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
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of
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 ...
—along with
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
Covering the southern portion of the country, Wallonia is primarily
French-speaking. It accounts for 55% of Belgium's territory, but only a third of its population. The
Walloon Region
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 the
French Community of Belgium
In Belgium, the French Community (french: Communauté française; ) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (french: Féd ...
, which is the political entity responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education, are independent concepts, because the French Community of Belgium encompasses both Wallonia and the bilingual
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
-Capital Region.
There is a
German-speaking
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...
minority in eastern Wallonia, resulting from the annexation of three
cantons
A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...
previously part of the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
at the conclusion of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. This community represents less than 1% of the Belgian population. It forms the
German-speaking Community of Belgium
The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...
, which has its own government and parliament for culture-related issues.
During the
industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, Wallonia was second only to the United Kingdom in industrialization, capitalizing on its extensive deposits of coal and iron. This brought the region wealth, and from the beginning of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century, Wallonia was the more prosperous half of Belgium. Since
World War II
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 ...
, the importance of
heavy industry
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
has greatly diminished, and the Flemish Region has exceeded Wallonia in wealth as Wallonia has declined economically. Wallonia now suffers from high unemployment and has a significantly lower GDP per capita than Flanders. The economic inequalities and linguistic divide between the two are major sources of political conflicts in Belgium and a major factor in
Flemish separatism.
The capital of Wallonia is
Namur, and the most populous city is
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. . Most of Wallonia's major cities and two-thirds of its population lie along the east–west aligned
Sambre and Meuse valley, the former industrial backbone of Belgium. To the north of this valley, Wallonia lies on the Central Belgian Plateau, which, like Flanders, is a relatively flat and agriculturally fertile area. The south and southeast of Wallonia is made up of the
Ardennes, an expanse of forested highland that is less densely populated.
Wallonia borders
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and the Netherlands (the province of
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
) in the north, France (
Grand Est
Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten;
Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...
and
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...
) to the south and west, and Germany (
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
and
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
) and Luxembourg (
Capellen
Capellen ( lb, Cap/Capellen ) is a town in the commune of Mamer, in south-western Luxembourg, 12 km west of Luxembourg City. , the town has a population of 1,336. Despite not having a commune named after it, Capellen lends its name to the ...
,
Clervaux
Clervaux (; lb, Clierf or (locally) ; german: Clerf) is a commune and town in northern Luxembourg, administrative capital of the canton of Clervaux.
The town's arms, granted in 1896, show three blackbirds on a gold ground in the chief of a red ...
,
Esch-sur-Alzette
Esch-sur-Alzette (; lb, Esch-Uelzecht ; german: Esch an der Alzette or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is the second city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies ...
,
Redange
Redange or Redange-sur-Attert (; ; ) is a commune and town in northwestern Luxembourg, near the border with Belgium. It is the capital of the canton of Redange. Redange is situated on the river Attert, a tributary of the Alzette.
, the town of ...
and
Wiltz
Wiltz ( lb, Wolz or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in north-western Luxembourg, capital of the canton Wiltz. Wiltz is situated on the banks of the river Wiltz. It was also a battleground in the Battle of the Bulge, near the e ...
) to the east. Wallonia has been a member of the
Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie
The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...
since 1980.
Terminology
The term "Wallonia" can mean slightly different things in different contexts. One of the three
federal regions of Belgium is still constitutionally defined as the "Walloon Region" as opposed to "Wallonia", but the regional government has renamed itself Wallonia, and it is commonly called Wallonia. Preceding 1 April 2010, when the renaming came into effect, Wallonia would sometimes refer to the territory governed by the Walloon Region, whereas ''Walloon Region'' referred specifically to the government. In practice, the difference between the two terms is small and what is meant is usually clear, based on context.
Wallonia is a cognate of terms such as
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, Cornwall and
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
, ultimately also related to words
Celt
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
and
Belgae
The Belgae () were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth by Ju ...
, phonetically evolved over centuries. The
Germanic word
Walha
''Walhaz'' is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic word meaning 'foreigner', or more specifically 'Roman', 'Romance-speaker' or '(romanized) Celt', and survives in English as ' Welsh'. The term was used by the ancient Germanic peoples to describe inh ...
, meaning ''the strangers'', referred to Gallic or Celtic people. Wallonia is named after the
Walloons
Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak '' langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Wall ...
, a group of locals who natively speak
Romance languages
The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language fam ...
. In
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarc ...
(and French), the term Walloons included both historical secular Walloon principalities, as well as the French-speaking population of the
Prince-Bishopric of Liège
The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, ...
or the whole population of the
Romanic sprachraum
In linguistics, a sprachraum (; , "language area", plural sprachräume) is a geographical region where a common first language (mother tongue), with dialect varieties, or group of languages is spoken.
Characteristics
Many sprachräume are separ ...
within the
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
.
History
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
conquered
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
in 57 BC. The
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
became part of the larger
Gallia Belgica
Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and Germany.
In 50 BC, a ...
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
which originally stretched from southwestern Germany to
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
and the southern part of the Netherlands. The population of this territory was
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
with a
Germanic influence which was stronger in the north than in the south of the province. Gallia Belgica became progressively
romanized. The ancestors of the Walloons became
Gallo-Roman
Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...
s and were called the "
Walha
''Walhaz'' is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic word meaning 'foreigner', or more specifically 'Roman', 'Romance-speaker' or '(romanized) Celt', and survives in English as ' Welsh'. The term was used by the ancient Germanic peoples to describe inh ...
" by their Germanic neighbours. The "Walha" abandoned their
Celtic dialects and started to speak
Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve ...
.
The
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
gradually gained control of the region during the 5th century, under
Clovis. Due to the fragmentation of the former
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, Vulgar Latin regionally developed along different lines and evolved into several ''
langue d'oïl
Langue is a municipality in the Valle Department, Honduras.
The town is located near the border of El Salvador and is a regional Hammock making center. Most of the town is made up of sharecroppers and day laborers. There are usually Mormon miss ...
'' dialects, which in Wallonia became
Picard,
Walloon and
Lorrain Lorrain may refer to:
* Claude Lorrain (1600–82), a 17th-century French artist of the baroque style
* Lorrain language, a Romance dialect spoken in Lorraine region in France and Gaume region in Belgium
See also
* Lorain (disambiguation)
* Lor ...
.
The oldest surviving text written in a ''langue d'oïl'', the ''
Sequence of Saint Eulalia
The ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia'', also known as the ''Canticle of Saint Eulalia'' (french: Séquence/Cantilène de sainte Eulalie) is the earliest surviving piece of French hagiography and one of the earliest extant texts in the vernacular langue ...
'', has characteristics of these three languages and was likely written in or very near to what is now Wallonia around 880
AD.
[ Maurice Delbouille ''Romanité d'oïl Les origines : la langue – les plus anciens textes'' in ''La Wallonie, le pays et les hommes'' Tome I (Lettres, arts, culture), La Renaissance du Livre, Bruxelles,1977, pp.99–107.] From the 4th to the 7th century, the
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
established several settlements, probably mostly in the north of the province where the romanization was less advanced and some Germanic trace was still present. The language border (that now splits Belgium in the middle) began to crystallize between 700 under the reign of the
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
s and
Carolingians and around 1000 after the
Ottonian Renaissance. French-speaking cities, with
Liège as the largest one, appeared along the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
, while Gallo-Roman cities such as
Tongeren
Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...
