, Dion-le-Val, Gistoux, Longueville and Vieusart or (Vieux-Sart).

title: Chaumont-Gistoux


text:
Court-Saint-Étienne

Court-Saint-Étienne (Coû-Sint-Stiene) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 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 /km² inhabitants.

The municipality includes the following districts: Wisterzée, Sart-Messire-Guillaume, La Roche, Mérivaux, Suzeril, Faux, Limauges, Beaurieux, Franquenies, Le Chenoy, and Tangissart.

Sports
Court-Saint-Étienne is home to Royal Excelsior Stéphanois football club.

title: Court-Saint-Étienne


text:
Genappe

Genappe (Genepiën, ; Djinape) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant.

Demographics
As of 2023, the municipality of Genappe boasted a population of 14,266 residents. Spanning a total area of 89.57km2, the region has a population density of 15,26 inhabitants per km2.

History
Although his birthplace was probably Boulogne-sur-Mer, one 13th-century chronicler cites Baisy (now Baisy-Thy in Genappe), as the birthplace of Godfrey of Bouillon, the best-known leader of the First Crusade (1096-1099).

Postal history
The Genappe post-office opened before 1830. It used a postal code 48 with bars (before 1864), and 145 with points before 1870. BOUSVAL opened on 8 April 1880.

Postal codes in 1969 (before the merger of municipalities in 1977): - 1470 Genappe - 1471 Loupoigne - 1472 Vieux-Genappe - 1473 Glabais - 1474 Ways - 1475 Baisy-Thy - 1476 Houtain-le-Val - 1488 Bousval.

Twinned cities

 * Narborough, United Kingdom
 * Littlethorpe, United Kingdom
 * Franklin, Louisiana, United States

title: Genappe


text:
Talk:Kosovo War/Archive 1

This is a little controversial look at Kosovo. I took it from something I wrote for something else, so I'm in the process of making it more neutral
 * As it turned out I didn't do this. Undoubtedly, someone else will have an easier time making this NPOV then I will. I'm thinking of moving this to Kosovo conflict since it seems somewhat more popular, though on google they yield about the same results.- Eean

 * "Kosovo conflict" should cover tensions and trouble between Albanians and Serbians in Kosovo from 1978/80 up until now. "Kosovo war" should cover the full-scale war from march 24th to June 10th of 1999, I think. I'll start reworking Kosovo war now. -Guppie

 * Is that just what you think, or actual usage? Sounds to confusing to me - I think we shouldn't make such a differention just from using the word War as opposed to Conflict. Those using Conflict are doing so probably because it was not legally-speaking a war. -Eean

--- This page is awful. I wouldn't know where to start. Last I checked Russia was not part of NATO and they sent peacekeepers. At one point, the UN had 9000 peacekeepers from 47 countries in Kosovo.

 * Where does it say Russia is part of NATO? If it does, fix it! There's a History - feel free to edit and remove. - Eean

"the diplomatic options were not looked into enough by NATO" --according to whom? http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/Kosovo/Kosovo-Massacres.htm lists several "massacres", may have some useful information --rmhermen

-- Yeah, especially important for this article to be quite neutral, as it is going to be referenced by people interested in Milosevic's trial and The Hague human rights tribunal.

Contentious. Milosevic made the valid point that the heads of state of the countries bombing and invading Serbia didn't recognize the court, and that Tony Blair or G. W. Bush for instance would not be put on trial no matter how many kids were hit by not-too-smart bombs in AF... since he was put on trial just as that was happening, it's interesting from an international law point of view.

There's at least a "human rights"/moral necessity, a "tribunal"/legal, a diplomatic/military, and economic/ethnic/political angle in this one.

The war also broke up Yugoslavia fairly definitively into Kosovo, and the new "Serbia and Montenegro" - which renamed itself a month or two ago.

Not too many wars create three new countries and get an elected head of state put on trial, so this war needs a particularly careful treatment.

Remember to be Bold. Moving this paragraph here, as I don't like notes within the text. - Eean

Very un-NPOV paragraph, must be reworked: It is unlikely that this is what spurred the war. Many reports of Albanians being slaughtered by Yugoslavia were broadcast by western media creating a popular opinion by the general public. Many of these were later found to be false fabricated claims by separatist Albanians but these new discoveries only surfaced on certain independent media channels.

I don't have time right now, but this article needs major rewriting. It's strictly one-sided, and is hardly NPOV.

also known as humanitarian bombardment'' ... If any bomb had hit Serbian civilians, that was strictly colateral damage, and appology was issued by "humanitarian worker" Jamie Shea.''
 * I've removed these two snippets, as they appear to be sarcastic in nature. Certainly the biased reportage of the Western media and attitude of the NATO governments on the war needs to be discussed, but this isn't particularly helpful. --Brion 06:42 Jan 15, 2003 (UTC)

whoever added these photos, thanks. Vera Cruz

Vera do you think that tv screen photos are copyright free ? Ericd

Serbian TV got bombed by NATO, I don't think they are going to care. Also my understanding is that all of the photos are from the University of Belgrade and in the public domain. If you are referring to adding new photos, no they are not, but I am of the understanding that you can use a tv screenshot under educational and fair use rights. Vera Cruz

I hope I like these photos but I hope none of theses come from an occidental press agency. Ericd

I feel that the content and the selection of photos is extremely POV. It focuses almost entirely on NATO bombing mistakes (which are important, don't get me wrong) but not on the atrocities and genocide committed by the Serbians and the KLA. Can we get a little more balance here? Chadloder 12:14 Jan 24, 2003 (UTC)

I don't suppose there is any chance of anyone turning this into a properly NPOV article? It reads like a Milosevic press release at present. Tannin 13:11 Jan 26, 2003 (UTC)

This article is now MUCH improved, thanks to whoever provided the new version. However, I am going to add more details regarding the legality (or illegality) of NATO's action under international laws.

The Kosovo war is as difficult to discuss honestly and openly as Operation Desert Storm was in its day, or Guantanamo Bay probably still is. The propoganda war on all three fronts was intense and unrelenting, and once sold on a position most of the populace can't even register contradictory evidence.

