Gembloux

Gembloux Gembloers (Dutch)
Municipality
Gembloux town hall square and belfry
Flag Coat of arms
Gembloux Location in Belgium
Location of Gembloux in the province of Namur
Coordinates:
Country	Belgium
Community	French Community
Region	Wallonia
Province	Namur
Arrondissement	Namur
Government
• Mayor	Benoît Dispa (Bailli)
• Governing party/ies	Bailli, Ecolo
Area
• Total	95.86 km2 (37.01 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2013)
• Total	24,153
• Density	250/km2 (650/sq mi)
Postal codes	5030-5032
Area codes	081
Website	www.gembloux.be

Gembloux (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɑ̃.blu]; in Walloon: Djiblou; in Dutch: Gembloers) is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur, on the axis Brussels–Namur

On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 21,964 inhabitants. The total area is 95.86 km², giving a population density of 229 inhabitants per km². The mayor, who has been elected on 8 October 2006, is Benoît Dispa.

This city is well known for its Agricultural University and for its cutlery. The university is housed in the historical Abbey of Gembloux, which dates from the tenth century.

Gembloux's Belfry belongs to the set of belfries of Belgium and France inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2005.

University Faculty of agronomic sciences

History

The town grew around the Gembloux Abbey, founded in the tenth century. In the vicinity of the town, in 1578, the Battle of Gembloux was fought during the Eighty Years' War. In May 1940 the Battle of Hannut and the Battle of the Gembloux Gap took place nearby, tank battles during the larger Battle of France.

Sections

Gembloux is composed by the sections of Gembloux, Beuzet, Bossière, Bothey, Corroy-le-Château, Ernage, Grand-Leez, Grand-Manil, Isnes, Lonzée, Mazy & Sauvenière.

Notable inhabitants

• Christophe Szpajdel, sketch artist (born 1970)

Twin towns

Gembloux is twinned with

• - Épinal, France : since 1974
• - Loughborough, United Kingdom : since 1993
• - Skyros, Greece : since 1994
• - Aller, Spain : since 2007

See also

• List of protected heritage sites in Gembloux
• Crealys Science Park

External links

• Gembloux official site (in French)