,
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
and
Aachen
Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
became Germanized.
The
Carolingian dynasty
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...
dethroned the Merovingians in the 8th century. In 843, the
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three years of civil war and ...
gave the territory of present-day Wallonia to
Middle Francia
Middle Francia ( la, Francia media) was a short-lived Frankish kingdom which was created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun after an intermittent civil war between the grandsons of Charlemagne resulted in division of the united empire. Middle Franc ...
, which would shortly fragment, with the region passing to
Lotharingia
Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...
. On Lotharingia's breakup in 959, the present-day territory of Belgium became part of
Lower Lotharingia
The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as ''Lothier'' or ''Lottier'' , which then fragmented into rival principalities and duchies by 1190. Literary
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, which was taught in schools, lost its hegemony during the 13th century and was replaced by
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
.
In the 15th century, the
Dukes of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...
took over the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
. The death of
Charles the Bold
Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477.
...
in 1477 raised the issue of succession, and the
Liégeois took advantage of this to regain some of their autonomy.
From the 16th to the 18th century, the Low Countries were governed successively by the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
dynasty of Spain (from the early 16th century until 1713–14) and later by Austria (until 1794). This territory was enlarged in 1521–22 when
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor gained the
Tournai region from France.
Present-day Belgium was conquered in 1795 by the
French Republic during the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
. It was
annexed to the Republic, which later became the
Napoleonic Empire
The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eur ...
. After the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
, Wallonia became part of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
, national_anthem = )
, image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg
, map_width = 250px
, image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png
, map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale
, capital = ...
under King
William of Orange.
The Walloons played an active part in the
Belgian Revolution in 1830. The
Provisional Government of Belgium
The Provisional Government ( nl, Voorlopig Bewind; french: Gouvernement provisoire) was formed as a revolutionary committee of notables during the Belgian Revolution on 24 September 1830 at the Brussels City Hall under the name of Administrativ ...
proclaimed Belgium's independence and held elections for the
National Congress.
Belgian period
![Canal du Centre, l'Ascenseur No](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Canal_du_Centre%2C_l%27Ascenseur_No._3.jpg)
In the 19th century, the area began to industrialize, and Wallonia was the first fully industrialized area in
continental Europe.
This brought the region great economic prosperity, which was not mirrored in poorer Flanders and the result was a large amount of
Flemish immigration to Wallonia Flemish immigration to Wallonia was an important phenomenon in the History of Belgium. Kas Deprez wrote: ''Flanders was poor and backward in the 19th century. It hardly took part in the first industrial revolution. Flemings migrated to Wallonia (amo ...
. Belgium was divided into two divergent communities. On the one hand, the very
Catholic Flemish society was characterized by an economy centered on agriculture; on the other hand, Wallonia was the center of the continental European
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, where classical liberal and socialist movements were rapidly emerging.
Major strikes and
general strike
A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
s took place in Wallonia, including the
Walloon jacquerie of 1886
The Belgian strikes of 1886, occasionally known as the social revolt of 1886 (french: Révolte sociale de 1886), was a violent period of industrial strikes and riots in Belgium from 18 to 29 March 1886 and an important moment in Belgium's 19th-c ...
, the
Belgian general strikes of
1893, 1902, 1913 (for
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
), 1932 (depicted in ''
Misère au Borinage
''Misère au Borinage'' ( French; ), also known as ''Borinage'', is a 1934 Belgian documentary film directed by Henri Storck and Joris Ivens. Produced during the Great Depression, the film's theme is intensely socialist, covering the poor living ...
''), and 1936. After
World War II
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 ...
, major strikes included the
general strike against Leopold III of Belgium
Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasi ...
(1950), and the
1960-1961 Winter General Strike for autonomy for Wallonia.
The profitability of the heavy industries to which Wallonia owed its prosperity started declining in the first half of the 20th century, and the center of industrial activity shifted north to Flanders. The loss of prosperity caused social unrest, and Wallonia sought greater autonomy in order to address its economic problems. In the wake of the
1960-1961 Winter General Strike, the process of
state reform in Belgium got underway. This reform started partly with the
linguistic laws of 1962–63, which defined the four language areas within the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
. But the strikes of 1960 which took place in Wallonia more than in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
are not principally linked with the four language areas nor with the Communities but with the Regions. In 1968, the conflict between the communities burst out. French speakers in Flanders (who were not necessarily Walloons) were driven out of, most notably the Leuven-based
Catholic University amid shouts of "''Walen buiten''!" ("Walloons out!"). After a formal split of the university in two and the creation of a
brand new campus in Wallonia,
a wider series of
State reforms was passed in Belgium, which resulted in the federalisation of the nation and the creation of the Walloon Region and the
French Community (comprising both Wallonia and Brussels), administrative entities each of which would gain various levels of considerable autonomy.
Geography
![Régions naturelles de Belgique](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/R%C3%A9gions_naturelles_de_Belgique.jpg)
Wallonia is
landlocked, with an area of , or 55 percent of the total area of Belgium. The
Sambre and Meuse valley, from
Liège () to
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. () is an
entrenched river
An entrenched river, or entrenched stream is a river or stream that flows in a narrow trench or valley cut into a plain or relatively level upland.
Because of lateral erosion streams flowing over gentle slopes over a time develops meandering (sn ...
in a
fault line
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
which separates Middle Belgium (elevation ) and High Belgium (). This fault line corresponds to a part of the southern coast of the late
London-Brabant Massif
The London-Brabant Massif or London-Brabant Platform is, in the tectonic structure of Europe, a structural high or massif that stretches from the Rhineland in western Germany across northern Belgium (in the province of Brabant) and the North Sea t ...
. The valley, along with
Haine
The Haine (, ; ; ; pcd, Héne; wa, Hinne) is a river in southern Belgium ( Hainaut) and northern France (Nord), right tributary of the river Scheldt. The Haine gave its name to the County of Hainaut, and the present province of Hainaut. Its s ...
and
Vesdre
The Vesdre ( French, ) or Weser ( German, ) and Vesder (Dutch, ) is a river in Liège Province, eastern Belgium. A few kilometres of the upper reaches also flow through the German municipality Roetgen and form part of the Belgian–German border. ...
valleys form the ''
sillon industriel'', the historical centre of the Belgian coalmining and steelmaking industry, and is also called the Walloon industrial backbone. Due to their long industrial historic record, several segments of the valley have received specific names:
Borinage, around
Mons, le
Centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
, around
La Louvière, the
Pays noir
The ''Pays Noir'' (French, 'black country') refers to a region of Belgium, centered on Charleroi in the province of Hainaut in Wallonia so named for the geological presence of coal. In the 19th century the region rapidly industrialised first with ...
, around
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. and the Basse-Sambre, near
Namur.
To the north of the Sambre and Meuse valley lies the Central Belgian plateau, which is characterized by
intensive agriculture
Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...
. The Walloon part of this plateau is traditionally divided into several regions:
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 ...
around
Nivelles
Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) 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 Monst ...
,
Western Hainaut Picardy Wallonia (french: Wallonie-Picarde; Picard: ') or Western Hainaut (french: Hainaut-Occidental; Picard: ') is the North-West part of the province of Hainaut in Wallonia, where the Picard language is used.
Geography
The most importan ...
