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Charleroi (Walloon: Tchålerwè) is the first city and municipality of Wallonia in population. It is located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1 2005, Charleroi had a total population of 201,373. The total area is 102.08 km² which gives a population density of 1,972.75 inhabitants per km². The agglomeration has a population of around 500,000. The inhabitants are called Carolorégiens or simply Carolos.
The municipality features an industrial area, iron and steel industry, glassworks, chemicals, and electrical engineering. Charleroi is in the center of a vast coal basin, called Pays noir. Many slag heaps still surround the city.
History
The origin of the city is in a small village named Charnoy. In 1666 the Spaniards built a fortress in Charnoy, which was named Charleroy in honor of the child-king Charles II.
Transport
Air
The local airport, Charleroi Brussels South, is a base of low-cost airline Ryanair. Eastern european low-cost carrier Wizz Air flies to Budapest, Ljubljana and Warsaw, while italian operator OnAir has seasonal services to Pescara, Italy.The current terminal, which has exceeded capacity, is to be replaced by a new one in 2007 (currently under construction), boosting total capacity to 3.000.000 passengers a year.
Public transport
Public transport is run by TEC (Transport En Commun), the Wallon public transport company. The greater Charleroi region is served by bus lines and a light rail Metro system (Métro Léger de Charleroi). Part of the latter is famous for incorporating one of the few remnants of the Vicinal, the former Belgian national tramway network.The métro: grand plans unrealized
The TEC Light Rail Métro is equally famous for the parts of it which were never built, partially built, or fully completed but not opened. It was planned in the 1960s as a 48-km light rail network, operating on heavy rail metro infrastructure, consisting of eight lines radiating from a central loop downtown. However only one line (to Petria), part of another line (to Gilly), and three-quarters of the loop were actually built and opened to traffic, all between 1976 and 1996. The high costs of construction, together with a decline in Charleroi's traditional "smokestack" industries, and questioning of the scope of the whole project in proportion to the actual demand for it, are all cited as reasons for the original plan going unfulfilled.Completion of the central loop and the Gilly line to Soleilmont are planned within the next five years. Part of another branch (to Châtelet) was fully completed but never placed in service, and is unlikely ever to be opened or completed.
See also
External links
- Official web site
- Unofficial history of tramways in Charleroi (in French)
- Urban adventurers explore and photograph an unused Métro line
Municipalities of Hainaut | Cities and towns in Belgium
Шарлероа | Charleroi | Charleroi | Σαρλρουά | Charleroi | Charleroi | Charleroi | Charleroi | Charleroi | שרלרואה | Charleroi | Charleroi | Charleroi | Charleroi | Charleroi | Charleroi | Tchålerwè
"Charleroi"