La Louvière
Lflblelslh
La Louviere ( Walloon El Lovire ) is a town in the Belgian province of Hainaut, the francophone region of Wallonia.
Geography
It is the eleventh largest city of Belgium and the fifth largest in Wallonia. It lies on the river groves.
The municipality includes the towns of Haine- Saint -Paul, Haine- Saint- Pierre, Saint- Vaast, Trivières, Boussoit, Houdeng-, Houdeng- Goegnies Maurage, Strépy- and Besonrieux.
History
In the Middle Ages the village belonged to the reign of Saint- Vaast. Since 1390 coal was mined here. 1869 La Louviere became an independent city.
In the 1950s, the Belgian mining operations fell into a crisis; its coal could not compete with the one from the other five members of the European Coal and Steel Union priced.
Economy
Today's suburban Haine- Saint- Pierre hosted from a foundry in 1838, which evolved to around 1900 to a renowned locomotive factory; the Belgian Railways SNCB moved much of their heavy steam locomotives from Haine- Saint- Pierre. Of greater economic importance were the boat lifts that made a connection between the Mons region and the North Sea over the Canal du Centre in the heyday of coal mining. Today, you only have tourist importance (see Chapter sights ) and were replaced in 2002 by a new large pumping system, a visible eye-catching from afar this region.
Attractions
The Écomusée Blois -du -Luc on a former mining site (since 1685) is a focal point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH ).
Sports
The local football club R.A.A. La Louviere played from 2000 to 2006 in the Belgian first football league and in 2003 was winner of the Belgian National Cup.
Twinning
La Louviere maintains partnerships with cities
- Saint- Maur- des-Fosses in the Île- de -France, France
- Foligno in Umbria, Italy
- Cordoba, in Andalusia, Spain
- Bojnice in Slovakia
- Kalisz in Poland
- Aragona in Italy
Sons and daughters of the town
- Éric Adam ( born 1960 ), comic book writer
- Vincenzo " Enzo " Scifo (born 1966 ), football player
- Bruno Laurent ( b. 1975 ), chess player
- Eden Hazard ( * 1991), football player
- Thorgan Hazard ( * 1993), football player