Villers-Perwin is a village in the municipality Les Bons Villers, in the province of Hainaut in the Walloon region of Belgium. Villers-Perwin was a municipality on its own until the Fusion of the communes in Belgium in 1977 when it became a part of the municipality of Les Bons Villers.
History
Villers-Perwin has been a part of the Duchy of Brabant for 1000 years and is now located in the province of Hainaut. The first lords of the village were the Villers-Perwin, then passed successively to the de Walhain, the de Berghes and the de Ligne. Albert de Ligne sold the seigniory in 1618 to Gérard de Villers, counselor of Archduke Albert and Isabelle. In 1670 it became property of Christophe Hannosset, counselor and receiver general of the province of Brabant. The last lords were the Castro y Toledo and finally the de Renette that built the Chapelle Saint-Hubert in 1760 for the protector of the hunters, celebrated on 3 November and the Chapelle Saint-Jacques in that same year for the protector of the travellers, celebrated on 25 July. The village is also known for the Battle of Fleurus fought on its territory with more than 1500 casualties. This little village possessed a windmill and a brewery. Only a few enterprises were present: a construction atelier, a woodwork assembly firm and a factory of chicory that lasted until just after World War II. Today it is a residential village with more than 1300 inhabitants.
The Church St-Martin, built in 1872, with some artistical treasures, the painting "Adoration des mages" from Simon de Ruys de la Haye from the 17th century and a Christ and gothic cross from the 16th century.
The name Villers is from the word villae, and means farm, building. The name Villari means outbuilding from the villa and is commonly used across Gaule. It is therefore believed that the village was a part of a villa in Roman times, which is now the actual village.
Perwin
Different origins are possible for the word Perwin. It is believed that it is referring to the owner of the villa. However, in old French, the P was sometimes replaced by a B, Perwin would then be Berwin, and Ber means bear, which could be referring to the presence of bears in the region when it was covered with forests. Ber means also baron, which would be the adviser of the sovereign. Win could be originated from the word wez which means pond in Walloon. The conclusion would then be a pond where bears came for water. A second possibility for the origin of the word is from Latin, when the village was called Villers-le-Perwin, Villers-le-Pewyn or Villers-le-Perwez. Perwin would be derived from the word pervium coming itself from per viam meaning near the road.
Personalities
The well-known violinist Arthur Grumiaux was born in Villers-Perwin in one of the houses of the Place Commandant Bultot.
