Wavre
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Wavre
Wåve (Walloon) Waver (Dutch) | ||
---|---|---|
City and municipality | ||
Location in Belgium
Location of Wavre in Walloon Brabant Region Wallonia | | |
Province | Walloon Brabant | |
Arrondissement | Nivelles | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Anne Masson (La Liste du Bourgmestre; "Mayor's List," LB) | |
• Governing party/ies | LB-PS-DéFI | |
Area | ||
• Total | 42.11 km2 (16.26 sq mi) | |
Population (2018-01-01)[1] | ||
• Total | 34,305 | |
• Density | 810/km2 (2,100/sq mi) | |
Postal codes | 1300, 1301 | |
NIS code | 25112 | |
Area codes | 010 | |
Website | www.wavre.be |
Wavre (French pronunciation: .
Wavre is in the
The municipality consist of the following sub-municipalities: Bierges, Limal, and Wavre proper.
Wavre is also called "the City of the Maca", referring to the statue of the small boy trying to climb the wall of the city hall. Tradition holds that touching the Maca's buttocks brings a year of luck.
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2023) |
Roman and Medieval times
The foundations of a wealthy
16th- to 18th-century disasters
The relative peace of the city came to an end on 8 March 1489, when Duke
From Waterloo until now
On 18 and 19 June 1815, the
The century that followed saw the expansion of local industry, including foundries, a paper mill, and a sugar refinery. Wavre was severely affected by both World Wars, with heavy fighting, bombing and several houses put on fire. In the 21st century, Wavre enjoyed renewed prosperity as the capital of the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant created in 1995.
Attractions
- The Gothic-style church of St John the Baptist was built in 1475. Its main tower houses a 50-bell carillon.
- The city hall dates from the 18th century. It is housed in the former church of the Carmelites and features a cloistered courtyard.
- In 1975, the first Walibi amusement park, named after Wavre, Limal, and Bierge, to the west of the city centre further up the Dyle. Since then, Walibi has become the largest amusement park in Belgium and spawned similar parks in France and the Netherlands. The park was once known as the best themepark in Europe and has over 1,000,000 visitors per year.[3]
- The Basilica of Our Lady of Basse-Wavre, Basilique Notre-Dame de Basse-Wavre is a centre of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics.
Folklore
- The Jeu de Jean et Alice is a remake of a medieval play, more exactly a spoken, sung, and danced dialog between Jean and Alice, Lords of Wavre, and the city's population. The play commemorates the granting of the charter to the city in 1222; it is now an elaborate production (with more than 500 participants) that takes place every five years.
- Since about 200 years ago, the Grand Tour, a religious procession takes place every year on the Sunday that follows June 24, feast of St John the Baptist, patron saint of the city.
- The city's carnival includes a handful of traditional giants that take part in the festivities.[4]
Climate
Climate data for Wavre(1991-2020) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.3 (43.3) |
7.4 (45.3) |
11.3 (52.3) |
15.6 (60.1) |
19.1 (66.4) |
22.0 (71.6) |
24.1 (75.4) |
23.8 (74.8) |
20.2 (68.4) |
15.4 (59.7) |
10.2 (50.4) |
6.7 (44.1) |
15.2 (59.3) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) |
3.9 (39.0) |
6.7 (44.1) |
9.9 (49.8) |
13.6 (56.5) |
16.6 (61.9) |
18.7 (65.7) |
18.2 (64.8) |
14.9 (58.8) |
11.1 (52.0) |
6.9 (44.4) |
4.1 (39.4) |
10.7 (51.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.6 (33.1) |
0.5 (32.9) |
2.2 (36.0) |
4.2 (39.6) |
8.1 (46.6) |
11.2 (52.2) |
13.2 (55.8) |
12.7 (54.9) |
9.6 (49.3) |
6.9 (44.4) |
3.7 (38.7) |
1.4 (34.5) |
6.2 (43.2) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 75.1 (2.96) |
65.6 (2.58) |
57.3 (2.26) |
46.4 (1.83) |
61.7 (2.43) |
67.2 (2.65) |
71.8 (2.83) |
86.0 (3.39) |
61.2 (2.41) |
65.9 (2.59) |
71.8 (2.83) |
89.7 (3.53) |
819.7 (32.29) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 12.9 | 12.0 | 11.1 | 8.9 | 10.0 | 10.2 | 10.0 | 10.7 | 9.8 | 10.5 | 12.3 | 14.6 | 133 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 57 | 72 | 127 | 178 | 205 | 208 | 213 | 201 | 158 | 116 | 66 | 48 | 1,649 |
Mean daily sunshine hours | 1.8 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 5.3 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 4.5 |
Source: Royal Meteorological Institute[5] |
Infrastructure
Wavre is the location of the
Basse-Wavre railway station (Gare de Basse-Wavre) is located in Basse-Wavre ("lower Wavre") a suburb to the east of the city centre and lower down the Dyle.[a]
Sports
Wavre is the home of
Notable people
- Maurice Carême (1899–1978), poet was born in Wavre.
- Jeanne Deckers (1933–1985), better known as The Singing Nun, lived for nearly 20 years in Wavre, with her partner Annie Pécher; the pair died together after taking overdoses of barbiturates and alcohol.
- Charles Michel (1975–), President of the European Council and former Prime Minister of Belgium; served as an alderman from 2000 to 2006 and later mayor of Wavre from 2006 to 2018.[7]
See also
- K-W Line, a defense line between Koningshooikt and Wavre during World War II
References
- ^ "Wettelijke Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2018". Statbel. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ "Le coeur de Wavre". Ville de Wavre (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- ^ "Attractions touristiques". Ville de Wavre (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- ^ "Le patrimoine immatériel & folklorique". Ville de Wavre (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- ^ "Statistiques climatiques des communes belges:Wavre(ins 25112)" (PDF) (in French). KMI. pp. 2, 5. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "rjwavre.be". rjwavre.be.
- ^ Hennuy, Jean-Claude (2018-06-22). "Elections Wavre: Charles Michel absent, Françoise Pigeolet croise les doigts pour le 14 octobre". RTBF. Retrieved 2020-10-28.