Pont-à-Celles (; wa, Pont-a-Cele) is a

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

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

located in the province of Hainaut,

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 ...

. On January 1, 2018, Pont-à-Celles had a total population of 17,287. The total area is 55.73 km² which gives a

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

of 310 inhabitants per km².

Administration

The municipality consists of the following districts: Buzet,

Liberchies Liberchies ( wa, Luberciye) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Pont-à-Celles, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is situated along the previous Roman highway Bavay-Tongeren where a vicus was discovered. ...

Luttre Luttre (; wa, Lute) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Pont-à-Celles, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium, about 15 km north of Charleroi and 50 km south of Brussels along the Charleroi-Brussels ...

, Obaix, Pont-à-Celles, Thiméon, and Viesville.

Origin of the name

Pont-à-Celles draws its name from Latin ''Cella'', meaning room or cell of monk, probably because of the presence of the monastery founded in the 7th century, by

Saint Amand Amandus ( 584 – 679), commonly called Saint Amand, was a bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht and one of the great Christian missionaries of Flanders. He is venerated as a saint, particularly in France and Belgium. Life The chief source of details ...

(apostle of Belgium). The jurisdiction on which this primitive monastery was established, and then the priory of the Park, was called Celles, and later Pont-à-Celles. The name of Pont-à-Celles appears for the first time during the 16th century, when the monks of the Park built a bridge over the Pieton river near the church. The parishioners of Luttre and Hairiamont then had to cross the bridge for going to service (hence bridge to Celles, or Pont-à-Celles in French). Gradually, this name extended to all the parish whose territory covered six seigniories. When in 1795, the French replaced these six seigniories by a newly created municipality, they adopted the name of the parish (Pont-à-Celles). In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon in Waterloo, its territories were annexed to the Netherlands. With this occasion, the department of Jemappes (to which Pont-à-Celles belonged) became the province of Hainaut.

Notable people from Pont-à-Celles

The famous

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

guitarist

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

was born in

. Every May, the community honors him with the open air Django Reinhardt Jazz Festival.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pont-A-Celles Municipalities of Hainaut (province)