Charleroi

Spanish territorial losses in the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees left a gap between the key fortresses of Mons and Namur; to fill this, Francisco Castel Rodrigo, then Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, expropriated land around Charnoy to build a fortress near the Sambre. In September 1666, it was renamed Charle-roi, or King Charles, in honour of five-year-old Charles II of Spain; the chronogram FVNDATVR CAROLOREGIVM (MDCLVVVI) can be found in the register of the parish of Charnoy.[6]

Construction had only just begun when the War of Devolution with France began in 1667, and the Spanish withdrew. France retained the town under the 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and its fortifications were completed by Vauban. A bridge was built over the Sambre, connecting the Ville Haute and Ville Basse, with incentives offered to persuade people to settle there. The French relinquished control in 1678, and although it changed hands several times over the next 50 years, the town remained part of the Netherlands until the foundation of modern Belgium.[7]

Copy of the plan-relief of Charleroi made in 1696. View from the southwest. On display at the town-hall.

Shortly after its foundation, the new city was in turn besieged by the Dutch, ceded to the Spanish in 1678 (Treaty of Nijmegen), taken by the French in 1693, ceded again to the Spanish in 1698 (Treaty of Rijswijk), then taken by the French, the Dutch and the Austrians in 1714 (Treaty of Baden). The French Prince of Conti took the city again in 1745, but it was ceded back to Austria in 1748, beginning a period of prosperity under Joseph II. Glass, steel and coal industries, which had already sprung up a century earlier, could now flourish.

Trouble began again in 1790, the year of the civil uprising that eventually led to the United States of Belgium. The Austrians occupied the city, were forced out by the French after the Battle of Jemappes on 6 November 1792, and took it back again four months later. On 12 June 1794, the French revolutionary Army of Sambre-et-Meuse under the command of Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, invested Charleroi and won a decisive victory in the ensuing Battle of Fleurus. The city took the revolutionary name of Libre-sur-Sambre until 1800. After France's defeat in 1814, the whole area was annexed to the Netherlands, and new walls were built around the city. Napoleon stayed in Charleroi for a couple of days in June 1815, just before the Battle of Waterloo.

Orleans street Sunday market

The Belgian Revolution of 1830 gave the area its freedom from the Netherlands and ushered in a new era of prosperity, still based mostly on glass, metallurgy and coal, hence the area's name, Pays Noir ("Black Country"). After the Industrial Revolution, Charleroi benefited from the increased use of coke in the metallurgical industry. People from across Europe were attracted by the economic opportunities, and the population grew rapidly.

Following the Industrial revolution in Wallonia, Charleroi from the 1850s–1860s became one of the most important places where labor strikes broke out. In 1886, 12 strikers were killed by the Belgian army in Roux. In the 1880s, miners in Hainaut were recruited by the Dominion Coal Company in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.[8] These miners were anxious to flee the repression following bloody strikes and riots in Liège and Charleroi[9] during the Walloon Jacquerie of 1886. Walloon miners from Charleroi also emigrated to Alberta, Canada.[10] The working men of Charleroi always played an important role in Belgian general strikes and particularly during the Belgian general strike of 1936, the general strike against Leopold III of Belgium, and the 1960–1961 winter general strike.

By 1871, the fortified walls around the city were completely torn down.

Heavy fighting took place during World War I due to the city's strategic location on the Sambre. The city was badly damaged with further destruction only being prevented by the Couillet Treaty agreed with the German forces which required the payment of 10 million Belgian Francs, foodstuffs, vehicles and armaments.[11] The magazine Spirou, which featured the popular cartoon characters Lucky Luke and the Smurfs, was launched by the publishing company Éditions Dupuis in 1938.[12] After World War II, Charleroi witnessed a general decline of its heavy industry.[13] Following the merger with several surrounding municipalities in 1977, the city as of 2013 ranks as the largest city in Wallonia and the 4th largest in Belgium.

The logo

As part of the effort to improve its identity, the city adopted a new logo and graphic charter in early 2015, designed by the Brussels studio Pam and Jenny.[14]

The crown of three triangles above the C has several meanings:[15]

• The triangular shape evokes the slag heaps, yesterday black and today green, which symbolise the city's industrial past and its factories.
• It also recalls the crest of the cockerel designed by Pierre Paulus and symbol of Wallonia.
• The crown refers to King Charles II who gave his name to the city at the time of its foundation.
• The typography used is also very similar to that used in the logo of ACEC, a historic company founded, developed and finally closed down in Charleroi in 1989 after more than a century of existence.