When the US invaded Iraq the first time, they propped a young girl in front of the Senate who claimed she was a nurse in a Kuwaiti hospital who saw Iraqi soldiers pull babes from incubators and dash them to the ground. The newspaper stories that immediately sprang up documenting that she had been nowhere near Kuwait were immediately suppressed. Combined with the fact the U.S. envoy admits that she gave Saddam the green-light for an invasion (—but I never imagined he'd take the whole country), it's hard to describe the origins of Operation Desert Storm without sounding like an apologist for Saddam. The whole point of NPOV is not to worry about what light the facts cast the participants in. If the other side has a story, present it.

Similarly within a few hours of the Racak thing hitting the news (January of 1999) I had already culled from the KLA web-site and various Albanian discussions of KLA extortion a pretty good idea of what sort of terrorist organization we were discussing. I knew that the freely elected leader of the Kosovar Albanians—Ibrahim Rugova(footnote)—opposed the KLA, wanted an independent Kosovo, but was opposed to the military solution and preferred Kosovar dependence to NATO intervention; I knew that Yugoslavia had a fairly liberal system of government that allowed the many ethnic groups their freedom; I knew that Kosovo had been formerly Autonomous under Albanian rule and I knew what had come of that.

I thought that anyone with access to the web or other information sources (I remembered the NYTimes article about Albanian rule in the mid 1980s) should be suspicious of the whole endeavor and dig deeper into what was happening. Instead what we got was the rush to war, self-righteous war, oh yeah. Just like the current U.S. administration is trying to do with Iraq.

If your fear is that a sober and accurate assessment of the Kosovo War is going to look like a press-release for Milosevic, well that's certainly a legitimate fear, but one I think is mitigated by the anti-Albanian atrocities which commenced only after the bombing began. To claim that they would have happened anyways is not merely speculative but almost certainly false. (A much more interesting article that would actually address the core issue here would be about combatting guerilla warfare.) According to prosecution testimony in the Milosevic trial, members of the Regular Army who were involved in atrocities were arrested, tried, convicted, and punished according to army regulations. Any or most unpunished atrocities were conducted by the militia, and it is hard to fault a breakdown in the normal mechanisms of the law for handling such things in the chaos of the bombing campaign. So Milosevic may in fact be mainly free of fault in Kosovo. Don't worry, this is unlikely to have any effect on the outcome of the trial.

Footnote: Rugova has become something of a puzzle. During the war he was a courageous advocate for peace, but since the war he has become completely pro anything that keeps him in power. His testimony in the Milosevic trial contains such howlers as maintaining that no Serbian was abused by an Albanian during the 1980s when systemic anti-Serbian abuse was decried in all the major papers of the world. From the trial (responding to David Binder's 1987 NYTimes article): (Rugova) 20 A. No. No. That is not at all true. As I said earlier, at that 21 time, no violence was perpetrated by the Albanians against other ethnic 22 groups. Second, it is not true that the wells were poisoned. 23 Unfortunately, it was done by the Belgrade regime led by the accused in 24 1998, 1999. And people have been thrown in these wells. That is the 25 truth.

Page 4314 JUDGE ROBINSON: Dr. Rugova, might there have been isolated acts 2 of violence against the Serbs, as distinct from something on a wholesale 3 level? 4 THE WITNESS: (Interpretation) At that time, no. No. Not even 5 individual cases or an organised campaign.

My guesses are:
 * 1) Terrible translation problems.
 * 2) A complete political chameleon.
 * 3) the over-the-top testimony is a cry for help that the KLA are holding his family hostage (he also claims the KLA does not use and has never used terrorist means).

I just added more information about NATO justifications for action and charges of NATO war crimes. I personally feel that NATO was justified in intervening, but I also feel that NATO committed war crimes during the bombing campaign. I would like someone to take the pictures and expand the article to include a detailed list of NATO bombing "mistakes" (bombing of bridges during the daytime when trains were going over them, bombing the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, using cluster bombs near civilian targets, bombing a convoy of farmers on their tractors, etc.). I do NOT want to come off like a NATO apologist, but I'm afraid someone might interpret my arguments that way, so feel free to clarify and expand. Chadloder 20:04 Jan 26, 2003 (UTC)

I'm a little uncomfortable with the way the article is structured. Or unstructured. It needs to have some sort of table of contents or more better be broken into individual discussions of the various issues. What would be major heads inside an article in a print encyclopedia I think work better as sub-articles here in wiki-wiki-land.

I think a separate article on NATO violations of the Geneva Protocols as well as one on any Yugoslav ones (which probably don't exist as they were fighting on their own soil) would be very useful because it could be linked both from Kosovo War and from a general article discussing the impact of the Geneva Protocols on the conduct of war.

Chadloder, I'm glad you feel the bombing was justified, we need someone to lay out the justifications. On the one hand I was deeply involved when it happened and on the other it's a bit of old news. I can no longer remember which justifications NATO proferred at which time, and in the past three years I have not heard a single explanation of the assault that did not depend on atrocities that commenced after the bombing; and most of the atrocities reported at the time were later proven to have been mythical. Not that there weren't many real ones, but that the emotional impact of all the atrocities we had reported to us was falsely engendered and managed for NATO and KLA propoganda reasons.

The actual mechanism reported after the war was that NATO used KLA members as forward observers; these forward observers would variously report, fake, or create (by calling in strikes against non-KLA Albanians) atrocities; NATO would take their reports almost without question and deliver them as briefings to the press; which would in turn present them as fact to the Western public.

I don't object to putting the NATO justifications in another article and linking to it from here. The first version of the article was totally POV, but has since been revised to be somewhat better. And NATO use of the KLA is well-documented. Gen. Wesley Clark admits to it in his book. Can you please sign in and sign your statements? Thanks. Chadloder 04:24 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

Regarding the spin doctors who supposedly "were sent to work at CNN". Can someone provide a reference for this statement? What were the spin doctors' names, and when specifically did NATO send them there? I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I would like a little documentation. Thanks. Chadloder 04:32 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

Also, let's get some balance in the selection of pictures. As the article states, the war in Kosovo started before the 11-week bombing campaing and continued after it. There are plenty of pictures of Kosovo massacres by both the Serbs and the KLA, plenty of pictures of ethnic Albanians being marched from their houses -- of course these would NEVER have been shown on Serbian TV (which was controlled by Milosevic), but I'm sure we can find some. Just asking for more context. Chadloder 04:51 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

Zoe, I think the NATO bombing mistakes pictures should be left in the article. They are an important part of the story. We need to research the copyright issues, of course, but your removing them is going to look like a whitewash, especially if you move my section on NATO justifications back in here. Chadloder 05:39 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

