Havré (; ) is a

sub-municipality A (, literally ''sub-municipality''), or section (), is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate ...

of the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

located in the province of Hainaut,

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. It was a separate

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

until 1977. On 1 January 1977, it was

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

into Mons.

Etymology

The village's name would likely originate from the old name ''Haverec''. However, etymologists are uncertain about the origin and meaning of the name. Some say it would mean ''Country of the

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

'', some other think it would mean ''cleared ground'', and more recently a German line of thought associate it with a German word that could translate to ''wild ash tree''.

Geography

Havré is a village situated at the confines of the Borinage and the Centre region. It is traversed by the Canal du Centre and the Haine river. It is situated next to Boussoit, Bray,

, Obourg, Saint-Symphorien, Ville-sur-Haine, and Villers-Saint-Ghislain.

Economy

Havré was a wealthy municipality from the 19th century to 1950, with forests, salt refinery, tannery, tabac fabric, gunpowder factory, glass factory, phosphate quarry, but mostly thanks to coal mines which employed more than a thousand people. In 1960, after the last coal mine closed, the village became a commuter-town for people mainly working in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, and

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

. In the

tertiary sector of the economy The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the seco ...

, Havré counts small and medium supermarkets, and there are retail and handicraft shops. Sport is also developed with infrastructure for tennis, football, and basketball.

Population

* 1837 : 1869 inhabitants * 1846 : 2043 inhabitants * 1860 : 1155 inhabitants * 1870 : 1915 inhabitants * 1910 : 3689 inhabitants * 1929 : 3713 inhabitants * 1961 : 5225 inhabitants * 1976 : 5390 inhabitants * 1990 : 5500 inhabitants * 2001 : 5930 inhabitants * 2004 : 5856 inhabitants * 2011 : 6157 inhabitants

Places

* Havré Castle * Train station * Place d’Havré (town square) * Church Saint-Martin (on the town square) * Priory of Saint-Antoine-in-Barbefosse * Chapel of Bon-Vouloir (Good-will)

Gallery

Image:Havré JPG01.jpg, Havré, Old Castle. Image:Havré JPG03.jpg, Havré, Chapel of "Bon Vouloir" (17th century). Image:Havré JPG05.jpg, Havré, Old water mill (19th century). Image:Havré 5604.JPG, Havré, Old

Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

. Image:0 Havré - Terril N° 1 - (2).JPG, Terril N°1 ( spoil tip Nr 1). Walking path in Bois d'Havré (DSC 1344).jpg, Bois d'Havré (forest)

References

Sub-municipalities of Mons, Belgium Former municipalities of Hainaut (province) {{Hainaut-geo-stub