Belœil (; pcd, Baileul; wa, Beleul) is a
municipality of
Wallonia located in the
province of Hainaut
Hainaut (, also , , ; nl, Henegouwen ; wa, Hinnot; pcd, Hénau), historically also known as Heynowes in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium.
To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clock ...
,
Belgium.
It is around 10 km south of
Ath. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 13,347 inhabitants. The total area is 61.55 km², giving a
population density of 217 inhabitants per km².
The municipality consists of the following districts:
Aubechies
Aubechies ( pcd, Obechî) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Belœil, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Aubechies is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie ("The Most Beautiful Villages of Wall ...
,
Basècles, Belœil,
Ellignies-Sainte-Anne,
Grandglise,
Quevaucamps,
Ramegnies,
Stambruges,
Thumaide, and
Wadelincourt.
The municipality is named after the
château of Belœil, once the seat of
Charles-Joseph, Prince of Ligne
Charles-Joseph Lamoral, 7th Prince de Ligne in French; in German Karl-Joseph Lamoral 7. Fürst von Ligne (also known as Karl Fürst von Ligne or ''Fürst de Ligne''): (23 May 1735 – 13 December 1814) was a field marshal, inhaber of an infant ...
, a military officer and man of letters who corresponded with
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and
Voltaire.
History
The history of the chateau is nebulous but the original construction of a fort or castle at the site is generally thought to date to the 14th century. This site was the seat of the barons of the Ligne family originating from Ligne in Hainault, a place about 8 kilometres from Beloeil. The earliest recorded baron of the House of Ligne was Fastré de Ligne, signatory to a charter dated 1047 and others of the name mentioned in a charter of Baudouin IV, count of Hainaut, dated to 1123.
Postal history
Post-offices opening dates before 1910:
- Beloeil on 28 June 1858. It used a Distribution postal code 8 with bars (before 1864), and 35 with points before 1874.
- Basècles on 21 April 1862. It used a Distribution postal code 126 with bars (before 1864), and 30 with points before 1874.
- Quevaucamps on 13 March 1876.
- Stambruges on 12 November 1888.
- Ramegnies-Chin on 27 June 1896.
Postal codes in 1969:
- Aubechies 7672
- Basècles 7660
- Beloeil 7970
- Ellignies-Sainte-Anne 7671
- Quevaucamps 7670
- Ramegnies 7663
- Ramegnies-Chin 7721
- Stambruges 7980
- Thumaide 7662
- Wadelincourt 7661
Since at least October 1990:
[Les numéros postaux belges en vigueur à partir du 1/10/1990, La Poste.]
- 7520 Ramegnies-Chin
- 7970 Beloeil
- 7971 Basècles, Ramegnies, Thumaide, Wadelincourt
- 7972 Aubechies, Ellignies-Sainte-Anne, Quevaucamps
- 7973 Grandglise, Stambruges
Famous inhabitants
Apart from many members of the
House of Ligne, living in the castle, other famous people to have lived here include:
*
Émilie Dequenne
Émilie Dequenne (, born 29 August 1981) is a Belgian actress. She first gained attention for playing the title character in the film ''Rosetta'' (1999), which earned her the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. She then went on to star ...
, actress
*
Pierre Descamps
Pierre Paul Louis Albert César Descamps (; 15 October 1916 – 19 April 1992) was a Belgian politician and burgomaster for the PLP.
Descamps was born in Ath; he was a licentiate in philosophy and literature and an industrialist. He was burgoma ...
, politician
*
Baron Empain
Baron Empain is a title of nobility of the Kingdom of Belgium. The title was created in 1907 by Leopold II of Belgium for Édouard Empain, a wealthy Belgian engineer, entrepreneur, financier and industrialist, as well as an amateur Egyptologist. ...
, entrepreneur and Egyptologist
Twin towns
*
Maybole,
Scotland,
UK
References
External links
*
Official site of the château
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beloil
Municipalities of Hainaut (province)