A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

) is a subdivision of 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 ...

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 ...

and, until March 2014, in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as well.

Belgium

Each

in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 January 1961 but no longer existed as such after 1 January 1977 as the result of a merger is considered a ''section'' or ''deelgemeente'' within most municipalities. In addition, the

City of Brussels The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical centre of the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the Fl ...

is also divided in four ''sections'' that correspond to the communes that existed before their merger in 1921. The term ''deelgemeente'' is used in Dutch and the term ''section'' in

to refer to such a subdivision of a municipality anywhere in Belgium, municipalities having been merged throughout the country in the 1970s. Herefor, ''sections'' or ''deelgemeenten'' usually were independent municipalities before the fusions in the 1970s. In French, the term ''section'' is sometimes confused with ''commune'' (for: municipality), especially in larger cities like

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

and

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

as the ''sections'' composing the municipality used to be individual ''communes'' before the 1970s. It is therefore not rare to hear that Mons comprises "19 ''communes''" when in fact Mons is a single municipality (''commune'') divided into 19 ''sections''. In addition, there is the term ''ancienne commune'' (former municipality), which has no official existence. A ''section'' or ''deelgemeente'' does not bear any administrative powers. However, the

Belgian Constitution The Constitution of Belgium ( nl, Belgische Grondwet, french: Constitution belge, german: Verfassung Belgiens) dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility ...

provides the possibility of implementing ''districts'' for any municipality with at least 100,000 inhabitants, giving ''de facto'' political and administrative jurisdiction to the sections. Only the municipality of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

has implemented nine ''districts'', Belgium's lowest level of administration.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, ''deelgemeenten'' were administrative divisions that could be instituted by any municipality. The city of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

was the first to do this. In the early 1980s, the municipality was divided into fifteen deelgemeenten. This amount was decreased to eight in 2010. Seven of these were officially called '' stadsdeel''.

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

followed in the 1990s and was divided into fourteen ''deelgemeenten''.Deelgemeenten
''Deelgemeenten'' had their own mayor, the ''deelgemeentevoorzitter'', their own aldermen, ''deelgemeentewethouders'', and their own elected assembly, the ''deelgemeenteraad''. ''Deelgemeenten'' were abolished in March 2014, after the 2014 municipal elections. Since 2014, districts of Amsterdam have a ''bestuurscommissie'' (literally "governance commission"), and the ''deelgemeenten'' of Rotterdam are now called ''gebieden'' (literally "areas").

References

{{Dutch decentral government Boroughs of the Netherlands Types of administrative division Dutch words and phrases Fifth-level administrative divisions by country