(french: link=no, Wallonie picarde, around
Tournai), and
Hesbaye
The Hesbaye ( French, ), or Haspengouw ( Dutch and Limburgish, ) is a traditional cultural and geophysical region in eastern Belgium. It is a loamy plateau region which forms a watershed between the Meuse and Scheldt drainage basins. It ha ...
around
Waremme
Waremme (; nl, Borgworm, ; wa, Wareme) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, in Belgium.
The city is located on the River Geer ( nl, Jeker), in the loessic Haspengouw region. The economy is based on the ...
. South of the sillon industriel, the land is more rugged and is characterized by more
extensive farming
Extensive farming or extensive agriculture (as opposed to intensive farming) is an Agriculture production system that uses small inputs of labour, fertilizers, and capital, relative to the land area being farmed.
Systems
Extensive farming is ...
. It is traditionally divided into the regions of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse,
Condroz
The Condroz () is a natural region in Wallonia (the French-speaking part of Belgium), located to the north-west of the Ardennes. Its unofficial capital is Ciney. The region preserves the name of the Condrusi, a Germanic tribe which inhabited t ...
,
Fagne-
Famenne
Famenne (; wa, Fåmene, ) is a natural region in Wallonia (southern Belgium). Together with The Fagne or la Fagne, west of the river Meuse, it is part of the Fagne-Famenne natural region. The two regions are often grouped together because they ...
, the
Ardennes and
Land of Herve
The (''Land of Herve'') is a 420 km2 natural region of Wallonia, between the rivers Vesdre and Meuse and the borders separating Belgium from the Netherlands and Germany.
The region is named after the ancient town of Herve, which is at its ...
, as well as the
Belgian Lorraine
Belgian Lorraine is the part of Lorraine that lies in the south of the Belgian province of Luxembourg, in Wallonia.
The term is used solely in a geological context, as the region borders the geologically-distinct Ardennes, to the north.
Cultural ...
around
Arlon
Arlon (; lb, Arel ; nl, Aarlen ; german: Arel ; wa, Årlon; la, Orolaunum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in and capital of the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. With a population of just over 28,000, it is th ...
and
Virton
Virton (; Gaumais: ''Viertån''; wa, Vierton) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. It is also the administrative centre of the district (''arrondissement'') of the same name, as well as the pri ...
. Dividing it into
Condroz
The Condroz () is a natural region in Wallonia (the French-speaking part of Belgium), located to the north-west of the Ardennes. Its unofficial capital is Ciney. The region preserves the name of the Condrusi, a Germanic tribe which inhabited t ...
,
Famenne
Famenne (; wa, Fåmene, ) is a natural region in Wallonia (southern Belgium). Together with The Fagne or la Fagne, west of the river Meuse, it is part of the Fagne-Famenne natural region. The two regions are often grouped together because they ...
,
Calestienne,
Ardennes (including
Thiérache
The Thiérache () is a region of France and Belgium united by similar geography and architecture, including the presence of hedgerows, grassland, hilly terrain, scattered settlements, and traditionally-built stone or brick houses with stone dividi ...
), and Belgian Lorraine (which includes the
Gaume
Gaume () is a region in the extreme southeast of Belgium. At a lower altitude than the Ardennes, it borders the French region of Lorraine to the south (although some consider the bordering parts of Lorraine to be Gaume française), the Land of ...
) is more reflective of the physical geography. The larger region, the Ardennes, is a thickly forested plateau with caves and small gorges. It is host to much of Belgium's wildlife but little agricultural capacity. This area extends westward into France and eastward to the
Eifel
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
in Germany via the
High Fens
The High Fens (german: Hohes Venn; french: Hautes Fagnes; nl, Hoge Venen), which were declared a nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a plateau region in Liège Province, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of Germany, between the ...
plateau, on which the
Signal de Botrange
Signal de Botrange is the highest point in Wallonia and in Belgium, located in the '' High Fens'' (''Hautes Fagnes'' in French, ''Hohes Venn'' in German, ''Hoge Venen'' in Dutch), at . It is the top of a broad plateau and a road crosses the sum ...
forms the highest point in Belgium at 694 metres (2,277 ft).
Subdivisions
The Walloon region covers and is divided into
five provinces,
20 arrondissements and
262 cities or municipalities.
The province of Walloon Brabant is the most recent one, being formed in 1995 after the splitting of the
province of Brabant
The Province of Brabant (, , ) was a province in Belgium from 1830 to 1995. It was created in 1815 as South Brabant, part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1995, it was split into the Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant, the French-speak ...
.
Cities
The largest cities in Wallonia are:
*
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. (204,146)
*
Liège (195,790)
*
Namur (110,428)
*
Mons (92,529)
*
La Louvière (81,138)
*
Tournai (69,792)
*
Seraing
Seraing (; wa, Serè) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Ougrée, and Seraing. With Liège, Herstal, Sai ...
(63,500)
*
Verviers
Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...
(56,596)
*
Mouscron
Mouscron (; Dutch and vls, Moeskroen, ; Picard and Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, along the border with the French city of Tourcoing, which is part of the Lille metropol ...
(55,687)
*
Herstal
Herstal (; wa, Hesta), formerly known as Heristal, or Héristal, is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. It lies along the Meuse river. Herstal is included in the "Greater Liège" agglomeration, which c ...
(38,969)
*
Braine-l'Alleud
Braine-l'Alleud (; nl, Eigenbrakel ; wa, Brinne-l'-Alou) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud (includ ...
(38,748)
*
Châtelet (36,131)
The 10 largest groups of foreign residents in 2018 are:
Science and technology
Contributions to the development of science and technology have appeared since the beginning of the country's history. The
baptismal font of
Renier de Huy
Renier de Huy (or Rainer of Huy) (also Reiner, van, etc. in any combination) was a 12th-century metalworker and sculptor to whom is attributed a major masterpiece of Mosan art, the baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège in Liège, Bel ...
is not the only example of medieval Walloon technical expertise: the words "houille" (coal) or "houilleur" (coal miner) or "grisou" (damp) were coined in Wallonia and are
Walloon in origin.
The economically important
very deep coal mining in the course of the
First Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going fr ...
has required highly reputed specialized studies for
mining engineers
Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...
. But that was already the case before the Industrial Revolution, with an engineer as
Rennequin Sualem Rennequin Sualem (1645 − 1708) was a Walloon carpenter and engineer born on 29 January 1645 in Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, in what now is Wallonia, Belgium. His given name sometimes appears as 'Renkin'.
Achievements
In 1667−68 the lieutenant-governo ...
for instance.
Engineer
Zenobe Gramme invented the
Gramme dynamo
A Gramme machine, Gramme ring, Gramme magneto, or Gramme dynamo is an electrical generator that produces direct current, named for its Belgian inventor, Zénobe Gramme, and was built as either a dynamo or a magneto. It was the first generator to ...
, the first generator to produce power on a commercial scale for industry. Chemist
Ernest Solvay
Ernest Gaston Joseph Solvay (; 16 April 1838 – 26 May 1922) was a Belgian chemist, industrialist and philanthropist.
Born in Rebecq, he was prevented by his acute pleurisy from going to university. He worked in his uncle's chemical fac ...
gave his name to the
Solvay process
The Solvay process or ammonia-soda process is the major industrial process for the production of sodium carbonate (soda ash, Na2CO3). The ammonia-soda process was developed into its modern form by the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay during the 1860s ...
for production of
soda ash
Sodium carbonate, , (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions ...