 * They're obviously there for their shock value, and there are too many of them. One or two would be fine, as long as there were also photos of mass graves of Albanians killed by Serbs and destruction of Albanian villages.  -- Zoe

The photos SHOULD shock. I agree that we need more pictures of the REST of the Kosovo War, but some Americans, and most of the rest of the world found the bombing mistakes shocking. Chadloder 05:49 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

 * No, they, shouldn't, not in Wikipedia. We're not here as advocates, but as a neutral encyclopedia.  If you want shock, go to a news site.  -- Zoe

 * Shockingness should neither be a reason to include something or not. If war is ugly, it's not our job to censor the ugliness. Mkweise 06:07 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

War is not pretty. This is not a textbook for American schoolchildren. Chadloder 05:55 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

By the way, the following two paragraphs are far too POV:

 * The Kosovo War was significant from a military standpoint in that it marked the first effective use of low technology local ground forces in combination with high technology air power provided by the United States. This combination would also prove effective in the United States campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. Given the almost complete survival of the Yugoslav military infrastructure, it is not clear whether this approach would be effective against a totalitarian dictator (who presumably is less concerned about the civilian populations), but it was demonstrably effective against a democracy.

 * It was also significant in that it demonstrated the impotence of the United Nations and the Geneva Protocols at restraining the aggressive impulses of the world's last remaining superpower.

Where shall I begin? First, ground forces were not used. As far as I've read, the war was completely an air-war until KFOR moved in after Serbia pulled back. Second, the Yugoslav military infrastructure consisted of marauding Serbs in pickup trucks. Tanks, airplanes, etc. -- all the pieces of modern militaries, were pretty well decimated. Third, while Milosevic was democratically elected, Serbia under Milosevic and his generals wasn't a democracy, no more so than Germany was under Hitler (who was democratically elected). Get real. Milosevic is in the Hague for a reason. Chadloder 06:04 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

It is also not our place to try to shock people. Why don't we have Matthew Brady's photos of dead soldiers in the article on the American Civil War and the photo of the decapitated Japanese soldier from Life Magazine in the article on the Battle of Guadalcanal? -- Zoe

Matthew Brady's photos were staged, otherwise I would say put them in. Pictures of war are an important part of war stories. We should be after the TRUTH of war, and if the truth is shocking, so be it. Chadloder 06:12 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

Well, I'm not going to get into an edit war with you, but be sure you have the right to put the pics on this page if you do revert them. And if you do include them (and I think ten pictures is too many for any article, or however many there were), I'll take the disucssion to the mailing list for resolution. -- Zoe

I wrote long ago in another context that a carefully reasoned document that fully justifies all its conclusions is not a convincing argument, but a photo of a starving child is. The point was that only stupid people are convinced by a photo, but that includes most people. I'm not particularly convinced that photos are a necessary part of this discussion, though I do want to note that they counter the tendency of humans to disbelieve mere textual evidence. There is no need for shock here, though. Photos serve as reference and illustrative material.

I suggest a bunch of you take a nice time out and pick a few encylopedias at home or at the library and check some of the discussions of controversial justifications in history. This is actually how I usually rate encyclopedia-style texts.

It is a truth of history that sometimes wars are started for legitimate reasons, sometimes wars are started partly for legitimate reasons, and some wars arise for reasons completely alien to the reasons enunciated by the aggressive government.

The job of the encyclopediast is neither to argue the part of the underdog nor to roll over and play lap-dog to the victors and report pretext as fact. What we must do is take the claims of one side and lay them out as the claims of that side. Take the claims of the (one or more) other side and lay them out clearly. Substantiate or refute those claims as best we can, and leave the conflicting and unprovable claims clearly labeled.

If the claims of one side are completely or mostly refuted, apply the inexorable machinery of logic to them and state clearly that the justifications were clearly pretexts. Do not overreach yourself: if there was every reason to believe the justifications at the time of the initial action, then the action was justified. Do not report the Battle of New Orleans, for example, as an unwarranted aggression in time of peace. the librarian

--- and... just as Librarian was chiming in... hey, kids. Some rhyme here, maybe some reason, too. It takes time for some of these issues to have the benefit of being seen with historical perspective. The pictures of death and the crass cruelty of war bring to light the nature of evil conduct as the culprit, independent of human will or accountability. Milosevic may die for his crimes, but the deaths will still be there. Something Rumsfeld said regarding Afghan deaths by Americans, he said that all this death rest "squarely at the feet of Al-Quaeda snd the Taliban." Of course that just his opinion, and his opinion represents one whole side of this issue of collateral damage, and the policy of choosing military targets as having greater value than civilian lives - the 'American position' is unquestionably hypocritical; of 911, WTC victims were called both "innocent victims", and "soldiers in the war on terror" by policy makers - these cant both be right.

So the question is a moral one, but our question is how do we frame the moral debate in a way thats NPOV, and doesnt get too scattered. - I suggest that this moral debate fits under the Casualties of war / ( the collateral damage aricle should be short, and point to the CoW article, and within this context of CoW, we can deal with framing these moral issues. Be well all.-Stevert

Was it Napoleon who observed that ''the first casualty of war is truth"? Tannin

No.

U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson, speech before the Senate, 1917. the librarian

Ah yes, Hiram Johnson - for whom we have no article.. lib? :)-Stevert

Ha.

The Kosovo War page has changed a great deal since I skimmed it yesterday, and not for the better. Obviously emotions run high, but a firmer and less excitable hand is needed here. Which is hard in an anarchy.

A great deal of propaganda is generated in war; check out Ayn Rand's testimony before the McCarthy inquisition (http://www.objectivism.addr.com/texts/huac.html ). I particularly like her statement:
 * I don't believe the American people should ever be told any lies, publicly or privately. I don't believe that lies are practical. I think the international situation now rather supports me. I don't think it was necessary to deceive the American people about the nature of Russia. I could add this: if those who saw it say it was quite all right, and perhaps there are reasons why it was all right to be an ally of Russia, then why weren't the American people told the real reasons and told that Russia is a dictatorship but there are reasons why we should cooperate with them to destroy Hitler and other dictators? All right, there may be some argument to that. Let us hear it. But of what help can it be to the war effort to tell people that we should associate with Russia and that she is not a dictatorship?

