Fleurus (; ) is a city and

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 ...

. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye,

Heppignies Heppignies (; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Fleurus located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowl ...

, Fleurus, Lambusart, Saint-Amand, Wagnelée, Wanfercée-Baulet (wa: ''Wanfercêye-Bålet''), and Wangenies.

History

Traces of agriculture dating back to the

Neolithic Age The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...

were found in area known as Fleurjoux and Neuve Baraque. Later the site saw the construction of the Chaussée Brunehaut, a road network of uncertain origin, perhaps attributable to the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. In October 1155, Henry IV of Luxembourg, also

Count of Namur Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

enfranchised the municipality which became the city of Fleurus. Henry IV had a castle in Heppignies. The town has given its name to three battles fought in the area : *The

Battle of Fleurus (1622) The Battle of Fleurus of August 29, 1622 was fought in the Spanish Netherlands between a Spanish army and the Protestant forces of Ernst von Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick during the Eighty Years' War and the Thirty Years' War. The blood ...

in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. *The Battle of Fleurus (1690) in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

. *The

Battle of Fleurus (1794) The Battle of Fleurus was fought on 26 June 1794 during the War of the First Coalition between the French Revolutionary Army under Jean-Baptiste Jourdan and an Habsburg monarchy, Austro-Dutch Republic, Dutch army commanded by Prince Josias of ...

in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

. Two days before the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

in 1815

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

defeated the Prussians in what is known as the

Battle of Ligny The Battle of Ligny, in which French troops of the under the command of Napoleon I defeated part of a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, was fought on 16 June 1815 near Ligny in what is now Belgium. The result was a tactical victor ...

, although the pivotal action took place just north of Fleurus. The battles have been commemorated in ship names of the countries involved, which in turn has led to Fleurus Island in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

being named after SS ''Fleurus'', a Norwegian trawler operated between the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

and the whaling station on South Georgia in the 1920s. The "Rue de Fleurus" is on the Left Bank in Paris. In World War II, the only fighting near Fleurus was a tank battle southwest of the town at Vieux Campinaire in September 1944. was added to the municipality's area in the early 2000s.

Economy

Children's publisher Proost is a major local employer. The Institut national des radioéléments produces radioactive isotopes for medical use.

Historical population

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Wallonia Municipalities of Hainaut (province) Battle of Ligny locations