, an important chemical for many industrial uses. Ernest Solvay also acted as a major philanthropist and gave its name to the
Solvay Institute of Sociology
The Solvay Institute of Sociology ''SIS; ''Institut de Sociologie Solvay''assumed its first "definitive form" ( Solvay 1902/1906: 26) on November 16, 1902, when its founder Ernest Solvay, a wealthy Belgian chemist, industrialist, and philanthropi ...
, the
Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management
The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (abbreviated as SBS-EM and also known as simply Solvay) is a school of economics and management and a Faculty of the Université libre de Bruxelles, a French-speaking private research univ ...
and the
International Solvay Institutes for Physics and Chemistry which are now part of the
Université libre de Bruxelles. In 1911, he started a series of conferences, the
Solvay Conference
The Solvay Conferences (french: Conseils Solvay) have been devoted to outstanding preeminent open problems in both physics and chemistry. They began with the historic invitation-only 1911 Solvay Conference on Physics, considered a turning point i ...
s on Physics and Chemistry, which have had a deep impact on the evolution of quantum physics and chemistry.
Georges Lemaître
Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître ( ; ; 17 July 1894 – 20 June 1966) was a Belgian Catholic priest, theoretical physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and professor of physics at the Catholic University of Louvain. He was the first to t ...
of the
Université catholique de Louvain is credited with proposing the
Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe in 1927.
Three
Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine were awarded to Walloons:
Jules Bordet
Jules Jean Baptiste Vincent Bordet (; 13 June 1870 – 6 April 1961) was a Belgian immunologist and microbiologist. The bacterial genus ''Bordetella'' is named after him. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to him in 1919 for ...
(
Université libre de Bruxelles) in 1919,
Albert Claude
Albert Claude (; 24 August 1899 – 22 May 1983) was a Belgian-American cell biologist and medical doctor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1974 with Christian de Duve and George Emil Palade. His elementary education s ...
(ULB) together with
Christian De Duve
Christian René Marie Joseph, Viscount de Duve (2 October 1917 – 4 May 2013) was a Nobel Prize-winning Belgian cytologist and biochemist. He made serendipitous discoveries of two cell organelles, peroxisome and lysosome, for which he shared ...
(UCLouvain) in 1974.
In the present day,
Bureau Greisch has acquired an international reputation as consulting engineer and architect in the fields of structures, civil engineering and buildings, including the
Millau Viaduct
The Millau Viaduct (french: Viaduc de Millau, ) is a multispan cable-stayed bridge completed in 2004 across the gorge valley of the Tarn near (west of) Millau in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie Region, in Southern France. The design t ...
in France.
Economy
Wallonia is rich in iron and coal, and these resources and related industries have played an important role in its history. In ancient times, the
Sambre and Meuse valley was an important industrial area in the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, Wallonia became a center for
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...
working and
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
working, with
Huy
Huy ( or ; nl, Hoei, ; wa, Hu) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the ''sillon industriel'', the former industrial ...
,
Dinant and
Chimay
Chimay (, wa, Chimai) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. In 2006, Chimay had a population of 9,774. The area is 197.10 km2 which gives a populatio ...
being important regional centers. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the iron masters of
Liège developed a method of refining iron ore by the use of a blast furnace, called the
Walloon Method. There were also a few coal mines around
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. and the
Borinage during this period, but their output was small, and was principally consumed as fuel by various industries such as the important glassmaking industry that sprang up in the
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. basin during the 14th century.
In the 19th century, the area began to industrialize, mainly along the so-called
sillon industriel. It was the first fully industrialized area in
continental Europe,
and Wallonia was the second industrial power in the world, in proportion to its population and its territory, after the United Kingdom. The sole industrial centre in Belgium outside the collieries and blast furnaces of Wallonia was the historic cloth making town of
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
.
The two World Wars curbed the continuous expansion that Wallonia had enjoyed up till that time. Towards the end of the 1950s, things began to change dramatically. The factories of Wallonia were by then antiquated, the coal was running out and the cost of extracting coal was constantly rising. It was the end of an era, and Wallonia has been making efforts to redefine itself. The restoration of economical development is high on the political agenda, and the government is encouraging development of industries, notably in cutting-edge technology and in business parks.
The economy is improving, but Wallonia is not yet at the level of
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and is still suffering from difficulties.
![Belgium, Charleroi (Dampremy), Rue Arthur Decoux (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Belgium%2C_Charleroi_%28Dampremy%29%2C_Rue_Arthur_Decoux_%281%29.jpg)
The current Walloon economy is relatively diversified, although certain areas (especially around Charleroi and Liège) are still suffering from the steel industry crisis, with an unemployment rate of up to 30 percent. Nonetheless, Wallonia has some companies which are world leaders in their specialized fields, including armaments, glass production,
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
and
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
production,
cyclotron
A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Jan ...
s and aviation parts. The south of Wallonia, bordering
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, benefits from its neighbour's economic prosperity, with many Belgians working on the other side of the border; they are often called ''frontaliers''. The
Ardennes area south of the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
is a popular tourist destination for its nature and outdoor sports, in addition to its cultural heritage, with places such as
Bastogne
Bastogne (; nl, Bastenaken, ; german: Bastnach/Bastenach; lb, Baaschtnech) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogn ...
,
Dinant,
Durbuy
Durbuy (; wa, Derbu) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium.
The total area is 156.61 km², consisting of the following districts: Barvaux, Bende, Bomal, Borlon, Durbuy, Grandhan, Heyd, Izier ...
, and the famous
hot springs of
Spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
.
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 105.7 billion € in 2018, accounting for 23% of Belgian economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 25,700 € or 85% of the EU27 average in the same year.
Politics and government
![La Citadelle de Namur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/La_Citadelle_de_Namur.JPG)
Belgium is a
federal state
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
made up of three communities and three regions, each with considerable autonomy. One of these is the Walloon Region, which is governed by the
Parliament of Wallonia
The Parliament of Wallonia (french: Parlement de Wallonie) (Walloon Parliament (french: Parlement wallon) in the decrees) is the legislative body of Wallonia, one of the three self-governing regions of Belgium (the other two being Flanders and t ...
and the executive
Government of Wallonia
The Walloon Government (french: Gouvernement wallon) or Government of Wallonia (french: Gouvernement de Wallonie) is the executive branch of Wallonia, and it is part of one of the six main governments of Belgium. It sits in Namur, where the Parli ...
. The Walloon Region's autonomy extends even to foreign policy; Wallonia is entitled to pursue its own foreign policy, including the signing of treaties, and in many domains, even the Belgian federal government is not able to sign an international treaty without the agreement of the Parliament of Wallonia.
Wallonia is also home to about 80 percent of the population of the
French Community of Belgium
In Belgium, the French Community (french: Communauté française; ) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (french: Féd ...
, a political level responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education, with the remainder living in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. Wallonia is also home to the small
German-speaking Community of Belgium
The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...
in the east, which has its own government and parliament for culture-related issues. Although in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
, the
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and t ...
assigned all of its powers to the
Flemish Community, the Walloon Region remains in principle distinct from and independent from the French Community, and vice versa. Despite this, the
French Community's parliament is almost entirely composed of members of Wallonia's and Brussels' parliaments, so the bodies are governed by the same individuals. Additionally, the French Community of Belgium has controversially begun referring to itself exclusively as the 'Wallonia-Brussels Federation' to emphasize the links between the French Community, Wallonia and Brussels.
