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Pont-à-Celles

*Pont-a-Cele* (Walloon)
Pont-à-Celles Pont-a-Cele (Walloon)
Municipality
	Saint-Pierre church in Liberchies
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of Pont-à-Celles
	Pont-à-Celles Location in Belgium Location of Pont-à-Celles in Hainaut
	Coordinates: 50°30′N 04°21′E / 50.500°N 4.350°E
Country	Belgium
Community	French Community
Region	Wallonia
Province	Hainaut
Arrondissement	Charleroi
Government
• Mayor	Pascal Tavier (PS)
• Governing party/ies	PS - IC
Area
• Total	56.1 km2 (21.7 sq mi)
Population (2018-01-01)
• Total	17,287
• Density	310/km2 (800/sq mi)
Postal codes	6230, 6238
NIS code	52055
Area codes	071
Website	www.pontacelles.be

Pont-à-Celles (French pronunciation: [pɔ̃.t‿a sɛl] ^ⓘ; Walloon: Pont-a-Cele) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.

On January 1, 2018, Pont-à-Celles had a total population of 17,287. The total area is 55.73 km² which gives a population density of 310 inhabitants per km².

Administration

The municipality consists of the following districts: Buzet, Liberchies, Luttre, Obaix, Pont-à-Celles, Thiméon, and Viesville.

Origin of the name

Pont-à-Celles draws its name from Latin Cella, meaning room or cell of monk, probably because of the presence of the monastery founded in the 7th century, by Saint Amand (apostle of Belgium). The jurisdiction on which this primitive monastery was established, and then the priory of the Park, was called Celles, and later Pont-à-Celles.

The name of Pont-à-Celles appears for the first time during the 16th century, when the monks of the Park built a bridge over the Pieton river near the church. The parishioners of Luttre and Hairiamont then had to cross the bridge for going to service (hence bridge to Celles, or Pont-à-Celles in French). Gradually, this name extended to all the parish whose territory covered six seigniories.

When in 1795, the French replaced these six seigniories by a newly created municipality, they adopted the name of the parish (Pont-à-Celles). In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon in Waterloo, its territories were annexed to the Netherlands. With this occasion, the department of Jemappes (to which Pont-à-Celles belonged) became the province of Hainaut.

Notable people from Pont-à-Celles

The famous Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt was born in Liberchies. Every May, the community honors him with the open air Django Reinhardt Jazz Festival.