Chaumont-Gistoux (; wa, Tchåmont-Djistou) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

located in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

province of

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant (french: Brabant wallon ; nl, Waals-Brabant ; wa, Roman Payis) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and ...

. 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 Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

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 Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in concre ...

, 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 The Koningshooikt—Wavre Line, abbreviated to KW Line (french: Ligne KW; nl, KW-stelling) and often known as the Dyle Line after the Dijle (Dyle) river, was a -long fortified line of defence prepared by the Belgian Army between Koningshooikt ...

, a defensive line erected early in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, intended to prevent invasion from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. 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).

Notes

References

External links

* Municipalities of Walloon Brabant {{WalloonBrabant-geo-stub