Hainaut
Hinnot (Walloon)
Hénau (Picard)
Heynowes
Province of Belgium
Flag of Hainaut
Flag
Coat of arms of Hainaut
Coat of arms
Location of Hainaut
Coordinates: 50°30′N 3°55′E / 50.5°N 3.92°E / 50.5; 3.92
Country Belgium
Region Wallonia
CapitalMons
Largest cityCharleroi
Government
 • GovernorTommy Leclercq
Area
[1]
 • Total3,813 km2 (1,472 sq mi)
Population
 (1 January 2019)[2]
 • Total1,344,241
 • Density350/km2 (910/sq mi)
GDP
[3]
 • Total€36.940 billion (2021)
HDI (2018)0.888[4]
very high · 11th of 11
Websiteportail.hainaut.be
Pays des Collines

Hainaut (/eɪˈnoʊ/ ay-NOH, also US: /heɪˈ-, ɛˈ-/ hay-, eh-, UK: /ˈ(h)eɪnoʊ/ (H)AY-noh,[5][6][7] French: [ɛno]; Dutch: Henegouwen [ˈɦeːnəɣʌu.ə(n)] ⓘ; Walloon: Hinnot; Picard: Hénau), historically also known as Heynault in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium.

To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clockwise from the north) on the Flemish provinces of West Flanders, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant and the Walloon provinces of Walloon Brabant and Namur.

Its capital is Mons (Dutch: Bergen) and the most populous city is Charleroi, the province's urban, economic and cultural hub, the financial capital of Hainaut and the fifth largest city in the country by population. Hainaut has an area of 3,831 km2 (1,479 sq mi) and as of January 2019 a population of 1,344,241.[8] Another notable city is Tournai (Dutch Doornik) on the Scheldt river, one of the oldest cities in Belgium and the first capital of the Frankish Empire.

Hainaut province has a rolling landscape, except for the very southern part, the so-called Boot of Hainaut, which is quite hilly and belongs to the Ardennes and its foothills Fagne and the Condroz.

The village of L'Escaillère in the utmost southeastern corner, at an altitude of 365 metres, is the highest point of the province.

In the Boot of Hainaut on the border of Namur province the artificial five Eau d'Heure lakes are situated, the largest lake area of Belgium.

A well-known region is the Borinage, the old coal mining region around the city of Mons. Also well-known is the Pays des Collines (English Hill Country), a low hilly area forming one natural region with the Flemish Ardennes in the East Flanders province.

Language

Picard is spoken in the western and centre parts of the province, while in the eastern part a mixture of Walloon and Picard is spoken (Wallo-Picard).

Some Flemish and Brabantic is spoken in the municipalities bordering the Flemish region.

History

Historical map of the County of Hainaut, with in red the current French-Belgian border.

The province derives from the French Revolutionary Jemmape department, formed in 1795 from part of the medieval County of Hainaut, the small territory of Tournai and the Tournaisis, a part of the county of Namur (Charleroi), and also a small part of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (Thuin). (A large part of the historical county of Hainaut is now within France and sometimes referred to as French Hainaut.)

Subdivisions

Hainaut province is divided into 7 administrative districts (arrondissements), subdivided into a total of 69 municipalities. It has an area of 3,831 square kilometres (1,479 sq mi).

Arrondissements

Municipalities

Map no. Municipality Arrondissement
1 Aiseau-Presles Charleroi
2 Anderlues Thuin
3 Antoing Tournai-Mouscron
4 Ath Ath
5 Beaumont Thuin
6 Belœil Ath
7 Bernissart Ath
8 Binche La Louvière
9 Boussu Mons
10 Braine-le-Comte Soignies
11 Brugelette Ath
12 Brunehaut Tournai-Mouscron
13 Celles Tournai-Mouscron
14 Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont Charleroi
15 Charleroi Charleroi
16 Châtelet Charleroi
17 Chièvres Ath
18 Chimay Thuin
19 Colfontaine Mons
20 Comines-Warneton Tournai-Mouscron
21 Courcelles Charleroi
22 Dour Mons
23 Écaussinnes Soignies
24 Ellezelles Ath
25 Enghien Ath
26 Erquelinnes Thuin
27 Estaimpuis Tournai-Mouscron
28 Estinnes La Louvière
29 Farciennes Charleroi
30 Fleurus Charleroi
31 Flobecq Ath
32 Fontaine-l'Evêque Charleroi
33 Frameries Mons
34 Frasnes-lez-Anvaing Ath
35 Froidchapelle Thuin
36 Gerpinnes Charleroi
37 Ham-sur-Heure-Nalinnes Thuin
38 Hensies Mons
39 Honnelles Mons
40 Jurbise Mons
41 La Louvière La Louvière
42 Le Rœulx Soignies
43 Lens Mons
44 Les Bons Villers Charleroi
45 Lessines Ath
46 Leuze-en-Hainaut Tournai-Mouscron
47 Lobbes Thuin
48 Manage Soignies
49 Merbes-le-Château Thuin
50 Momignies Thuin
51 Mons Mons
52 Mont-de-l'Enclus Tournai-Mouscron
53 Montigny-le-Tilleul Charleroi
54 Morlanwelz La Louvière
55 Mouscron Tournai-Mouscron
56 Pecq Tournai-Mouscron
57 Péruwelz Tournai-Mouscron
58 Pont-à-Celles Charleroi
59 Quaregnon Mons
60 Quévy Mons
61 Quiévrain Mons
62 Rumes Tournai-Mouscron
63 Saint-Ghislain Mons
64 Seneffe Soignies
65 Silly Ath
66 Sivry-Rance Thuin
67 Soignies Soignies
68 Thuin Thuin
69 Tournai Tournai-Mouscron

Governors

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 34.2 billion € in 2018, accounting for 7.4% of Belgium's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 22,500 € or 75% of the EU27 average in the same year. Hainaut is the province with the second lowest GDP per capita.[9]

Miscellaneous

The patron saint of the province Hainaut is Saint Waltrude.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Be.STAT".
  2. ↑ "Structuur van de bevolking | Statbel".
  3. ↑ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab".
  5. ↑ "Hainaut". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  6. ↑ "Hainaut" (US) and "Hainaut". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
  7. ↑ "Hainaut". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  8. ↑ "Structuur van de bevolking | Statbel".
  9. ↑ "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018". Eurostat.
  10. ↑ St. Waltrude at saints.sqpn.com. Retrieved 26.March 2013.
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