• 
  Slag heap
• 
  Flag of Wallonia
• 
  King Charles II
• 
  Typography

The Quai Arthur Rimbaud (formerly Quai de Brabant) along the Sambre after renovation

The topography of Charleroi is influenced by the valley of the river Sambre, which flows from west to east before joining the Meuse at Namur. The Piéton river flows from north to south to join the Sambre at Dampremy. The Charleroi-Brussels canal is dug in the valley of this stream. The Eau d'Heure river comes from the south and also flows into the Sambre at Marchienne-au-Pont. About twenty streams run through the territory of the municipality.[16]

The altitude ranges from 100 metres (Sambre and Piéton valleys) to over 220 metres at the Bois du Prince in Marcinelle. The level is 132 metres on the Place Charles II. The height of the slag heaps often exceeds 200 metres, the Saint-Charles slag heap in the Bois du Cazier reaches 241 metres.[17]

The six slag heaps in the Pays Noir are reservoirs of biodiversity that should be preserved.[18]

Like the calcareous grassland, the slag heaps are habitats created by human activity that are home to many very specific and often threatened animal and plant species. The rarity of these species depends on the rarity of the environment itself (the biotope). Biodiversity is also present in other environments: in a wasteland, a body of water, a meadow, etc. In terms of biodiversity, it is therefore preferable to maintain a mosaic of habitats, hence the interest in preserving different types of environments on the slag heaps.[19]

The Viviers site, for example, is an old mining site located in the east of Charleroi (Gilly). This site has a small conical slag heap and large open areas consisting mainly of pioneer grassland and wasteland. It also includes a small body of water as well as temporary ponds, and some wooded areas on the western and northern edges. This particular biotope is of great biological interest and acts as a refuge for a diverse fauna. The vast reed bed surrounding the pond is home to the red warbler, a passerine bird specific to this type of vegetation. Several species of amphibians can be seen here, including a population of the natterjack toad, as well as certain insects, such as the magnificent blue-winged grasshopper.[20]

The Martinet site, a former colliery on the boundary of the Monceau-sur-Sambre and Roux sections, is in the process of being rehabilitated and reallocated. Like the Viviers slag heap in Gilly, this vast site is of great biological interest.[21]

Similar to the rest of Belgium Charleroi has an oceanic climate as a result of the Gulf Stream influence warming winters, while also moderating summer warmth in spite of its inland position.

(*)Under the local list name "C+" (**)Under alternative name

The Tour Bleue in the Charleroi skyline

Secondary schools include:[31]

• Athénée Royal Jules Destrée
• Athénée Royal Orsini Dewerpe
• Athénée Royal de Gilly
• Athénée Royal Les Marlaires
• Athénée Royal Ernest Solvay
• Athénée Royal Vauban
• Athénée Royal Yvonne Vieslet
• Centre Educatif Communal Secondaire — La Garenne
• Institut d'Enseignement Technique Secondaire de l’UT
• Institut Jean Jaurès de l’UT
• Centre Educatif Communal Secondaire de Couillet-Marcinelle
• Institut Provincial d’Enseignement Secondaire Paramédical La Samaritaine

The catholic secondary schools include:

• Institut Saint-Joseph (ISJ);
• Institut Saint-André (ISA);
• Institut Notre-Dame (IND) ;
• IET Notre-Dame (IETND);
• Collège du Sacré-Cœur (jesuits);
• Collège Technique Aumôniers du Travail de Charleroi (ATC).

The Brussels South Charleroi Airport in Gosselies, 7 km (4.3 mi) north of the centre, opened in 1919 as a flight school.[32] Later, it housed the Fairey aircraft-factory building.[33]

Gosselies is now used as an alternate airport for Brussels. Low-cost carrier Ryanair is the largest airline to provide service there; others include Wizz Air, Jetairfly. Seasonal holiday charters also use the airport.

A new terminal opened in January 2008,[34] replacing a much smaller building which had exceeded capacity.

Brussels is 47 km (29 mi) north of Charleroi Airport.

In October 2021, the 650m extension of the runway was officially opened, bringing it to a total length of 3200m.[35]

Charleroi is connected by train to other Belgian major cities through the main Charleroi-South railway station. The city also has a secondary railway station, Charleroi-West,[6] on the Charleroi-to-Ottignies line.

The Port autonome de Charleroi gives access through the Belgian, Dutch and French canal and river network to three major ports (Dunkirk, Antwerp and Rotterdam). Il is composed of twenty-nine ports in the region of Charleroi distributed along the river Sambre and the Brussels-Charleroi canal. It has 8 km of embankments, 5 millions tons of goods transported each year, 10.000 containers and a trimodal platform for the containers; 100 companies have a concession and there are 1700 direct and 1000 indirect jobs associated.[36]

Charleroi Prémétro

West Station (MLC)

Public transport is provided by TEC (Transport En Commun), the Walloon public transport service. The greater Charleroi region is served by bus lines and a light-rail Metro system, (Métro Léger de Charleroi). Part of the latter is famous for incorporating one of the few remnants of the Vicinal, the former Belgian national tramway network.

The Charleroi Metro is equally famous for the parts of the system which were never built, partially built or fully completed but not opened. It was planned in the 1960s as a 48 km (30 mi.) light-rail network, operating on the heavy rail metro infrastructure, consisting of eight branch lines radiating from a central loop downtown.[37] However, only one line (to Petria), part of another line (to Gilly) and three-quarters of the loop were actually built and opened to traffic, all from 1976 to 1996. Another branch line toward the suburb of Châtelet (Châtelineau) was almost fully built, to the extent of installing power cables, escalators and still-working electric signals in the first three stations[38] but was never opened as passenger numbers would be too low to economically justify the extra staff. The high costs of construction, a decline in Charleroi's traditional "smokestack" industries and questioning of the scope of the whole project in proportion to the actual demand for it are cited as reasons for the original plan's becoming unfulfilled.