The Walloon Region has a
unicameral parliament
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
with 75 members elected for five years by direct
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
, and an executive, the
Government of Wallonia
The Walloon Government (french: Gouvernement wallon) or Government of Wallonia (french: Gouvernement de Wallonie) is the executive branch of Wallonia, and it is part of one of the six main governments of Belgium. It sits in Namur, where the Parli ...
, elected by a political majority in Parliament. The Government numbers nine members with the president. Each member is called a ''Walloon minister''. The head of the Government is called the
Minister-President of Wallonia. The coalition government for the 2014–2019 legislature was a center-left coalition
PS-
cdH until July 28 when it was replaced by a center-left coalition MR-cdH. The current Minister-President is
Elio Di Rupo
Elio Di Rupo (; born 18 July 1951) is a Belgian politician who has served as the minister-president of Wallonia since 2019. He is affiliated with the Socialist Party. Di Rupo previously served as the prime minister of Belgium from 6 December 201 ...
.
History of Walloon autonomy
"From 1831, the year of Belgium's independence, until the federalization of the country in 1970, Wallonia has increasingly asserted itself as a region in its own right." Following several
state reforms, especially the 1993 state reform, Belgium became a federal state made up of three communities and three regions, with Wallonia being represented by the Walloon Region and its two language communities. The directly elected Walloon Parliament was created in June 1995, replacing the ''Conseil régional wallon'' (Regional Council of Wallonia). The first Council had sat on 15 October 1980 and was composed of members of the
Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the
Belgian Senate
The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parli ...
elected in Wallonia.
Symbols
![Fosses-la-Ville JPG01W](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Fosses-la-Ville_JPG01W.jpg)
The first appearance of the French word ''Wallonie'' as a reference to the romance world as opposed to Germany is said to date from 1842. Two years later, it was first used to refer to the Romance part of the young country of Belgium. In 1886, the writer and Walloon militant
Albert Mockel
Albert Mockel (27 December 1866 – 30 January 1945) was a Belgian Symbolist poet. Born in Ougrée, he was the editor of '' La Wallonie'', an influential journal of Belgian, and even European, Symbolism. He died in January 1945 in Ixelles
...
, first used the word with a political meaning of cultural and regional affirmation, in opposition with the word ''Flanders'' used by the
Flemish Movement
The Flemish Movement ( nl, Vlaamse Beweging) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgium, Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought ...
. The word had previously appeared in German and Latin as early as the 17th century.
The rising of a Walloon identity led the
Walloon Movement
The Walloon Movement (french: Mouvement wallon) is an umbrella term for all Belgian political movements that either assert the existence of a Walloon identity and of Wallonia and/or defend French culture and language within Belgium, either withi ...
to choose different symbols representing Wallonia. The main symbol is the "bold rooster" (french: link=no, coq hardi), also named "Walloon rooster" (french: link=no, coq wallon, wa, cok walon), which is widely used, particularly on arms and flags. The rooster was chosen as an emblem by the
Walloon Assembly on 20 April 1913, and designed by
Pierre Paulus
Pierre Paulus (1881–1959), later Baron Pierre Paulus de Châtelet, was a Belgian expressionist painter. He is best known as the designer of the "bold rooster" (french: coq hardi) adopted on 3 July 1913 as the symbol of the Walloon Movement and ...
on 3 July 1913.
The
Flag of Wallonia
The flag of Wallonia is a sub-national flag in Belgium that represents the Walloon Region and French Community. Designed in 1913, the flag depicts a red rooster, commonly known as the ''bold rooster'' (french: coq hardi) or ''Walloon rooster'' ...
features the red rooster on a yellow background.
An anthem, (''The Walloons' Song''), written by Theophile Bovy in 1900 and composed by Louis Hillier in 1901, was also adopted. On September 21, 1913, the "national" feast day of Wallonia took place for the first time in
Verviers
Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...
, commemorating the participation of Walloons during the
Belgian Revolution of 1830. It is held annually on the third Sunday of September. The Assembly also chose a
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
for Wallonia, "Walloon Forever" ( wa, Walon todi), and a cry, "Liberty" (french: link=no, Liberté). In 1998, the
Walloon Parliament
The Parliament of Wallonia (french: Parlement de Wallonie) (Walloon Parliament (french: Parlement wallon) in the decrees) is the legislative body of Wallonia, one of the three self-governing regions of Belgium (the other two being Flanders and t ...
made all these symbols official except the motto and the cry.
Religion
The population of Wallonia is predominantly of Christian heritage. In 2016, 68% of residents of Wallonia declared themselves to be
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
(21% were practising Catholics and 47% were non-practising), 3% were
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, 3% were
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Christian, 1% were of other religions and 25% were non-religious.
Languages
Official languages
French is by far the main language of Wallonia and holds official status; in the
East Cantons
Eupen-Malmedy is a small, predominantly German-speaking region in eastern Belgium. It consists of three administrative cantons around the towns of Eupen, Malmedy, and Sankt Vith which encompass some . Elsewhere in Belgium, the region is common ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
is also official.
The
German-speaking Community of Belgium
The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...
accounts for about 2% of the region's population.
Belgian French
Belgian French (french: français de Belgique) is the variety of French spoken mainly among the French Community of Belgium, alongside related Oïl languages of the region such as Walloon, Picard, Champenois, and Lorrain (Gaumais). The Frenc ...
, which is also spoken in the
Brussels-Capital Region
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, is similar to that spoken in France, with slight differences in pronunciation and some vocabulary differences, notably the use of the words ''septante'' (70) and ''nonante'' (90), as opposed to ''soixante-dix'' and ''quatre-vingt-dix'' in France.
There are noticeable Walloon accents, with the accent from
Liège and its surroundings being perhaps the most striking. Other regions of Wallonia also have characteristic accents, often linked to the regional language.
Regional languages
Walloons
Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak '' langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Wall ...
traditionally also speak regional Romance languages, all from the ''
Langues d'oïl'' group. Wallonia includes almost all of the area where
Walloon is spoken, a
Picard zone corresponding to the major part of the
Hainaut Province, the
Gaume
Gaume () is a region in the extreme southeast of Belgium. At a lower altitude than the Ardennes, it borders the French region of Lorraine to the south (although some consider the bordering parts of Lorraine to be Gaume française), the Land of ...
(district of
Virton
Virton (; Gaumais: ''Viertån''; wa, Vierton) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. It is also the administrative centre of the district (''arrondissement'') of the same name, as well as the pri ...
) with the
Lorrain language
Lorrain is a language (often referred to as patois) spoken by now a minority of people in Lorraine in France, small parts of Alsace and in Gaume in Belgium. It is a langue d'oïl.
It is classified as a regional language of France and has the r ...
and a
Champenois zone. There are also regional Germanic languages, such as the
Luxembourgish language
Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide.
As a standard form of th ...
in
Arelerland
The Land of Arlon (Luxembourgish/german: Arelerland, , ; french: Pays d'Arlon, ; Dutch: ''Land van Aarlen'' )In isolation, ''van'' is pronounced . is the traditionally Luxembourgish-speaking part of Belgian Lorraine, which is now predominantly ...
(Land of
Arlon
Arlon (; lb, Arel ; nl, Aarlen ; german: Arel ; wa, Årlon; la, Orolaunum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in and capital of the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. With a population of just over 28,000, it is th ...
). The regional languages of Wallonia are more important than in France, and they have been officially recognized by the government. With the development of education in French, however, these dialects have been in continual decline. There is currently an effort to revive Walloon dialects; some schools offer language courses in Walloon, and Walloon is also spoken in some radio programmes, but this effort remains very limited.
