Pont-à-Celles


Pont-à-Celles is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Pont-à-Celles had a total population of 16,292. The total area is 55.73 km² which gives a population density of 292 inhabitants per km².

Villages

The following villages are part of the municipality of Pont-à-Celles: Buzet, Liberchies, Luttre, Obaix, Pont-à-Celles, Thimeon, Viesville.

Origin of the name

Pont-à-Celles draws its name from Latin Cella, meaning room or cell of monk, probably because of the presence of the monastery founded in the 7th century, by Saint Amand. The jurisdiction on which this primitive monastery was established, and then the priory of the Park, was called Celles, and later Pont-à-Celles.
The name of Pont-à-Celles appears for the first time during the 16th century, when the monks of the Park built a bridge over the Pieton river near the church. The parishioners of Luttre and Hairiamont then had to cross the bridge for going to service. Gradually, this name extended to all the parish whose territory covered six seigniories.
When in 1795, the French replaced these six seigniories by a newly created municipality, they adopted the name of the parish. In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon in Waterloo, its territories were annexed to the Netherlands. With this occasion, the department of Jemappes became the province of Hainaut.

Notable people from Pont-à-Celles

The famous Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt was born in Liberchies. Every May, the community honors him with the open air Django Reinhardt Jazz Festival.