Waterloo, Belgium
Encyclopedia
Waterloo (Walloon
: Waterlô) is a Walloon municipality
located in the province of Walloon Brabant
, Belgium
. On December 31, 2009, Waterloo had a total population of 29,573. The total area is 21.03 km² which gives a population density
of 1,407 inhabitants per km². Nearly one fifth of the current registered population (5,499 inhabitants) are non-Belgian, many of whom work for institutions or companies in Brussels
, a political centre of the European Union
. These numbers were released by the municipality of Waterloo. Bordering Flanders, the town is home to a minority of Dutch-speakers.
origin. The first element is most likely water which should be understood in Waterloo not as "water" but as "wet". The second element is lo(o), an ancient word for "forest" or "clearing in a forest", coming from the Latin words lucus (forest) or lucum (clearing in a forest), cognate with the English place name suffix -ley or independent name Leigh
. The early settlement was located on a marshy clearing in the Sonian Forest
.
Waterloo was located in the Duchy of Brabant
created in 1183 with Leuven
(B) as the capital city. The Duchy of Brabant
was extending from Luttre
(B) till 's-Hertogenbosch (NL) in 1477. Brussels
became the capital city of the Duchy of Brabant in 1267 and the capital city of the Burgundian Netherlands in 1430.
Waterloo started to develop during the 17th century. A royal chapel was built in 1687 in Petit-Waterloo. This chapel still exists and was extended in 1826 at the back to form today's main church of Waterloo.
Because of the new ideas following the French revolution in 1789, the Holy Roman Emperor (who was governing present day Belgian territories) wanted to impose reforms. It was followed by a period of unrest that ended with the French invasion in 1794. The old regime (rights of the seigniors, the power of the monasteries, the church keeping official registers) was abolished.
Until 1796, Waterloo was divided into two parts (Grand-Waterloo and Petit-Waterloo) depending, respectively, of the parishes of Braine-l'Alleud (Bishopric of Namur) and of Sint-Genesius-Rode (Bishopric of Mechelen).
A new system based on municipalities was established in 1796. The municipality of Waterloo was created from Petit-Waterloo detached from Sint-Genesius-Rode and 3 former hamlets (Grand-Waterloo, Joli-Bois, Mont-Saint-Jean) detached from Braine-l’Alleud. In 1813, half of the hamlet of Chenois was detached from Braine-l’Alleud and became part of Waterloo. In 1824, Waterloo grew again as the areas Roussart and Sainte-Gertrude from the Sonian Forest (Foret de Soignes) became part of the municipality too. Waterloo had 1571 inhabitants in 1801 and 3202 in 1846.
In 1795, the invaded territories were divided into 9 departments. Some municipalities, including Waterloo, became part of the Dyle department, which became the province of Brabant Méridional in 1815 under the Dutch rule after the defeat of Napoleon. It changed name in 1830 when Belgium became independent and became the province of Brabant for 165 years.
In 1977, the second half of the hamlet of Chenois was detached from Braine-l’Alleud and became part of Waterloo together with a part of the hamlet next to the Lion.
In 1995, the province of Brabant was divided to match the limits of the regions created in 1980 (Wallonia, Brussels, Flanders). The part in which Waterloo is situated became the province of Walloon Brabant.
The Battle of Waterloo
took place in Waterloo on June 18, 1815 between the First French Empire
of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Alliance of the Seventh Coalition (the United Kingdom
, Prussia
, Austria
and others), under the main allied commanders, the Duke of Wellington
and General von Blücher
.
The strategic location of Waterloo on a paved road towards Brussels explains why the battle took place just south of Waterloo. It was important for the allies to stop Napoleon from reaching Brussels, and Waterloo was the last settlement to cross before negotiating the forest and getting to Brussels.
There is a memorial in the form of a statue of a lion (looking towards France
) on a hill, with 226 stairs, called La Butte du Lion. Other attractions related to the battle are the Wellington Museum and the Roman Catholic Church of St. Joseph
, where Wellington is said to have prayed before going into battle and where British and Dutch plaques commemorating the fallen are now to be seen.