At the end of a war the propaganda--messages crafted to elicit emotional responses like the pictures previously present were--lingers; the hatreds evoked linger and the false impressions linger. War itself creates new hatreds which must also be ameliorated before the truths can be faced. Not all American soldiers are heroes; not all Serbian soldiers are villains. Our task here is to a different purpose: What actually happened? What notable lies were told, and what is the truth?

In 1972 you could write an article that laid out the two sides of the arguments about what happened in the Watergate Hotel. In 2003 you must take the side that evidence vindicated and report that the other lied. the librarian

Truly this is a topic about ugliness. I read through the first reference article: it was a press-release for a complete document; I changed the link to refer to the report. HRW reports are less NPOV than they were ten years ago. The reporting of atrocities in this one is NPOV, but then there are sections of conclusions that are pure POV. No evidence in the slightest is presented. Depressing. the librarian

-

I'm a little confused by the latest edits; Iran was definitely a major contributor to the KLA. The edit pretends that there was meaningful (traitorous) opposition to Milosevic's rule in Yugoslavia, despite his democratic election; much more accurate to say that NATO had deceived itself as to the depth of the opposition. The Historian speaking in retrospect should not be surprised.

In other ways the edit is better writing than my version which it replaced, though I thought it important to note that the militia—responsible for most of the atrocities—had to be armed to repel a ground invasion and were frustrated and impotent in the face of the high-altitude bombing of mostly civilian targets.

 * The fact is that KLA was supported by Iran, Al Quaida and many others. But it is misleading to emphasize this as KLA was mainly nationalist - separatist movement, not Islamic one. It has Maoist ideology and is not particulary interested in Islam, nor are Albanians (part of whom, not in Kosovo though, are Christians) - they view their struggle as strictly national, not religious. Most of the support came from Albanian diaspora and narco business at Kosovo in fact.

 * Also, it is not true that most Serbs were for Milosevic. The percent of pro-Milosevic population is 20% now and was under 40% from the early 1990s, and it was less than 30% when Socialists won their last elections. Voter apathy, i.e. large number of abstinents, divided opposition, and stolen elections (votes of Kosovo Albanians, who did not vote in fact, were routinely cast falsely for Milosevic) ensured that Milosevic and Socialists had won all the elections. Their support was authentic, but most of the Serbs were against Milosevic in 1999. But when the bombing started, virtualy ALL of them were opposed to NATO and stood back behind Milosevic as supreme comander. That is evident from the free press which operated in Milosevic years - the editors and journalists were wholehartedly against NATO bombing - there was censorship, but even today they claim that that opposition was authentic

---

I only just noticed this: “Tanks, airplanes, etc. -- all the pieces of modern militaries, were pretty well decimated.”. False false false. Read KFOR's reportage of what they found when they entered Kosovo. The planes were mostly destroyed, I believe, but KFOR was aghast at the number of healthy tanks that pulled out and how few (13) had been eliminated. Additionally the air defences were protected by the simple mechanism of leaving them switched off most of the time. Please don't get too excited about repeating NATO war-time propoganda.

Here we go again. I've only been doing Wikipedia for a week and already I think it's pointless to continue editing articles. So this will probably be my last comment I ever make on this stupid encyclopedia.

''Satelite images were doctored in order to produce proofs of mass graves, but these claims were dropped when western journalists were brought to the place of the alledged mass graves. The bad reputation of Bosnian Serbs and atrocities comitted in years of Bosnian civil war have helped this demonization of the Serbs, and made these vastly exaggerated claims beliveable to the western public, especially when juxtaposited with the images of fleeing refudgees''

Here we have a statement recently inserted into the article by an anonymous user. Now the article is denying that Serbian atrocities ever took place? Based on what evidence? Are the Human Rights Watch reports and the words of the refugees themselves somehow less reliable than, say, Serbian media reports? On one side, we've got Western apologists who want to take the photos of bombing victims out because they are "shocking" -- well too f*cking bad, war is a shocking thing. On the other side, we've got the anonymous users who continue to insert statements about how no Serbian atrocities were ever committed. There are maybe one or two people I've seen in this WHOLE editing war who are interested in an article which is truthful and not propagandist. Unfortunately, I don't have the energy to fight with you people, especially when Wikipedia lets anyone just come along and insert stuff into the article. There will be no end to this. I've come to the realization that Wikipedia is not the proper format for an encyclopedia. So...this is my last Wikipedia post. Chadloder 17:37 Jan 27, 2003 (UTC)

 * The paragraph is not denying that the atrocities of Serbians took place - the inserted paragraph is pretty clear about this, as it claims that atrocities were done by Serbian militia and irregulars - see the last sentence. Overblowing the atrocities of Serbs was claimed, not the innocence of the Serbian side. One thing is to kill 5,000 Albanians in conflict and chaos and quite an other to kill 500,000 and commit genocide. Even the indictment of Milosevic does not have genocide in Kosovo (but it has it for Bosnia), as there is no case for that. The doctored photos are just one example of the lies used to demonize Serbs and brainwash the Western public

 * You are making some very serious allegations about a NATO conspiracy against the Serbs. This requires a great deal of evidence. --mav

 * Propaganda war is not the conspiracy against the Serbs. It is nothing new to use lies as a weapon in PR during the war - the doctoring of the photos is not the worst thing US military has done in many conflicts. The lies need to be exposed, as well as the demonization of any nation/side which happens to be in war.

Even after the revert, this article still needs some serious NPOVing. The anon that has been working on this article has violated our most important policy - NPOV and as a result has driven another user away in disgust. This is not acceptable behavior and I will be watching this article to make sure it begins to fairly represent all relevant sides to this issue. --mav

Cont: Talk:Kosovo War

title: Talk:Kosovo War/Archive 1


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Grez-Doiceau

Grez-Doiceau (Gré; Graven, ) is a municipality of Wallonia 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. Grez-Doiceau is watered by the Train, a tributary of the Dyle.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Archennes, Biez, Bossut-Gottechain, Grez-Doiceau, and Nethen.

The Nobel Prize-winning cytologist and biochemist Christian de Duve (1917–2013) died in Grez-Doiceau.

title: Grez-Doiceau


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Hélécine

Hélécine (Élessene; Heylissem / Heilissem, ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. It has a total area is 16.62 km2 and had total population of 3,068 as of 1 January 2006, giving it a population density of 185 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Linsmeau, Neerheylissem, and Opheylissem.

title: Hélécine


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Incourt

Incourt may refer to:
 * Incourt, Belgium, a municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant
 * Incourt, Pas-de-Calais, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France

title: Incourt


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Ittre

Ittre (Ite; Itter, ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. Since the fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1977, the municipality is composed of three districts: Haut-Ittre, Ittre and Virginal-Samme.

