Provinces of Belgium

Into Belgium, the Régions Walloon and Flemish are divided into ten Walloon provinces, five and five Flemish. These provinces are also subdivided in administrative districts. The Région of Brussels-Capital is not divided into province.

The capital of a province is named its Chef-lieu.

Of 1830 until 1995, the number of provinces was of new, with a province (the the Brabant) with horse on the three areas (and including completely the Area of Brussels-Capital). The borders of these nine provinces date from the period Dutchwoman 1815 - 1830. Before that, the provinces originate in the French occupation in 1795 - 1815 when the French revolutionists cut out the Austrian Netherlands, the Principauté of Liege and the Principauté of Stavelot-Malmedy in departments.

A constitutional change made depend the provinces on the Areas and either on the federal capacity, which required the scission of the Province of the Brabant, apart from Brussels, in two new provinces (Brabant-Fleming and Brabant-Walloon). Since then Brussels is not subjected any more to division in provinces but however kept some elements of the provincial level (mainly a governor and a vice-governor).

There is in Walloon region of the discussions as for the relevance of the Walloon space division in provinces, and the idea of the suppression of those was advanced, without concretization until now.

Flemish Provinces

  • the Province of Brabant-Fleming (sometimes: the Province of the Brabant-Fleming); short form: the Brabant-Fleming); short form in Dutch: the Vlaams-Brabant

    • Population: 1  014  704  inhabitants
    • Surface: 2  106  km ²
    • Chief town: Leuwen ( Leuven in Dutch)

  • the province of Limbourg; short form: the Limbourg; semi-official short form: the Belgian Limbourg (to distinguish it from the Dutch Limbourg); short form in Dutch: Limburg

    • Population: 791  178  inhabitants
    • Surface: 2  422  km ²
    • Chief town: Hasselt ( Hasselt also in Dutch)

Walloon Provinces

Orthotypography

The provinces are enumerated in article 5 of the Belgian Constitution and with C-Ws communication where the rules of use of the Hyphen in French are ignored:
“ the Walloon region includes/understands the following provinces: the the Walloon Brabant, the Hainaut, Liege, the Luxembourg and Namur. The Flemish Région includes/understands the following provinces: Antwerp, the the Flemish Brabant, the Western Flanders, the Eastern Flanders and the Limbourg. ”

One meets also the following Cacographie S: the “the Flemish Brabant”, the “the Walloon Brabant”, the “Western Flanders” and the “Eastern Flanders”.

The usual dictionaries (the Petit Larousse 2007 in particular) preserve the traditional C-W communication for the two provinces existing for a long time, the Flanders-Western and the Flanders-Eastern but omit the Hyphen for the two provinces created in 1995, the “the Flemish Brabant” and the “the Walloon Brabant”…

But one will write the Flemish Brabant and the Walloon Brabant to indicate the parts Flemish and Walloon of old the Province of the Brabant for example.

In addition there exists a modern French tendency to replace by in expression such as the Royaume of Denmark which becomes then the Royaume of Denmark …

See too

Random links:Palynology | Guang' year | Pierre Keller | Scott Clausen | Grégory Pernet