Deelgemeenten
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A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section (
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
) is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well.


Belgium

Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 January 1961 but no longer existed as such after 1 January 1977 as the result of a merger is considered a ''section'' or ''deelgemeente'' within most municipalities. In addition, the
City of Brussels The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well a ...
is also divided in four ''sections'' that correspond to the communes that existed before their merger in 1921. The term ''deelgemeente'' is used in Dutch and the term ''section'' in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
to refer to such a subdivision of a municipality anywhere in Belgium, municipalities having been merged throughout the country in the 1970s. Herefor, ''sections'' or ''deelgemeenten'' usually were independent municipalities before the fusions in the 1970s. In French, the term ''section'' is sometimes confused with ''commune'' (for: municipality), especially in larger cities like
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
Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...
as the ''sections'' composing the municipality used to be individual ''communes'' before the 1970s. It is therefore not rare to hear that Mons comprises "19 ''communes''" when in fact Mons is a single municipality (''commune'') divided into 19 ''sections''. In addition, there is the term ''ancienne commune'' (former municipality), which has no official existence. A ''section'' or ''deelgemeente'' does not bear any administrative powers. However, the Belgian Constitution provides the possibility of implementing ''districts'' for any municipality with at least 100,000 inhabitants, giving ''de facto'' political and administrative jurisdiction to the sections. Only the municipality of
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
has implemented nine ''districts'', Belgium's lowest level of administration.


Netherlands

In the Netherlands, ''deelgemeenten'' were administrative divisions that could be instituted by any municipality. The city of Amsterdam was the first to do this. In the early 1980s, the municipality was divided into fifteen deelgemeenten. This amount was decreased to eight in 2010. Seven of these were officially called ''
stadsdeel A stadsdeel (; pl. ''stadsdelen''; lit. ''city part'') is the name used for urban or municipality districts in some of the larger municipalities of the Netherlands. Amsterdam calls 7 of its 8 ''deelgemeenten'' ''stadsdeel''. They form a level of ...
''. Rotterdam followed in the 1990s and was divided into fourteen ''deelgemeenten''.Deelgemeenten
''Deelgemeenten'' had their own mayor, the ''deelgemeentevoorzitter'', their own aldermen, ''deelgemeentewethouders'', and their own elected assembly, the ''deelgemeenteraad''. ''Deelgemeenten'' were abolished in March 2014, after the 2014 municipal elections. Since 2014, districts of Amsterdam have a ''bestuurscommissie'' (literally "governance commission"), and the ''deelgemeenten'' of Rotterdam are now called ''gebieden'' (literally "areas").


References

{{Dutch decentral government Boroughs of the Netherlands Types of administrative division Dutch words and phrases Fifth-level administrative divisions by country