Ittre was the geographical center of Belgium until World War I. The geographical center was moved to Walhain due to the allocation of the East Cantons (Eupen-Malmédy) to Belgium (Treaty of Versailles).

History
Traditions mention the existence of the village of Ittre about the year 640, although the name is first documented in 877. But the site was already occupied in the Roman period and even in the Neolithic era.

Haut-Ittre (literally High-Ittre) is the name given to the village overlooking Ittre. Virginal would take its name from "Versus Altum", name given by the Gallo-Romans because of its culminating situation.

Its territory, after having belonged to Nivelles Abbey, was divided into several seigniories, Ittre and Fauquez being the most significant, the lords of which were in constant conflict over their jurisdiction, sovereignty and precedence in the territory and in the church of Ittre. These disputes ended only at the beginning of the 18th century. Among the most significant families in the seigniory of Ittre were those of Ittre, Rifflart and Trazegnies d'Ittre, and in Fauquez, the families of Ittre, Enghien, Fauquez and Herzelles. Fauquez and Ittre both furnished titles to marquisates, in 1689 and 1703 respectively.

The commune was connected with a number of notable persons, including Ambroise-Joseph de Herzelles, third marquis de Fauquez, whom the Empress Maria-Theresa appointed Superintendent and General Manager of the Finances and Domains of the Netherlands.

Religion
The foundation of the church of Ittre occurred around 640, and is principally known as the centre of the veneration of Our Lady of Ittre, which began in 1336, when a terrible plague was raging in the Low Countries. The statue of the Virgin, from the monastery at Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, was carried in procession from village to village and on her arrival in Ittre, the plague stopped. The inhabitants refused to return it to Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, and the Virgin remained in Ittre, despite subsequent litigation, in which the ecclesiastical courts always supported the church of Ittre. An annual procession was established in 1384 and has been held every year without interruption since then on August 15. Our Lady of Ittre was especially invoked against hernias or ruptures.

Saint Lutgarde has also been venerated in Ittre since the nuns of Aywiers Abbey, forced out by the French Revolution, found refuge in the Château de Fauquez in either 1796 or 1804. They brought with them the relics of Saint Lutgarde, which they gave permanently to the church of Ittre in 1819.

Buildings
Ittre contains two châteaux, the Château d'Ittre and the Château de Baudémont. The much grander Château de Fauquez was destroyed in 1827 during the construction of the Brussels-Charleroi Canal.

Churches

St Remigius' Church (1896-1899: architect Clément Léonard), in Ittre. This church contains several treasures : the shrine of Saint Lutgardis of Aywières and the statue of Our Lady of Ittre.

St Lawrence's Church is a Romanesque church in Haut-Ittre. It has preserved its sandstone tower, apse and central nave from this period.

St Peter's Church in Virginal Church of St.Peter. Rebuilt in 1827 in neoclassical style, it has stained glass windows (1928) from the old glassworks of Fauquez.

title: Ittre


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Jodoigne

Jodoigne (Geldenaken ; Djodogne ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium.

On January 1, 2006, Jodoigne had a total population of 12,440. The total area is 73.31 km2 which gives a population density of 170 pd/sqkm.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Dongelberg, Jauchelette, Jodoigne, Jodoigne-Souveraine, Lathuy, Piétrain, Saint-Jean-Geest (including the hamlet of Sainte-Marie-Geest), Saint-Remy-Geest, and Zétrud-Lumay.

In the 1568 Battle of Jodoigne, one of the early battles of the Eighty Years' War, the Spanish Duke of Alba defeated a Dutch rebel force under William the Silent.

The previous mayor of Jodoigne, Louis Michel, a liberal politician was the Belgian foreign minister from 1999 until 2004 and was the Belgian European commissioner from 2004 until 2009. The current mayor is Jean-Paul Wahl.

The asteroid 1199 Geldonia was named in its honour (from the Latin form of the name) by Eugène Delporte.

title: Jodoigne


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La Hulpe

La Hulpe (Terhulpen, ; L’ Elpe) is a municipality of Wallonia in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, 20 km south-east of the centre of Brussels, but only about 3 km from the edge of the Brussels-Capital Region. On January 1, 2007, La Hulpe had a total population of 7,309. The total area is 15.60 km2, including 3 km2 of the Sonian Forest; this gives a population density of 463 inhabitants per km2.

La Hulpe still keeps two hamlets, Gaillemarde in the west and Malaise-Bakenbos in the east. The limits of the latter hamlet and of other parts of La Hulpe were modified when the linguistic border (between French and Dutch) was fixed in 1963.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication's (SWIFT) headquarters are located in La Hulpe.

History
The name of La Hulpe comes from the Celtic word helpe, "the silver river". The brooks that water La Hulpe form a string of ponds that is called today L'Argentine.

The site was already settled 10,000 years BC, as proved by an axe made of smooth flintstone found in Gaillemarde. The village was founded by the Duke of Brabant by clearing a hill separating the valleys of Argentine and Mazerine. La Hulpe was granted municipal rights by a charter signed by Henri I on 3 June 1320. It became a mairie, where lower and higher justice was exercised, and kept its status until 1792. The pillory standing near the church was demolished under the French rule; it was partially restored and can be seen in the town hall. From 1795 to 1814, La Hulpe was the seat of a court with jurisdiction over some ten neighbouring municipalities, in an area spreading from Overijse to Waterloo. After the independence of Belgium, La Hulpe lost its administrative and political functions and was incorporated into the canton of Wavre.

The church of La Hulpe was mentioned in a document dated 1226. It is shown on the oldest representation of La Hulpe, a Brussels tapestry from the Hunts of Maximilian suite kept in the Louvre Museum, showing a hunting scene emblematic of a month in Charles V's time. The church, except the tower and the central nave, were dramatically transformed, for the last time in 1906. The King Baudouin's Memorial was built behind the church, close to the oak commemorating the centenary of Belgium.

