Quiévrain

Quiévrain is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On 1 January 2006, the municipality had 6,559 inhabitants. The total area is 21.22 km², giving a population density of 309 inhabitants per km².

Quiévrain
Municipality
Quiévrain: St Martin's church (16th century)
Flag
Coat of arms
Quiévrain
Location in Belgium
Location of Quiévrain in Hainaut
Coordinates: 50°24′N 03°41′E
CountryBelgium
CommunityFrench Community
RegionWallonia
ProvinceHainaut
ArrondissementMons
Government
 • MayorVéronique Damée
 • Governing party/iesPS, AC
Area
 • Total21.22 km2 (8.19 sq mi)
Population
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total6,759
 • Density320/km2 (820/sq mi)
Postal codes
7380, 7382
Area codes065
Websitewww.quievrain.be

The municipality contains the following population centres: Quiévrain proper, Baisieux, and Audregnies.

Quiévrain is the border crossing point on the old main Paris-Brussels railway line. As a result, Belgians humorously refer to France (and vice versa) as outre-Quiévrain (beyond Quiévrain).[2]

In the closing days of the First World War, Quiévrain was liberated by the Canadian Expeditionary Force on November 7, 1918, and marks the starting point of the Canadian Route of Remembrance in Belgium.[3]

Revolutions of 1848

Shortly after the French Revolution of 1848, Belgian migrant workers living in Paris were encouraged to return to Belgium to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic.[4] Around 6,000 émigrés, coming from Paris, formed the "Belgian Legion". The legion was armed by some of the administrative authorities of Lille, and intended to penetrate into Belgium to "raise the people" and overthrow the Belgian monarchy. It is likely that the revolutionaries had the support of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the French Second Republic, which had only recently been installed and was still very militant.

The first group, travelling by train, was stopped and quickly disarmed at Quiévrain on 26 March 1848.[5] The second group crossed into Belgium and was defeated in the Risquons-Tout incident.

References
  1. "Wettelijke Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2018". Statbel. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. À Quiévrain, la gare frontière -Les cahiers de l'urbanisme - no. 40-41 - Septembre 2002 pp. 144-145 consultables sur google book « Quiévrain devint donc un lieu de passage fréquenté pour les relations franco-belges, où tous les voyageurs devaient s'arrêter et se soumettre au contrôle de la douane. Cette fonction transparaît notamment dans divers témoignages relatifs à des personnalités du XIXe siècle telles Victor Hugo, Verlaine ou Rimbaud. De là vient l'expression "outre-Quiévrain", encore couramment utilisée pour qualifier le pays voisin. »
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20181110133834/http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/belgium-belgique/bilateral_relations_bilaterales/route1918.aspx?lang=eng
  4. Chastain, James. "Belgium in 1848". Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions. Ohio University. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  5. Ascherson, Neal (1999). The King Incorporated: Leopold the Second and the Congo (New ed.). London: Granta. pp. 20–1. ISBN 1862072906.


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