In 1929, 145ha of the first estate was sold to an American business man, Mr William Tuck, who built another castle called "chateau Bellevue". The property was sold to the Belgian Government in 1949 who used it to host important visitors during the Universal exhibition of 1958. After the marriage of King Baudouin with Queen Fabiola, the previous king Leopold III and his wife Princess Lilian moved out of the castle of Laeken in 1961 and moved in the castle Bellevue which became known as the royal castle of Argenteuil. The castle was occupied by the royal family until 2003 when Princess Lilian died. It was sold to a Belgian business man, Mr Delwart, in 2004.
and Luttre
was inaugurated on 1 June 1874. Luttre was already connected to Charleroi since 1843. Waterloo is a local railway station along the line Charleroi-Sud - Nivelles - Brussels. Unfortunately, the fast intercity trains running between Charleroi-Sud - Brussels - Antwerpen-Centraal do not stop in Waterloo because they stop at the nearby IC station of Braine-l'Alleud.
The L (local) trains Nivelles - Waterloo - Brussels - Antwerpen-Centraal and Braine-l'Alleud - Waterloo - Etterbeek (East of Brussels) - Aalst stop every hour in Waterloo.
There are currently big works going on to enlarge the railway line between Nivelles - Waterloo - Linkebeek (South of Brussels) to allow a higher frequency of local and intercity trains.
hypermarket in Mont-Saint-Jean, a Delhaize store, an Ibis Hotel, several BNP Paribas Fortis branches, office parks to the east of the town and two international schools: St. John's International School
and the "Scandinavian School". As a result Waterloo is a polyglot and multicultural town, the Commune offers services in French, Dutch, and English. A row of shops, called Petit Paris is situated on the Chaussée de Bruxelles (which becomes Chaussée de Waterloo or Waterloosesteenweg when leaving Waterloo in the North and nearing Brussels).
Walloon language
Walloon is a Romance language which was spoken as a primary language in large portions of the Walloon Region of Belgium and some villages of Northern France until the middle of the 20th century. It belongs to the langue d'oïl language family, whose most prominent member is the French language...
: Waterlô) is a Walloon municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located in the province of Walloon Brabant
Walloon Brabant
Walloon Brabant is a province of Wallonia in Belgium. It borders on the province of Flemish Brabant and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut . Its capital is Wavre...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. On December 31, 2009, Waterloo had a total population of 29,573. The total area is 21.03 km² which gives a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 1,407 inhabitants per km². Nearly one fifth of the current registered population (5,499 inhabitants) are non-Belgian, many of whom work for institutions or companies in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, a political centre of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. These numbers were released by the municipality of Waterloo. Bordering Flanders, the town is home to a minority of Dutch-speakers.
Etymology
The placename is of DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
origin. The first element is most likely water which should be understood in Waterloo not as "water" but as "wet". The second element is lo(o), an ancient word for "forest" or "clearing in a forest", coming from the Latin words lucus (forest) or lucum (clearing in a forest), cognate with the English place name suffix -ley or independent name Leigh
Leigh
- In England :* Leigh, Dorset* Leigh, Greater Manchester** Leigh * Leigh, Kent* Leigh, Staffordshire* Leigh, Surrey* Leigh, Wiltshire* Leigh, Worcestershire* Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset...
. The early settlement was located on a marshy clearing in the Sonian Forest
Sonian Forest
The Sonian Forest is a forest that lies across the south-eastern part of Brussels, Belgium.The forest lies in the Flemish municipalities of Sint-Genesius-Rode, Hoeilaart, Overijse and Tervuren, in Uccle, Watermael-Boitsfort, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre in the Brussels-Capital Region and in...
.
