Perwez (; ; , ) is a

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

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

located in the Belgian province of

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant ( ; ; ) 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 the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut. Walloon Br ...

Geography and demographics

On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 7,487 inhabitants. The total area is 50.81 km², giving a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

of 147 inhabitants per km². The municipality consists of the following

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

: Malèves-Sainte-Marie-Wastines, Orbais, Thorembais-les-Béguines, and Thorembais-Saint-Trond.

History

In Roman times, Perwez was on the Roman road from Bavay to Cologne. This resulted in three tumuli which are no longer visible today. In 1977 a tomb with several Roman artefacts was discovered near the farm of Long Pont. In medieval times, Perwez often suffered from its position near the border between the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant, a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085–1183, and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries. The Duchy comprised part of the Bu ...

and the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was a Roman Catholic 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 ...

. Perwez developed around its church and its castle, which was demolished somewhat before 1870. The main source of wealth for Perwez was its market, which relied on agricultural products. In the

modern era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

(1500-1800) Perwez got a cloth hall and a wheats exchange . In 1511 it got an annual October market. In 1577 troops paid by the rebellious States General camped near Perwez. During the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

many houses and harvests were destroyed. The subsequent

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

was utterly ruinous for Perwez. During the 19th century Perwez saw quite some industrialization based on agriculture. In 1870 there were two

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

s, two

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

s, two tanneries, three

breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

and a râperie, linked to a central sugar factory. The râperie was a very significant enterprise, which had 175 employees. It extracted juice from sugar beet, which was then sent by pipeline to the Wanze Sugar Factory. It was located on the Avenue de Rosaraie and closed down in 1959. Some remaining buildings are now used by a high-end restaurant. During World War II Perwez suffered from an accidental disaster. On 13 May 1940, a French ammunition storage or mine in the center of town was hit and exploded. There were 33 casualties. The French then ignited other mines, leading to much destruction. On 6 September 1944 Perwez was liberated by the American 2nd Armored Division.

Sights

Buildings

There are several protected sights in Perwez. * Saint Roch chapel * Several parts of the farm on Rue Trémouroux No 94 in Orbais * Du Mont Farm * La Petite Cense Farm * Mellemont Farm * Parts of the interior of the church of Saint Martin and Saint Roch in Thorembais-les-Béguines * The tower of the church of Saint John * The church and cemetery of Thorembais-Saint-Trond

Nature

West of Thorembais-Saint-Trond there are three natural reserves:. * The wells of Thorembais * The woods of Buis * The swamps of Long-Pont

References

Sources

External links

*
Municipal website
(in French) Municipalities of Walloon Brabant {{WalloonBrabant-geo-stub