Waha ( wa, Wahå) is a village of

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 ...

and a district of the municipality of

Marche-en-Famenne Marche-en-Famenne (, literally ''Marche in Famenne''; wa, Måtche-el-Fåmene, ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. The municipality consists of the following districts: Aye, Hargimont, Hum ...

, located in the

province of Luxembourg Luxembourg (french: Luxembourg ; nl, Luxemburg ; german: Luxemburg ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; wa, Lussimbork), also called Belgian Luxembourg, is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on the country of Luxembourg to the ea ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The village of

Marloie Marloie ( wa, Mårloye) is a village of Wallonia in the municipality of Marche-en-Famenne, district of Waha, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. The so-called ''Vieille cense'' (') in the middle of Marloie is a medieval fortified far ...

is a part of the district.

Etymology

The name "Waha" comes from the Celtic proper name "Wachart". The Latin name of the location was "Wachardi mansus", meaning "Wachart's dwelling".

History

Waha in the 10th century belonged to the territory of count Immon. The first church was built only 100 meters from the present church and was dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. In 1050 the present church of Saint Étienne was dedicated by Theodwin, prince-bishop of Liège. The

collegiate chapter In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

of Saint Étienne was dissolved during the time of the French First Republic.

Art historical significance

The church of Saint Étienne in Waha is one of the oldest Romanesque churches in Belgium. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of the church is only four arches long. The

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

has a rectangular shape and is unvaulted. It is also lower than the nave ceiling, which is not uncommon in early Mosan architecture. The

westwork A westwork (german: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interio ...

tower is slightly younger than the rest of the church. In 1956-1957 the church underwent major restoration work as well as art historical investigation. It was then that the dedication stone from 1050 was found. There are also some sculptures by the ''Master of Waha'' in the church. The church's greatest treasure is the reliquary shrine of Saint Étienne.

Gallery

Image:Waha JPG00.jpg, Image:Waha JPG00c.jpg, Image:Waha JPG00i.jpg, Image:Waha JPG01.jpg,

External links

Official website ''Marche-en-Famenne''
{{coord , 50.2125, N, 5.3431, E, region:BE_type:city, display=title Former municipalities of Luxembourg (Belgium) Marche-en-Famenne