Seneffe (; ) 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 province of Hainaut,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. On 1 January 2006 Seneffe had a total population of 10,743. The total area is 62.77 km² which gives 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 171 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 ...

: Arquennes, Familleureux, Feluy, Petit-Rœulx-lez-Nivelles, and Seneffe. The Château de Seneffe, now a museum belonging to the

French Community of Belgium In Belgium, the French Community (, , CFB) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (, , FWB), which is controversial because ...

, is located in the municipality. Seneffe was the site of a battle in 1674 between French and Dutch armies 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 ...

British Leyland

Between 1965 and 1982 Seneffe was the location of a car plant belonging to

British Leyland British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It wa ...

, which in its later years assembled models including the

Mini The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...

and the

Austin Allegro The Austin Allegro is a small family car that was manufactured by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland (BL) from 1973 until 1982. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent ...

from crated kits shipped from the company's Cowley facility. A significant milestone was reached in June 1977 when the plant produced its 500,000th vehicle, an Austin Allegro 1300 Special. The Seneffe plant was closed in 1982 as the company's aging model range lost market share across Europe, with further loss of demand resulting from the depressed state of the UK economy at the time. With alternative employment opportunities limited, the plant closure triggered considerable bitterness locally.

Monuments

* Seneffe Castle * Feluy Castle: Residence of

Philippe François de Berghes, 1st Prince of Grimberghen Philippe François de Berghes (1646–1704) was a diplomat and military commander in the Spanish Netherlands and became the first bearer of the title of prince of Grimbergen, Grimberghen. Family He was born into the House of Glymes on 17 Septemb ...

References

External links

Site of the Walloon regional archives. Inside the Water Centre of Seneffe. Photographs from 1995
* {{Authority control Municipalities of Hainaut (province)