The central loop and the Gilly branch as far as Soleilmont were completed in 2012, with funds from the European Investment Bank.[39] The Gosselies branch opened as a street-level tramline in 2013.[40] In June 2021 it was announced that €60m will be allocated to refurbish and open the long-ago completed but never served inner section of the Châtelet "ghost" line, and extend it to the new hospital development in the area.[41]

in June 2021, the new look of the first renovated tram is presented. This fleet-wide renovation of 22 million euro will end in 2026.[42]

• Musée de la photographie, in Mont-sur-Marchienne
• BPS22, art Museum of the Province of Hainaut
• Bois du Cazier, in Marcinelle
• Musée des Beaux-Arts ("Museum of Fine Arts")

• Charleroi Danses
• Théâtre de l'Ancre

• Rockerill, alternative concert hall, exhibition space and performances located in Marchienne-au-Pont
• Vecteur, multidisciplinary cultural platform
• Eden, performance hall

• Éditions Dupuis, comic and magazines publisher located in Marcinelle
• Telesambre, regional television channel
• La Nouvelle Gazette, a Belgian French-language daily newspaper

• The Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse : every year, from May to October, the Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse, both a religious procession and a folk march, take place in Jumet (Tour de la Madeleine) and in the region south of Charleroi, which bring together many walkers parading in costumes of First Empire and Third Empire uniform. In 2012, fifteen of these marches were recognised as masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage by UNESCO.[44]
• The Mardi Gras carnival with the release of the giants puppets and the parade of the Climbias, a folk and charity club in Lodelinsart.
• The Easter and August fairs.
• The Sunday market.

• Boucle Noire ("Black Loop"), a 26 km walk between the industrial and natural landscape of Charleroi[45]
• Grande dérive ("Big Drift") : this path forms a 54 km loop surrounding the greater Charleroi. La Grande Dérive, passes through the green margins of Charleroi, on marked trails, climbing on the slag heaps and crossing public parks, woods, agricultural areas and wasteland.[46]
• Eurovelo 3 pilgrims' route : Charleroi is located on the EuroVelo3 route. It is a 5,122 km long road that connects Trondheim in Norway to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The route thus crosses seven countries, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France and Spain.
• In the Charleroi region, the RAVeL network (in French Réseau Autonome des Voies Lentes and in English autonomous network of slow ways) allows cycling for sports and tourism purposes on protected routes. The routes take the towpaths along the river Sambre and the Charleroi-Brussels canal and on disused railway lines.

• Léon Rosenfeld (1904–1974), physicist
• Jean-Marie André, scientist
• Alexandre Czerniatynski, football player, winner of the UEFA cup
• Jules Delhaize, 19th-century grocer and businessman, founder of what would become the Delhaize Group
• Louis Delhaize, founder of the Louis Delhaize Group
• Jules Destrée, lawyer and politician, born in Marcinelle, 19th century
• Karl Erjavec, Slovenian lawyer and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs, born in Aiseau
• Paul Finet (1897–1965), Belgian politician, born in Montignies-sur-Sambre
• Albert Frère, businessman and the richest person in Belgium
• Régis Genaux, football player
• Emile Grumieaux, painter, born in Gosselies
• Paul-François Huart-Chapel, industrialist, 19th century
• Jean-Pierre Lecocq (1947–1992), molecular biologist and entrepreneur
• Georges Lemaître (1894–1966), priest and astronomer, 20th century
• Fabrice Lig, music producer, 20th century
• Loïc Nottet, musician
• Jean Dupuis, printer and editer, founder of the Dupuis editions
• Pierre Marcolini, chocolatier
• Joseph Maréchal, Jesuit priest and philosopher, 20th century
• Didier Matrige, painter and draughtsman, 20th century
• Joëlle Milquet, politician, 20th century
• Chantal Mouffe, political theorist, 20th century
• François-Joseph Navez, painter, 18th century
• Paul Pastur, lawyer and politician
• Gaston Salmon (1878–1917), épée fencer, Olympic champion[48]
• Marcel Thiry, poet, 19th century
• Jeanne Toussaint (1887–1976), jeweller
• Raymond Troye, wartime writer, 20th century
• Annette Vande Gorne, composer
• Fernand Verhaegen, painter and etcher, born in Marchienne-au-Pont, 19th century

• Robert Arcq, writer
• Paul Cuvelier, painter and comics artist
• Arthur Grumiaux, violinist
• Ernest Solvay, Belgian chemist, industrialist and philanthropist
• Paul Magnette, Belgian politician (Socialist Party), current mayor of Charleroi, former political science professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Minister-President of Wallonia from 2014 to 2017
• René Magritte, painter[12]
• Pierre Paulus, Expressionist painter of industrial landschapes of Charleroi
• Johan Nunez, drummer for Nightrage/Firewind
• Arthur Rimbaud, poet
• Paul Verlaine, poet