History
The name of Waterloo was mentioned for the first time in 1102 designating a small hamlet at the limit of a big forest (Sonian Forest) along a major road linking Brussels and Genappe, and further south the coal mines area. Waterloo was located at the crossing of the main road with a path leading to a farm (cense in Walloon). The crossing still exists : chaussée de Bruxelles with Boulevard de la Cense. Waterloo was a place where travellers and carriers of goods (mainly coal) could rest and escape the bandits at night.Waterloo was located in the Duchy of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
created in 1183 with Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
(B) as the capital city. The Duchy of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
was extending from Luttre
Luttre
Luttre is a small village in Wallonia, Belgium, about 50 km south of Brussels along the Charleroi-Brussels Canal, railway line and motorway. Its name means crystal clear water...
(B) till 's-Hertogenbosch (NL) in 1477. Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
became the capital city of the Duchy of Brabant in 1267 and the capital city of the Burgundian Netherlands in 1430.
Waterloo started to develop during the 17th century. A royal chapel was built in 1687 in Petit-Waterloo. This chapel still exists and was extended in 1826 at the back to form today's main church of Waterloo.
Because of the new ideas following the French revolution in 1789, the Holy Roman Emperor (who was governing present day Belgian territories) wanted to impose reforms. It was followed by a period of unrest that ended with the French invasion in 1794. The old regime (rights of the seigniors, the power of the monasteries, the church keeping official registers) was abolished.
Until 1796, Waterloo was divided into two parts (Grand-Waterloo and Petit-Waterloo) depending, respectively, of the parishes of Braine-l'Alleud (Bishopric of Namur) and of Sint-Genesius-Rode (Bishopric of Mechelen).
A new system based on municipalities was established in 1796. The municipality of Waterloo was created from Petit-Waterloo detached from Sint-Genesius-Rode and 3 former hamlets (Grand-Waterloo, Joli-Bois, Mont-Saint-Jean) detached from Braine-l’Alleud. In 1813, half of the hamlet of Chenois was detached from Braine-l’Alleud and became part of Waterloo. In 1824, Waterloo grew again as the areas Roussart and Sainte-Gertrude from the Sonian Forest (Foret de Soignes) became part of the municipality too. Waterloo had 1571 inhabitants in 1801 and 3202 in 1846.
In 1795, the invaded territories were divided into 9 departments. Some municipalities, including Waterloo, became part of the Dyle department, which became the province of Brabant Méridional in 1815 under the Dutch rule after the defeat of Napoleon. It changed name in 1830 when Belgium became independent and became the province of Brabant for 165 years.
In 1977, the second half of the hamlet of Chenois was detached from Braine-l’Alleud and became part of Waterloo together with a part of the hamlet next to the Lion.
In 1995, the province of Brabant was divided to match the limits of the regions created in 1980 (Wallonia, Brussels, Flanders). The part in which Waterloo is situated became the province of Walloon Brabant.
Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
took place in Waterloo on June 18, 1815 between the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Alliance of the Seventh Coalition (the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and others), under the main allied commanders, the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
and General von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt , Graf , later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 with the Duke of Wellington.He is...
.
The strategic location of Waterloo on a paved road towards Brussels explains why the battle took place just south of Waterloo. It was important for the allies to stop Napoleon from reaching Brussels, and Waterloo was the last settlement to cross before negotiating the forest and getting to Brussels.
There is a memorial in the form of a statue of a lion (looking towards France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) on a hill, with 226 stairs, called La Butte du Lion. Other attractions related to the battle are the Wellington Museum and the Roman Catholic Church of St. Joseph
Church of Saint Joseph, Waterloo
The Church of Saint Joseph of Waterloo is an 18th century Belgian church in Waterloo dedicated to Saint Joseph.-Origins:...
, where Wellington is said to have prayed before going into battle and where British and Dutch plaques commemorating the fallen are now to be seen.
