Comines-Warneton (; ; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of

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 ...

. It is contiguous with the identically named Comines on the other side of the border with France. On 1 January 2006 it had a total population of 17,562. Its total area is 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 . The name "Comines" is believed to have a Celtic, or Gaulish, origin. Comines-Warneton is a municipality with language facilities for Dutch-speakers. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bas-Warneton, Comines, Houthem,

Ploegsteert Ploegsteert (; ; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Comines-Warneton, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the most westerly settlement of Wallonia. It is approximately north of the French border. Cr ...

, and

Warneton Warneton (; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Bounding communes and places *Warneton, Belgium (part of Comines-Warneton) * Comines, east * Quesnoy-sur-Deûle, southea ...

(including the hamlet of Gheer). They were all transferred in 1963 from the

arrondissement of Ypres The Arrondissement of Ypres (; ) is one of the eight administrative arrondissements near the Province of West Flanders, Belgium. It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement. However, the Judicial Arrondissement of Ypres also comp ...

in the Dutch-speaking province of

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

to the newly created arrondissement of Mouscron in French-speaking Hainaut. The five municipalities (Comines, Houthem, Ploegsteert, Bas-Warneton, Warneton) were merged into a single Comines-Warneton municipality in 1977. Since then, the municipality forms an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of both Hainaut and

, being surrounded by the Flemish province of

and the French department of

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

and not connected to the rest of the French-speaking area of Belgium. Comines-Warneton is twinned with

Hedge End Hedge End is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hampshire, England. Situated to the east of the Southampton, City of Southampton, it adjoins the districts of West End, Hampshire, West End and Botley, Hampshire, Botley. Hedge ...

in England and with

Argenton-les-Vallées Argenton-les-Vallées () is a former commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Argentonnay, and became a delegated commune of Argentonnay. It is situated in the valley of th ...

in France.

Famous inhabitants

* Johannes Despauterius, humanist * Frank Vandenbroucke, cyclist *

Gustave Singier Gustave Singier (11 February 1909, Warneton5 May 1984, Paris) was a Belgian abstract art, non-figurative painter active in France as part of the new Paris School of Lyrical Abstraction and the Salon de Mai. Early life He spent his childhood in ...

, painter * Eugene Joseph Verboeckhoven, painter

Twin towns

, England *

Wolverton Wolverton ( ) is a constituent town of Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban ar ...

, England

References

External links

Local website in French

Local economic website in French
{{Authority control Cities in Wallonia Municipalities of Hainaut (province) Belgium–France border crossings Divided cities Enclaves and exclaves

Famous inhabitants

Twin towns

See also

References

External links