Hornu

Hornu (in Picardy and Walloon Ornu ) is a section of the common Belgian of Boussu, located in Walloon region in the Province of Hainaut.

It was a commune with whole share before the fusion of the communes of 1977.

Etymology

The name of Hornu finds its origin in the Germanic name of hornja meaning not rock, boils of ground .

History

In the beginning Hornu occupied a surface definitely larger than today since its territory included that of the town of Saint-Ghislain and of the abbey of Saint-Ghislain. It is celebrates it king mérovingien Dagobert Ier who at the 7th century gave the grounds currently located on those to the saint founder of this monastery. Besides the abbots of Saint-Ghislain exerted their power until the French revolution of 1789. The importance exerted in the past by the commune of Hornu is shown besides by the weekly market which had developed there at the beginning of the 11th century, by the position of Doyenné occupied by its parish during the same century but more especially by the Court of justice of the counts de Hainaut which sat there at the 14th century. Separation as well parochial as communal between Saint-Ghislain and Hornu occurred only towards the end of the 16th century.

Economy

It is the coal which of course was the resource par excellence of the commune. Indeed as of the 13th century one extracted there already the famous pit coal in small-scale farmings. These exploitations multiplied at a point such as at the 18th century the abbey of Saint-Ghislain granted to a Mons industrialist, a concession of several pits which it had on the territory of Hornu. The industrial revolution was going to upset even more the area because it is at this time that Henri De Gorge bought the coal mining of the Large-Hornu to make of it an industrial and architectural complex worthy of that which had been built 35 years earlier with Arc-and-Senans (France) by its compatriot Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Unfortunately very touched by bombardments having taken place at the end of the Second world war but also by the use of other fuels, coal mining of the commune as those of all the area started to close and ceased their activity in 1958 completely). This last rich person was not forgotten because not only one can see the vestiges of the great works created at this time such as the Mons-Cop channel, the first industrial railroad of Europe, but more especially the splendid complex of the Large-Hornu which after being partly restored accommodates the museum of the contemporary arts (MAC' S) and thus constitutes the symbol of the revival of the area.

Personalities related to the locality

Rene Christmas (1907-1987), politician

Internal bonds

the Large-Hornu

External bonds

Seen satellite of Large-Hornu on WikiMapia
Site of the commune of Boussu
Internet site of the Site of Large-Hornu the
Site of the MAC' S - Museum of the Contemporary arts

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