Culture
Literature
In Walloon
Literature is written principally in French but also in Walloon and other regional languages, colloquially called Walloon literature.
Walloon literature (regional language not French) has been printed since the 16th century. But it did have its golden age, paradoxically, during the peak of the
Flemish immigration to Wallonia Flemish immigration to Wallonia was an important phenomenon in the History of Belgium. Kas Deprez wrote: ''Flanders was poor and backward in the 19th century. It hardly took part in the first industrial revolution. Flemings migrated to Wallonia (amo ...
in the 19th century: "That period saw an efflorescence of Walloon literature, plays and poems primarily, and the founding of many theaters and periodicals." The
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
possesses a surprisingly large collection of literary works in Walloon, quite possibly the largest outside Belgium, and its holding are representative of the output. Out of nearly a thousand, twenty-six were published before 1880. Thereafter the numbers rise gradually year by year, reaching a peak of sixty-nine in 1903, and then they fall again, down to eleven in 1913. See 'Switching Languages', p. 153. Yves Quairiaux counted 4800 plays for 1860–1914, published or not. In this period plays were almost the only popular show in Wallonia. But this theater remains popular in the present-day Wallonia: Theater is still flourishing, with over 200 non-professional companies playing in the cities and villages of Wallonia for an audience of over 200,000 each year. There are links between French literature and (the very small) Walloon literature. For instance
Raymond Queneau
Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour.
Biography
Queneau w ...
set
Editions Gallimard
Edition may refer to:
* Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies
* Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run
* Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text
* Edition Recor ...
the publication of a Walloon Poets' anthology.
Ubu roi
''Ubu Roi'' (; "Ubu the King" or "King Ubu") is a play by French writer Alfred Jarry, then 23 years old. It was first performed in Paris in 1896, by Aurélien Lugné-Poe's Théâtre de l'Œuvre at the Nouveau-Théâtre (today, the Théâtre de ...
was translated in Walloon by
André Blavier ( an important
pataphysician of
Verviers
Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...
, friend of Queneau), for the new and important
Puppets
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to mov ...
theater of Liège of Jacques Ancion, the
Al Botroûle theater "at the umbilical cord" in Walloon indicating a desire to return to the source (according to Joan Cross). But Jacques Ancion wanted to develop a regular adult audience. From the 19th century, he included the Walloon play ''Tati l'Pèriquî'' by E.Remouchamps and the avant-garde ''
Ubu roi
''Ubu Roi'' (; "Ubu the King" or "King Ubu") is a play by French writer Alfred Jarry, then 23 years old. It was first performed in Paris in 1896, by Aurélien Lugné-Poe's Théâtre de l'Œuvre at the Nouveau-Théâtre (today, the Théâtre de ...
'' by
A.Jarry. For Jean-Marie Klinkenberg, "the dialectal culture is no more a sign of attachment to the past but a way to participate to a new synthesis".
In French
Jean-Marie Klinkenberg (member of the
Groupe µ) wrote that Wallonia, and literature in Wallonia, has been present in French language since its formation. In their 'Histoire illustrée des lettres française de Belgique', Charlier and Hanse (editors), La Renaissance du livre, Bruxelles, 1958, published 247 pages (on 655 ), about the "French" literature in the Walloon provinces (or Walloon principalities of the Middle-Age, sometimes also Flemish provinces and principalities), for a period from the 11th to the 18th century. Among the works or the authors, the
Sequence of Saint Eulalia
The ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia'', also known as the ''Canticle of Saint Eulalia'' (french: Séquence/Cantilène de sainte Eulalie) is the earliest surviving piece of French hagiography and one of the earliest extant texts in the vernacular langue ...
(9th century),
La Vie de Saint Léger (10th century),
Jean Froissart
Jean Froissart (Old and Middle French: ''Jehan'', – ) (also John Froissart) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meliador'', a long Arthurian ...
(14th century in the
County of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut (french: Comté de Hainaut; nl, Graafschap Henegouwen; la, comitatus hanoniensis), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belg ...
),
Jean d'Outremeuse
Jean d'Outremeuse or ''Jean des Preis'' (1338 in Liège – 1400) was a writer and historian who wrote two romanticised historical works and a lapidary.
''La Geste de Liége'' is an account of the mythical history of his native city, Liège, writt ...
,
Jean Lebel
Jean Le Bel (c. 1290 – 15 February 1370) was a chronicler from Liège.
Biography
Jean Le Bel's father, Gilles le Beal des Changes, was an alderman of Liège. Jean entered the church and became a canon of the cathedral church, but he and his b ...
,
Jean Lemaire de Belges Jean Lemaire de Belges (c. 1473c. 1525) was a Walloon poet and historian, and pamphleteer who, writing in French, was the last and one of the best of the school of poetic 'rhétoriqueurs' (“rhetoricians”) and the chief forerunner, both in style ...
(16th century from
Bavay
Bavay () is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The town was the seat of the former canton of Bavay.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Bavaisiens'' or ''Bavaisiennes''
Geography
Bava ...
), the
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
of
Ligne
The ''ligne'' ( ), or line or Paris line, is a historic unit of length used in France and elsewhere prior to the adoption of the metric system in the late 18th century, and used in various sciences after that time. The ''loi du 19 frimaire an V ...
(18th century,
Beloeil). There is a Walloon
Surrealism, especially in
Hainaut Province.
Charles Plisnier
Charles Plisnier (13 December 1896, Ghlin – 17 July 1952, Brussels) was a Belgian writer from Wallonia.
Biography
He was a Communist in his youth and briefly belonged to the Trotskyist movement in the late 1920s. He disavowed communism, ...
(1896–1952), born in Mons, won the
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...
in 1936, for his novel ''Mariages'' and for ''Faux Passeports'' (short stories denouncing Stalinism, in the same spirit as
Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler, (, ; ; hu, Kösztler Artúr; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was a Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. In 1931, Koestler join ...
). He was the first foreigner to receive this honour. The Walloon
Georges Simenon
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Early life and education ...
is likely the most widely read French-speaking writer in the world, according to the
Tribune de Genève
The ''Tribune de Genève'' (English: ''Geneva Tribune'') is a Swiss French-language, regional daily newspaper, published in Berliner format by Edipresse in Geneva.
History and operations
The ''Tribune de Genève'' was first published by J ...
. More than 500 million of his books have been sold, and they have been translated into 55 languages. There is a link between the
Jean Louvet's work and the social issues in Wallonia.
In Picard
Picard is spoken in
Hainaut Province of western Belgium. Notable Belgian authors who wrote in Picard include
Géo Libbrecht,
Paul Mahieu,
Paul André
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
,
Francis Couvreur and
Florian Duc.
Mosan art, painting, architecture
Mosan art
Mosan art is a regional style of art from the valley of the Meuse in present-day Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Although in a broader sense the term applies to art from this region from all periods, it generally refers to Romanesque ar ...
is a regional style of
Romanesque art
Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic Art, Gothic style in the 12th century, or later depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 1 ...
from the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
river valley in present-day Wallonia, and the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
, with manuscript illumination, metalwork, and enamel work from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. Among them is the masterpiece of
Renier de Huy
Renier de Huy (or Rainer of Huy) (also Reiner, van, etc. in any combination) was a 12th-century metalworker and sculptor to whom is attributed a major masterpiece of Mosan art, the baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège in Liège, Bel ...
and perhaps of the whole Mosan art
Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège. The architecture of Roman churches of the
Walloon country are also named mosan, exemplified by the
Collegiate Church of Saint Gertrude
The Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude is a historical building in Nivelles, Walloon Brabant, Wallonia, Belgium, which was built in the 11th century. Saint Gertude is the patron saint of cats.
