Lasne (; ) is a

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

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant ( ; ; ) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut. Walloon Br ...

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 ...

, south east of Brussels. In 2008, Lasne had a population of 14,043. The total area is 47.22 km² 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 297 inhabitants per km². Lasne is the richest

, measured by the average taxable income of the inhabitants. It also has the lowest local taxes of any municipality in Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Couture-Saint-Germain,

Lasne-Chapelle-Saint-Lambert Lasne (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, south east of Brussels. In 2008, Lasne had a population of 14,043. The total area is 47.22 km² which gives a populatio ...

, Maransart, Ohain, and

Plancenoit Plancenoit (; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Lasne, located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. The hamlet of Marache is on its territory. The village was a key strategic point during the Battle of Wa ...

(including the hamlet of Marache). While the municipality has taken the name of Lasne, the administrative offices are in the village of Ohain. Ohain contains an example of a Brabant-Wallon

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

: almost triangular in shape and sloping gently. The green contains many mature trees and is bordered on 2 sides by old houses and shops. The church in Ohain was built around the year 1200 and the strongly built square tower dates from this time. The village of Couture-Saint-Germain contains the ruins of the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

of Aywiers which has been the subject of pilgrimages since the late 19th century in honour of Saint Lutgarde who lived there for 30 years in the first half of the 13th century. Part of 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 ...

was fought in the village of Plancenoit, notably around the church and the fortified farm of La Papelotte. The cemetery wall is said to still contain holes made by

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

balls. It was in Plancenoit that Blücher's troops engaged

Napoleon 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 ...

's army, having marched from Wavre. Blücher and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

met after the battle at the farm '

La Belle Alliance La Belle Alliance () is an inn situated a few miles south of Brussels in Belgium, chiefly remembered for its significance in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815). There are two plaques on the building: one is "In memory of t ...

' - now a bar. The current historic area commemorating the battle is jointly administered by the municipalities of Lasne, Waterloo and Braine-l'Alleud.

Geography

The municipality takes its name from the river Lasne which rises in the village of

and flows through several of the villages which make up the municipality. The name Lasne comes from the Celtic word meaning flat or calm, presumably referring to the slow moving river. Lasne is in a region of Belgium known as the Pays Romain or Roman Land. The Grand Chemin is a major road traversing the municipality, linking the large towns of Wavre and

Nivelles Nivelles (; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux. The Nivelles arrondissement ...

, and formed a part of a network of Roman roads ultimately linking the ports of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

with sea ports. The distance between small chapels on this path is equal to one or more leagues, or at a precise fraction of a

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

ish league, where a Gaulish league equals .

Economy

Lasne is a semi-rural municipality retaining several working farms. 66% of the land area is rural, of which 66% is agricultural land, and the remainder, forest and open areas. In the past, there were a silk factory and sand extraction, although there is no longer any industry within the municipality. In 2007, Lasne was still considered as the richest municipality of Belgium, with an average taxable income of 40,949 euros per year according to the latest report of the INS (Institut National de Statistique).

Twin towns

The municipality is twinned with Azay-le-Rideau (France) and Abbeville, Louisiana (USA).

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities of Walloon Brabant