For three centuries, the economy of La Hulpe has been driven by paper-making industry, favoured by the closeness to Brussels and the availability of pure water. The first paper mill was set up on the Grand Etang (Big Pond). In 1664, King of Spain Philip II allowed the foundation of the "Imperial and Royal Paper Manufacture" in La Hulpe. Paper-making industry was suppressed in 1970.

The castle of La Hulpe, built in French style in 1842, was purchased by Count Ernest Solvay in 1893 and transferred to the Belgian state by his grandson, Ernest-John Solvay, in 1968. It is surrounded by a 227-ha domain with pastures, woods and ponds, known as Domaine Solvay. The castle and the domain are today managed by the Walloon Region and the Domaine Solvay association. The domain was protected for its aesthetic value by Royal Decree on 10 June 1963, then registered on the Walloon main heritage list in 1993, and eventually listed as a Natura 2000 site. In 1988, the movie Le Maître de musique (The Music Teacher) by Gérard Corbiau, starring José Van Dam, was made in the castle and park of La Hulpe.

The farm of the castle, built in 1833, is the seat of the Folon Foundation, inaugurated on 27 October 2000. Jean-Michel Folon (1934–2005) is mostly known as one of the most popular illustrators and poster designers of the second half of the 20th century. In the 1990s, Folon decided to create a foundation in the Solvay Domain, a place where he used to play when he was a young boy. He transferred to the foundation more than 300 of his works and organized their scenographic presentation in 15 rooms of the former farm. The foundation welcomed 80,000 visitors during its first year of existence.

Royal La Hulpe Sporting Club
La Hulpe is home to Royal La Hulpe Sporting Club.

Famous inhabitants

 * Dr. Patrick Hunout, the founder of The Social Capital Foundation, has long lived in La Hulpe.
 * Baron Pierre de Caters (1875–1944), The first Belgian aviator, lived in the estate known today as Domaine de Nysdam.
 * Michael Klawans, basketball three-point sharpshooter. Nicknamed White Chocolate.

title: La Hulpe


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Lasne

Lasne (Lane) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, south east of Brussels.

In 2008, Lasne had a 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 municipality in Wallonia, measured by the average taxable income of the inhabitants. It also has the lowest local taxes of any municipality in Belgium.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Couture-Saint-Germain, Lasne-Chapelle-Saint-Lambert, Maransart, Ohain, and Plancenoit (including the hamlet of Marache).

While the municipality has taken the name of Lasne, the administrative offices are in the village of Ohain.

Ohain contains an example of a Brabant-Wallon village green: almost triangular in shape and sloping gently. The green contains many mature trees and is bordered on 2 sides by old houses and shops. The church in Ohain was built around the year 1200 and the strongly built square tower dates from this time.

The village of Couture-Saint-Germain contains the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey of Aywiers which has been the subject of pilgrimages since the late 19th century in honour of Saint Lutgarde who lived there for 30 years in the first half of the 13th century.

Much of the Battle of Waterloo was fought in the village of Plancenoit, notably around the church and the fortified farm of La Papelotte. The cemetery wall is said to still contain holes made by musket balls. It was in Plancenoit that Blücher's troops engaged Napoleon's army, having marched from Wavre. Blücher and Wellington met after the battle at the farm 'La Belle Alliance' - now a bar. The current historic area commemorating the battle is jointly administered by the municipalities of Lasne, Waterloo and Braine-l'Alleud.

Geography
The municipality takes its name from the river Lasne which rises in the village of Plancenoit and flows through several of the villages which make up the municipality. The name Lasne comes from the Celtic word meaning flat or calm, presumably referring to the slow moving river.

Lasne is in a region of Belgium known as the Pays Romain or Roman Land. The Grand Chemin is a major road traversing the municipality, linking the large towns of Wavre and Nivelles, and formed a part of a network of Roman roads ultimately linking the ports of the Rhine and Seine with sea ports. The distance between small chapels on this path is equal to one or more leagues, or at a precise fraction of a Gaulish league, where a Gaulish league equals 2222 m.

Economy
Lasne is a semi-rural municipality retaining several working farms. 66% of the land area is rural, of which 66% is agricultural land, and the remainder, forest and open areas. In the past, there were a silk factory and sand extraction, although there is no longer any industry within the municipality.

In 2007, Lasne was still considered as the richest municipality of Belgium, with an average taxable income of 40,949 euros per year according to the latest report of the INS (Institut National de Statistique).

Twin towns
The municipality is twinned with Azay-le-Rideau (France) and Abbeville, Louisiana (USA).

title: Lasne


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Mont-Saint-Guibert

Mont-Saint-Guibert (Mont-Sint-Wubert) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2012, Mont-Saint-Guibert had a total population of 7000. The total area is 18.63 km2 which gives a population density of 344 PD/sqkm.

In addition to Mont-Saint-Guibert itself, the municipality includes the villages of Corbais and Hévillers.

Before the owners of Stella Artois brewery bought the business, Leffe beer was brewed in the village along with Vieux Temps. The brewery was subsequently closed and production was moved to Leuven in the Flemish part of the country.

The commune is now fast developing with the arrival of many commuters who have moved from the capital city of Brussels. They are served by a local station and the nearby E411 Brussels to Luxembourg highway.

title: Mont-Saint-Guibert


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Nivelles

Nivelles (Nijvel, ; Nivele) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux.

The Nivelles arrondissement includes all the municipalities in Walloon Brabant.

The Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude has been classified as a heritage site of Wallonia.

The rise of Nivelles
Starting in 4,000 BC, the Nivelles region was gradually turned into agricultural land by the Danubian settlers. Most of their ancestral Rubanean civilization was destroyed by the Roman invaders during the first century AD. In turn, most of the Roman constructions, including villas, were destroyed during the Germanic invasions of the 3rd century.

In the 7th century, the territory was part of the Austrasian Frankish kingdom, and the Mayor of the Palace, Pippin of Landen, rebuilt a villa there that covered more than 78 km². After Pippin's death in 640, the bishop of Maastricht, the future Saint Amand, urged Pippin's widow, Itta, to found an abbey in their villa. Itta's daughter, Gertrude, became the monastery's first abbess and was venerated as a saint upon her death. The growing influx of pilgrims necessitated the construction of ever-bigger churches, which culminated in the huge Romanesque structure that still stands today. The dedication of the church took place in 1046 in the presence of Wazo, Prince-Bishop of Liège, and Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor. This was the golden age of the Nivelles monastery, which now owned territories as far as Friesland, the Moselle and the Rhine.