History
This church was built to serve the Abbey ...
in
Nivelles
Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) 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 Monst ...
, and the churches of
Waha Waha ( wa, Wahå) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Marche-en-Famenne, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium.
The village of Marloie is a part of the district.
Etymology
The name "Waha" comes from the C ...
and
Hastière
Hastière (; wa, Astire) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium.
On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 5,230 inhabitants. The total area is , giving a population density of 93 inhabitants per square kilometre.
...
,
Dinant. The
Ornamental brassware
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
is also a part of the Mosan art and among these dinandiers
Hugo d'Oignies
Hugo of Oignies (french: Hugo d'Oignies, before 1187 in Walcourt – c. 1240 in Oignies) was a lay brother of Oignies Abbey. He was a metalworker and painter and is the last of the great jewelers of Mosan art. He is a representative of the sc ...
and
Nicholas of Verdun
Nicholas of Verdun (c. 1130 – c. 1205) was a renowned metalworker, goldsmith and enamellist active around the years 1180–1205. He was born in the city of Verdun, Upper Lorraine. The region extending from the valley of the Rhine and Meuse ri ...
.
Jacques du Broeucq
Jacques du Broeucq (c.1505 – c.1584) was a sculptor and architect from Southern Netherlands, who is believed to have spent c. 1530-35 in Italy.
Jacques du Broeucq was born and died in Mons and is perhaps best known as the teacher of Giambologna ...
was a sculptor of the 16th century.
Flemish art
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
was not confined to the boundaries of modern Flanders and several leading artists came from or worked in areas in which langues d'oïl were spoken, from the region of modern Wallonia, e.g.
Robert Campin
Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified with the Master of Flémalle (earlier the Master of the Merode Triptych, before the discovery of three other similar panels), was the first great master of Early Netherlandish paint ...
,
Rogier van der Weyden
Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...
(Rogier de la Pasture) and
Jacques Daret
Jacques Daret (c. 1404 – c. 1470) was an Early Netherlandish painter born in Tournai (Doornik; now in Belgium), where he would spend much of his life. Daret spent 15 years as a pupil in the studio of Robert Campin, alongside Rogier or Rogelet ...
.
Joachim Patinir
Joachim Patinir, also called Patenier (c. 1480 – 5 October 1524), was a Flemish Renaissance painter of history and landscape subjects. He was Flemish, from the area of modern Wallonia, but worked in Antwerp, then the centre of the art market ...
Henri Blès are generally called
mosan painters.
Lambert Lombard
Lambert Lombard (c. 1505 – August 1566) was a Renaissance painter, architect and theorist for the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. During his career he worked for Jan Gossaert in Middelburg and trained Frans Floris.
Biography
Lombard was bor ...
(
Liège, 1505 – 1566) was a
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
painter, architect and theorist for the
Prince-Bishopric of Liège
The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, ...
. Gérard de Lairesse, Bertholet Flemalle were also important painters in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.
Gustave Serrurier-Bovy (
Liège, 1858 – Antwerp, 1910) architect and furniture designer, credited (along with Paul Hankar, Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde) with creating the Art Nouveau style, coined as a style in Paris by Bing. And in
Liège also, principally Jean Del Cour, the sculptor of the Virgin in ''Vinâve d'Isle'', Léon Mignon the sculptor of ''Li Tore'' and Louis Jéhotte of the statue of Charlemagne.
George Grard (1901—1984) was a Walloon sculptor, known above all for his representations of the female, in the manner of Pierre Renoir and Aristide Maillol, modelled in clay or plaster, and cast in bronze.
During the 19th and 20th centuries many original romanticism, romantic, expressionism, expressionist and surrealism, surrealist Wallon painters emerged, including Félicien Rops, Paul Delvaux,
Pierre Paulus
Pierre Paulus (1881–1959), later Baron Pierre Paulus de Châtelet, was a Belgian expressionist painter. He is best known as the designer of the "bold rooster" (french: coq hardi) adopted on 3 July 1913 as the symbol of the Walloon Movement and ...
, Fernand Verhaegen, Antoine Wiertz, René Magritte ... The avant-garde COBRA (avant-garde movement), CoBrA movement appeared in the 1950s.
Music
There was an important musical life in
Prince-Bishopric of Liège
The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, ...
since the beginning. Between 1370 and 1468 flourished a school of music in Liège, with Johannes Brassart, Johannes de Sarto and firstly Johannes Ciconia, the third Master of Ars Nova.
The vocal music of the so-called Franco-Flemish School developed in the southern part of the Low Countries and was an important contribution to Renaissance culture. Robert Wangermée and Philippe Mercier wrote in their encyclopedic book about the Walloon music that
Liège, Cambrai and
Hainaut Province played a leading part in the so-called Franco-Flemish School.
Among them were Orlande de Lassus, Gilles Binchois, Guillaume Dufay In the 19th and 20th centuries, there was an emergence of major violinists, such as Henri Vieuxtemps, Eugène Ysaÿe (author of the unique opera in
Walloon during the 20th century ''Piére li houyeû'' – Pierre the miner – based on a real incident which occurred in 1877 during a miners' strike in the Liège region), and Arthur Grumiaux, while Adolphe Sax (born in
Dinant) invented the saxophone in 1846. The composer César Franck was born in
Liège in 1822, Guillaume Lekeu in
Verviers
Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...
. More recently, André Souris (1899–1970) was associated with
Surrealism. Zap Mama is a more international group.
Henri Pousseur is generally regarded as a member of the Darmstadt School in the 1950s. Pousseur's music employs serialism, mobile forms, and aleatory, often mediating between or among seemingly irreconcilable styles, such as those of Franz Schubert, Schubert and Anton Webern, Webern (''Votre Faust''), or Pousseur's own serial style and the protest song "We shall overcome" (''Couleurs croisées''). He was strongly linked to the social strikes in
Liège during the 1960s. He worked also with the French writer Michel Butor.
Cinema
Walloon films are often characterized by social realism. It is perhaps the reason why the documentary ''
Misère au Borinage
''Misère au Borinage'' ( French; ), also known as ''Borinage'', is a 1934 Belgian documentary film directed by Henri Storck and Joris Ivens. Produced during the Great Depression, the film's theme is intensely socialist, covering the poor living ...
'', and especially its co-director Henri Storck, is considered by Robert Stallaerts as the father of the Walloon cinema. He wrote: "Although a Fleming, he can be called the father of the Walloon cinema.". For F. André between ''Misère au Borinage'' and the films like those of the Dardenne brothers (since 1979), there is ''Déjà s'envole la fleur maigre'' (1960) (also shot in the
Borinage), a film regarded as a point of reference in the history of the cinema. Like those of the Dardenne brothers, Thierry Michel, Jean-Jacques Andrien, Benoît Mariage, or, e.g. the social documentaries of Patric Jean, the director of Les enfants du Borinage writing his film as a letter to Henri Storck. On the other hand, films such as Thierry Zéno's ''Vase de noces'' (1974), ''Mireille in the life of the others'' by Jean-Marie Buchet (1979), ''C'est arrivé près de chez vous'' (English title: ''Man Bites Dog (film), Man bites dog'') by Rémy Belvaux and André Bonzel (1992) and the works of Noël Godin and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (author-filmmaker), Jean-Jacques Rousseau are influenced by surrealism, absurdism and black comedy. The films of the Dardenne brothers are also inspired by the Bible and ''The Son (2002 film), Le Fils'' for instance is regarded as one of the most spiritually significant films.
