Fleurus

Fleurus
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Fleurus in Hainaut
Fleurus Location in Belgium
Sovereign state	Belgium
Region	Wallonia
Community	French Community
Province	Hainaut
Arrondissement	Charleroi
Coordinates	50°29′0″N 04°32′0″E / 50.483333°N 4.533333°E / 50.483333; 4.533333Coordinates: 50°29′0″N 04°32′0″E / 50.483333°N 4.533333°E / 50.483333; 4.533333
Area	59.28 km²
Population – Males – Females – Density	22,221 (2006-01-01) 47.88% 52.12% 375 inhab./km²
Unemployment rate	22.00% (1 January 2006)
Mean annual income	€11,155/pers. (2003)
Mayor	Jean-Luc Borremans
Governing parties	PS
Postal codes	6220-6224
Area codes	071
Website	www.fleurus.be

Fleurus is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006 Fleurus had a total population of 22,221. The total area is 59.28 km² which gives a population density of 375 inhabitants per km². The Postal code is 6220 for most places.

Villages

Fleurus has 7 villages:

• Brye (wa: Briye) - Postal code: 6222
• Heppignies (wa: Epniye)
• Lambusart (wa: Lambussåt)
• Saint-Amand (wa: Sint-Amand)
• Wagnelée (wa: Wagnlêye)
• Wanfercée-Baulet (wa: Wanfercêye-Bålet)
• Wangenies (wa: Wanjniye)

History

Traces of agriculture dating back to the Neolithic Age were found in area known as Fleurjoux and Neuve Baraque. During the Roman times, construction of roads like the (chaussée Brunehaut between Bavay and Cologne).

In October of 1155, Henry IV of Luxembourg, also Count of Namur freed the commune which became the city of Fleurus. Henry IV had a castle in Heppignies.

There have been three battles fought near the town of Fleurus:

• The Battle of Fleurus (1622) in the Thirty Years' War.
• The Battle of Fleurus (1690) in the Nine Years' War.
• The Battle of Fleurus (1794) in the French Revolutionary Wars.

The last battle (of the French time) known as of Fleurus took place in 1815 in Ligny, it was indeed of Fleurus that Napoleon I carried his last victory before the defeat of Waterloo.

During the Two World Wars, Fleurus was the theatre of confrontations, but not of the battle with the Vieux Campinaire where tanks of the Allies took place in September 1944.

The municipality's area grew by .1 km².

Historical population