13th century to 1830
In the 13th century, the city that grew around the church became part of the Duchy of Brabant. The population was mainly artisans and guild members, who did not hesitate to fight the abbesses and the dukes to obtain their rights. These rights were finally granted by Joanna, Duchess of Brabant in the 14th century. In 1647, an important uprising by the thread manufacturers resulted in many of the city's entrepreneurs leaving for France, leading to the city's economic decline. The wars of the 17th century between France and the Spanish Netherlands made the situation worse as Nivelles went through successive sieges and military occupations. The Austrian and French regimes of the 18th century brought religious and administrative reforms to the city.

1830 to the present day
In 1830, Nivelles was one of the first cities to send patriotic troops to Brussels to fight in the Belgian Revolution. The following years were marked by the growth of heavy industry, including metallurgy and railway construction. The bombing of the city during World War I brought some damage to buildings, but greater devastation occurred during World War II on 14 May 1940, when almost the entire city centre was destroyed, leaving only the walls of the collegiate church standing. The rebuilding of the church was completed in 1984, but remains can be seen of wall fragments on the south side of the collegiate.

Main sights

 * The Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude, patron saint of the city, dates from the 11th to the 13th century and is one of the best examples of Romanesque style in Belgium. It has been classified as one of Europe's major heritage sites. Tombs from the Merovingian (7th century) and Carolingian (9th century) periods have been found under the church. The Romanesque crypt is one of the largest of its kind in Europe.
 * The two-meter-tall statue that strikes the hours in one of the towers (jacquemart) is affectionately known as "Jean de Nivelles". Jean dates from around 1400.
 * The Recollets convent and its church date from the 16th century.
 * Nivelles also has an archaeological museum, which complements the visit at Saint Gertrude.
 * The "Dodaine" park provides a welcome green space on the southern side of the town.

Folklore

 * Like Ath, Nivelles boasts a collection of processional giants, one of which, Goliath, dates from 1365. The Goliath family (husband, wife and son) is usually accompanied by an odd collection of giant animals, including a lion, a camel, a unicorn, and a dragon.
 * Originating in the 13th century, the well-attended Saint-Gertrude religious procession is held annually.
 * The Nivelles Carnival is more recent (19th century) and takes place on the first weekend of Lent. Like the Binche Carnival, that of Nivelles includes the famous Gilles.
 * The city's gastronomic specialty is the tarte al d'jote, a type of quiche including local cheese, onions, greens, eggs and butter.
 * Nivelles is also known for its 49-bell carillon and its four named canons.

Sports
In and, the Belgian Grand Prix was hosted at the Nivelles-Baulers circuit. Emerson Fittipaldi won the race both times. The circuit ultimately proved unpopular and has since been demolished.

In September 2007, Nivelles jointly hosted the VII European Handball Championship of Ballpelote, International fronton and International game with Buizingen.

Famous inhabitants

 * St Wilfretrudis of Nivelles – Abbess and niece of Gertrude (7th century)
 * Pippin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian kings (7th century)
 * Gertrude of Nivelles, Pippin's daughter and abbess of the Nivelles monastery (626–659)
 * Johann Tserclaes, Holy Roman Empire general in the Thirty Years' War (1559–1632)
 * Louis-Joseph Seutin, doctor and surgeon (1793–1862)
 * Jules Louis Guillery, lawyer and politician (1824–1902)
 * Henri Delmotte, novelist (1822–1884)
 * Didier Theys, racing driver (b. 1956)
 * André Lotterer, racing driver (b. 1981)

Twin city

 * 🇫🇷: Saintes

title: Nivelles


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Orp-Jauche

Orp-Jauche (Adorp-Geten, ; Oû-Djåce) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2008, Orp-Jauche had a total population of 8,400. The total area is 50.50 km² which gives a population density of 159 inhabitants per km².

The municipality consists of the following districts: Énines, Folx-les-Caves, Jauche, Jandrain-Jandrenouille, Marilles, Noduwez, and Orp-le-Grand.

title: Orp-Jauche


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Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve

Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve (Ocgniye-Li Noû Lovén) is a city and municipality of Wallonia 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 municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Ottignies, Louvain-la-Neuve, Céroux-Mousty, and Limelette. Louvain-la-Neuve (sometimes abbreviated as "LLN") is a new town developed from 1968 in order to provide a home for the University of Louvain (UCLouvain), the French-speaking part of the former Catholic University of Louvain on its separation from the Dutch-speaking part, which remained in the ancient city of Louvain (Leuven).

Louvain-la-Neuve Science Park
Created in 1971, Louvain-la-Neuve Science Park is the first of its kind in Belgium and is the biggest one in Wallonia (the French-speaking part of Belgium). It covers 231 ha spread over the area of the town of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve and the municipality of Mont-Saint-Guibert (30 km away from Brussels).

Economy
The Lhoist group, world leader in the lime, dolime and mineral solutions, has its head office in Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve (Limelette).

Sports
Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve is home to the Royal Ottignies Stimont football club (soccer) and the Rugby Ottignies Club (rugby).

title: Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve


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Perwez

Perwez (Perwé; Perwijs, ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant.

Geography and demographics
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.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Malèves-Sainte-Marie-Wastines, Orbais, Thorembais-les-Béguines, and Thorembais-Saint-Trond.

History
In Roman times, Perwez was on the Roman road from Bavay to Cologne. This resulted in three tumuli which are no longer visible today. In 1977 a tomb with several Roman artefacts was discovered near the farm of Long Pont.

In Medieval times, Perwez often suffered from its position near the border between the Duchy of Brabant and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. Perwez developed around its church and its castle, which was demolished somewhat before 1870. The main source of wealth for Perwez was its market, which relied on agricultural products.

In the modern era (1500-1800) Perwez got a cloth hall and a wheats exchange halle aux grains. In 1511 it got an annual October market. In 1577 troops paid by the rebellious States General camped near Perwez.

During the Franco-Dutch War many houses and harvests were destroyed. The subsequent Nine Years' War was utterly ruinous for Perwez.

During the 19th century Perwez saw quite some industrialization based on agriculture. In 1870 there were two watermills, two windmills, two tanneries, three breweries and a râperie.

The râperie was a very significant enterprise, which had 175 employees. It extracted juice from sugar beet, which was then sent by pipeline to the Wanze Sugar Factory. It was located on the Avenue de Rosaraie and closed down in 1959. Some remaining buildings are now used by a high-end restaurant.