Castles of Argenteuil
A big estate (around 250 ha) in the Sonian Forest was acquired by the family De Meeus in 1831. Ferdinand De Meeus gave the name Argenteuil to this new acquired property. A first castle was built in 1835 but was destroyed by a fire in 1847. A luxurious castle was re-built in 1856-1858 with very nice gardens around it. The estate remained in the De Meeus family until 1920 when the property was put in an estate company called "Domaine d'Argenteuil" created by the family De Meeus. The castle (with around 20ha and a farm) was acquired by carmelites sisters who moved from Uccle to Argenteuil in 1940. After finding out that the castle was not meeting their needs,the Carmelites sisters built a new convent which still exists today at another location in Waterloo and moved out in 1947. The castle was sold to another estate company which sold it to the Belgian Government in 1949. Preparing the site of the Universal exhibition of 1958 in Laeken, Brussels, the Belgian Government moved the French speaking section of the technical school for Girls "Ecole Normale Ménagère et Agricole de l'Etat" from Laeken to the newly purchased castle of Argenteuil in Waterloo. The first batch of young girls moved in the castle in September 1950. All was done in the castle itself : cooking lessons in the cellars, bedrooms upstairs, ... Later on, other State schools came on the site and classrooms were built outside the castle. The different school sections were closed or moved to another locations at the end of the eighties. The "Scandinavian School" established in Rhode-St-Genèse purchased the site in 1990 and moved in during 1992.In 1929, 145ha of the first estate was sold to an American business man, Mr William Tuck, who built another castle called "chateau Bellevue". The property was sold to the Belgian Government in 1949 who used it to host important visitors during the Universal exhibition of 1958. After the marriage of King Baudouin with Queen Fabiola, the previous king Leopold III and his wife Princess Lilian moved out of the castle of Laeken in 1961 and moved in the castle Bellevue which became known as the royal castle of Argenteuil. The castle was occupied by the royal family until 2003 when Princess Lilian died. It was sold to a Belgian business man, Mr Delwart, in 2004.
Railway
The station of Waterloo was inaugurated on the 1st of February 1874 at the same time than the startup of the connection Waterloo to Brussels. The line extension towards the South to NivellesNivelles
Nivelles is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the old communes of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux....
and Luttre
Luttre
Luttre is a small village in Wallonia, Belgium, about 50 km south of Brussels along the Charleroi-Brussels Canal, railway line and motorway. Its name means crystal clear water...
was inaugurated on 1 June 1874. Luttre was already connected to Charleroi since 1843. Waterloo is a local railway station along the line Charleroi-Sud - Nivelles - Brussels. Unfortunately, the fast intercity trains running between Charleroi-Sud - Brussels - Antwerpen-Centraal do not stop in Waterloo because they stop at the nearby IC station of Braine-l'Alleud.
The L (local) trains Nivelles - Waterloo - Brussels - Antwerpen-Centraal and Braine-l'Alleud - Waterloo - Etterbeek (East of Brussels) - Aalst stop every hour in Waterloo.
There are currently big works going on to enlarge the railway line between Nivelles - Waterloo - Linkebeek (South of Brussels) to allow a higher frequency of local and intercity trains.
Modern-day Waterloo
Today, Waterloo is home to the European headquarters of MasterCard International. There is a CarrefourCarrefour
Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...
hypermarket in Mont-Saint-Jean, a Delhaize store, an Ibis Hotel, several BNP Paribas Fortis branches, office parks to the east of the town and two international schools: St. John's International School
St. John's International School
St. John's International School is an international private day school located in Waterloo, Belgium. The school was founded by a group of Catholic nuns belonging to Faithful Companions of Jesus in 1964. The school has a student body from a very international background with students from most...
and the "Scandinavian School". As a result Waterloo is a polyglot and multicultural town, the Commune offers services in French, Dutch, and English. A row of shops, called Petit Paris is situated on the Chaussée de Bruxelles (which becomes Chaussée de Waterloo or Waterloosesteenweg when leaving Waterloo in the North and nearing Brussels).
Mound of Waterloo
The mound of Waterloo was erected on the famous battlefield located south of Waterloo.Twin towns — sister cities
Waterloo is twinned with:| Nagakute, Japan Rambouillet Rambouillet Rambouillet is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is located in the suburbs of Paris southwest from the center... , France |