Waterloo, Belgium

Waterloo
Waterlô

Municipality

Maison communale (city hall) of Waterloo

Coat of arms

Waterloo

Location in Belgium

The municipality of Waterloo in Walloon Brabant

Coordinates: 50°43′2.89″N 04°23′52.48″E / 50.7174694°N 4.3979111°ECoordinates: 50°43′2.89″N 04°23′52.48″E / 50.7174694°N 4.3979111°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Florence Reuter

• Governing party/ies

Area

• Total

21.03 km² (8.12 sq mi)

Population (1 January 2016)

• Total

29,794

• Density

1,400/km² (3,700/sq mi)

Postal codes

1410

Area codes

Website

http://www.waterloo.be/

Waterloo (French pronunciation: [watɛʁlo],Dutch pronunciation: [ˈwaːtərloː], Walloon: Waterlô) is a municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, which in 2011 had a population of 29,706 and an area of 21.03 km² (8.12 sq mi). It is north of Braine-l'Alleud, which is the site of the Battle of Waterloo, where resurgent Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815. Waterloo is a multilingual town; the commune offers services in French, Dutch, and English.

The placename is of Dutch origin. The first element is most likely water, but it should be understood here as "wet". The second element is lo(o), an ancient word for "forest" or "clearing in a forest", coming from the Latin words lucus (forest) or lucum (clearing in a forest), cognate with the English placename suffix -ley or independent name Leigh. The early settlement was located on a marshy clearing in the Sonian Forest.

The name of Waterloo was mentioned for the first time in 1102 designating a small hamlet at the limit of a big forest (Sonian Forest) along a major road linking Brussels and Genappe, and further south the coal mines area. Waterloo was located at the crossing of the main road with a path leading to a farm (cense in Walloon). The crossing still exists: chaussée de Bruxelles with Boulevard de la Cense. Waterloo was a place where travellers and carriers of goods (mainly coal) could rest and escape the bandits at night.

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Wikipedia