During World War II Perwez suffered from an accidental disaster. On 13 May 1940, a French ammunition storage or mine in the center of town was hit and exploded. There were 33 casualties. The French then ignited other mines, leading to much destruction. On 6 September 1944 Perwez was liberated by the American 2nd Armored Division.

Buildings
There are several protected sights in Perwez.
 * Saint Roch chapel
 * Several parts of the farm on Rue Trémouroux No 94 in Orbais
 * Du Mont Farm
 * La Petite Cense Farm
 * Mellemont Farm
 * Parts of the interior of the church of Saint Martin and Saint Roch in Thorembais-les-Béguines
 * The tower of the church of Saint John
 * The church and cemetery of Thorembais-Saint-Trond

Nature
West of Thorembais-Saint-Trond there are three natural reserves:.
 * The wells of Thorembais
 * The woods of Buis
 * The swamps of Long-Pont

title: Perwez


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Ramillies, Nord

Ramillies is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.

title: Ramillies, Nord


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Rebecq

Rebecq (Ribek) is a municipality of Wallonia 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.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Bierghes, Rebecq-Rognon, and Quenast.

Notable people

 * François Huon is an artist of Rebecq.
 * Ernest Solvay (b. Rebecq 1838 - Ixelles, 1922), chemist, industrialist and philanthropist.
 * Irène Janssens
 * Pierre Tilquin, founder of Gueuzerie Tilquin

Twin towns

 * 🇮🇹 Monghidoro, Italy, from 2002

title: Rebecq


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Rixensart

Rixensart (Ricsinsåt) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2018, Rixensart had a total population of 22,401. The total area is 17.54 km2 which gives a population density of 1,277 inhabitants per km2.

The municipality consists of the following former municipalities, now districts: Rixensart, Rosières, and Genval. Genval-les-Bains is a local beauty spot, a 100-year-old lake with a fountain, and framed by trees, houses and restaurants. Rixensart is home to the beautiful private-owned Château de Rixensart.

Rixensart is served by two railway stations (at Rixensart and at Genval), connecting it with Brussels to the north and Louvain-la-Neuve to the south. The new arrival of the Brussels RER, will improve both train stations and upgrade the number of trains going from Brussels to Namur to 4 per hour. This will also bring more people to the municipality to live. The municipality is now classified as a commuter town due to its proximity to Brussels, the RER and the E411 Motorway.

Localities

 * Lake Genval
 * Bourgeois is a village located above the valley of the Lasne. It has a church and several small schools.
 * Maubroux is a village has a number of small shops, a church and is located near Genval railway station.
 * Le Patch
 * Froidmont is an old farmhouse, which was until 2010 was a Dominican convent and was garrisoned during the Battle of Waterloo
 * Le Glain is a village with a grammar school and a library.
 * Genval is a village

Sports
Rixensart is home to Royale Union Rixensartoise football club, founded in 2008 from the merger of three teams. Swimming Club Rixensart is a swimming club. Since September 2017, Rixensart also has his Ultimate Frisbee Team which shows great results in national divisions, trusting the first division in the last years.

Twin towns
Rixensart is twinned with:
 * Birstall, Leicestershire, England
 * Le Touquet, France
 * Winterberg, Germany

title: Rixensart


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Tubize

Tubize (Tubeke ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia 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.

The municipality includes the districts of Clabecq, Oisquercq, Saintes, and Tubize. Bordering Flanders, the town is home to a minority of Dutch-speakers.

Ateliers de Tubize
Les Ateliers de Tubize locomotive works was located in Tubize. At least six Tubize locomotives are preserved. One (Tubize 2069) in Belgium, two narrow gauge locomotives (2365 & 2369) in Jokioinen Museum Railways, Finland, and one narrow-gauge (2179) in Poland. One locomotive is still in operation on the Pelion railway in Greece. Three are preserved in Iran

title: Tubize


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Villers-la-Ville

Villers-la-Ville (L' Abeye) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006, Villers-la-Ville had a total population of 9,572. The total area is 47.45 km2 which gives a population density of 202 inhabitants per km2. The municipality includes also the villages of Marbais, Mellery, Sart-Dames-Avelines and Tilly.

History
To be expanded

Sites
To the north of the village lie the ruins of the Villers Abbey, which was one of the most important Cistercian abbeys of Europe. It was founded in 1147 and destroyed by the French republicans in 1795. In the ruined church attached to the abbey the tombstones of several dukes of Brabant of the 13th and 14th centuries are still to be found.

The ruins also appear in the final episode of season 2 of sense8.

Postal history
The MARBAIS post office opened on 1 June 1838. It used postal distribution code 33 with bars (before 1864), and code 235 with points before 1874. The VILLERS-LA-VILLE post-office opened on 10 February 1865. SART-DAMES-AVELINES on 15 October 1877, TILLY on 8 November 1906.

Postal codes in 1969:
 * 6318 Marbais
 * 6320 Villers-la-Ville
 * 6321 Tilly
 * 6322 Mellery
 * 6328 Sart-Dames-Avelines

Code 1495 since at least October 1990.

Transport

 * Villers-la-Ville railway station
 * Tilly railway station, in the sub-municipality of Tilly

title: Villers-la-Ville


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Walhain

Walhain (Walin) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. It consists of the former municipalities of Nil-Saint-Vincent-Saint-Martin, Tourinnes-Saint-Lambert and Walhain-Saint-Paul.

The Belgian National Geographic Institute, the Belgian national cartographical service, calculated that the geographical centre of Belgium lay in this municipality, in Nil-Saint-Vincent at 50.64111°N, 4.66806°W.

Villages of the municipality
Walhain-Saint-Paul, Walhain, Sart-lez-Walhain, Nil-Saint-Vincent, Nil-Saint-Martin, Nil-Pierreux, Lerinnes, Tourinnes-Saint-Lambert, Tourinnes les Ourdons et Perbais

Sports
Walhain has two successful national division sport teams:

Firstly, they have a semi-professional football club, RFC Wallonia Walhain CG playing in the Promotion D, which is the 4th tier of Belgian football league. They unfortunately couldn't avoid relegation in 2007 after more than 10 years in the third division.

They also have a good volleyball club, with both women's and men's teams playing in the second national division (the first division in Belgium being professional).

title: Walhain