Festivals
The Ducasse de Mons (Walloon French for Kermesse (festival), Kermesse), is one of the UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It comprises two important parts: the procession, the descent and the ascent of the shrine of Waltrude, and the combat between Saint George and the dragon. The combat (after the procession), plays out on the Trinity Sunday between 12:30 pm and 1:00 pm on the
Mons's central square. It represents the fight between Saint George (the good) and the dragon (the evil). The dragon is a mannequin carried and moved by the ''white men'' (''fr:Hommes blancs''). The dragon fights Saint George by attacking with his tail. Saint George on his horse turns clockwise and the dragon turns in the other direction. Saint George finally kills the dragon.
The Gilles of Binche and the giants' procession in Ath are also UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Cuisine
![Orval et son verre crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Orval_et_son_verre_crop.jpg)
Wallonia is famous for a number of different foods and drinks, a great many of which are specialties of certain cities or regions. The Liège waffle a rich, dense, sweet, and chewy waffle native to Liège, is the most popular type of waffle in Belgium, and can be found in stores and even vending machines throughout the country. Cougnou, or the ''bread of Jesus'', is a sweet bread typically eaten around Christmas time and found throughout the region.
Other specialties include Herve cheese, an apple butter called ''sirop de Liège'', the Garden strawberry of Wépion. Also notable is the
Dinant specialty Flamiche: These cheese tarts are not found in window displays as they are meant to be eaten straight from the oven. As one restaurateur stated in a book about Walloon gastronomy "it is the client who waits for the flamiche, as the flamiche does not wait for the client". There are also the
Ardennes ham, the ''tarte al djote'' from
Nivelles
Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) 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 Monst ...
, a dessert pie made with beet leaves and cheese, while tarte au riz is a rice-pudding filled pie from
Verviers
Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...
. The Walloons of the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin have a tradition of making what is called a Belgian Pie but which is a flat pie more like a pizza covered with prune purée and topped with a thin cheese layer. These were made by the dozens in outdoor stone ovens for the many kermisses, in a tradition that dates back to immigration in the 1850s.
A signature Walloon sausage is called Belgian Trippe among the Walloon community of Northeastern Wisconsin on the Door Peninsula. It is a blend of pork and cabbage made differently from household to household and probably based on a traditional Walloon sausage such as Boudin Verte d'Orp. Cussette is a fresh cheese which gets its airborne ''P. roqueforti'' culture from a tradition of making it in the kitchen. This is aged only one week at 30 degrees C, until it develops a faint blue cast and a tang. Walloon headcheese differs from the German in that it is more finely ground, includes bits of cartilage, and is allowed to sit for a month or two in a cool place before being eaten.
In terms of drink, Wallonia mirrors Belgium as a whole; beer and wine are both popular, and a great diversity of beers are made and enjoyed in Wallonia. Installed in Bierghes in the Senne valley, the Gueuzerie Tilquin is the only gueuze blendery in Wallonia. Wallonia boasts three of the seven Trappist beers (from
Chimay
Chimay (, wa, Chimai) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. In 2006, Chimay had a population of 9,774. The area is 197.10 km2 which gives a populatio ...
, Orval Brewery, Orval and Rochefort, Belgium, Rochefort) in addition to a great number of other locally brewed beers. Wallonia is also home to the last bastion of traditional rustic ''saison'', most notably those produced at the Brasserie de Silly and the Brasserie Dupont (located in :fr:Tourpes, Tourpes, in the region of Western
Hainaut Province historically known for its production of rustic farmhouse ales). Jupiler, the best-selling beer in Belgium, is brewed in Jupille-sur-Meuse in
Liège. Wallonia also home to a Jenever called Peket, and a May wine called Maitrank.
Transportation
Airports
The two largest cities in Wallonia each have an airport. The Brussels South Charleroi Airport has become an important passenger airport, especially with low fares companies such as Ryanair or Wizzair. It serves as a low-cost alternative to Brussels Airport, and it saw 7 303 720 passengers in 2016. The Liège Airport is specialized in freight, although it also operates tourist-oriented charter flights. Today, Liège is the 8th airport for European freight and aims to reach the 5th rank in the next decade.
Railways, motorways, buses
TEC (transport), TEC is the single public transit authority for all of Wallonia, operating buses and trams.
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. is the sole Walloon city to have a Rapid transit, metro system, the Charleroi Pre-metro.
Wallonia has an extensive and well-developed rail network, served by the Belgian National Railway Company, SNCB.
Wallonia's numerous motorways fall within the scope of the TransEuropean Transport network programme Trans-European Transport Network, (TEN-T). This priority programme run by the European Union provides more than 70,000 km of transport infrastructure, including motorways, express rail lines and roadways, and has been developed to carry substantial volumes of traffic.
Waterways
With traffic of over 20 million tonnes and 26 kilometres of quays, the autonomous port of Liège (PAL) is the third largest inland port in Europe. It carries out the management of 31 ports along the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
and the Albert Canal. It is accessible to sea and river transporters weighing up to 2,500 tonnes, and to push two-barge convoys (4,500 tonnes, soon to be raised to 9,000 tonnes). Even if Wallonia does not have direct access to the sea, it is very well connected to the major ports thanks to an extensive network of navigable waterways that pervades Belgium, and it has effective river connections to Antwerp, Rotterdam and Dunkirk.
On the west side of Wallonia, in
Hainaut Province, the Strépy-Thieu boat lift, permits river traffic of up to the new 1350-tonne standard to pass between the waterways of the Meuse and Scheldt rivers. Completed in 2002 at an estimated cost of €160 million (then 6.4 billion Belgian francs) the lift has increased river traffic from 256 kT in 2001 to 2,295 kT in 2006.
File:Aeroport de Charleroi Bruxelles Sud.jpg, Brussels South Charleroi Airport
File:Namur, treinstation 2007-05-01 10.22.JPG, Namur Railway Station
File:Métro 54 partant de la station Charleroi-Sud (redressée).jpg, Charleroi Pre-metro
File:Bus TEC Liège-Verviers (extérieur).JPG, TEC (transport), TEC Bus in Liège
International relations
Trade
The Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency (AWEX) is the Wallonia Region of Belgium's government agency in charge of foreign trade promotion and foreign investment attraction.
The AWEX organizes regular trade missions to the promising market of Kazakhstan, where it has a representative office in Almaty. In 2017, the AWEX together with the Flanders Investment and Trade brought a delegation of 30 companies to Astana and Almaty, the two largest cities in Kazakhstan.
Twin towns and sister cities
* Aichi, Japan
* Maryland, USA
See also
* History of coal mining
* Manifesto for Walloon culture
* Huguenots
References
Footnotes
Notes
Further reading
*
External links
www.wallonie.beLogistics in WalloniaTourism in WalloniaMusique en Wallonie
{{Authority control
Wallonia,
Walloon culture
Autonomous regions
French-speaking countries and territories
Regions of Belgium
NUTS 1 statistical regions of the European Union
Walloon people