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28-519: The municipality consists of the following districts : Ben-Ahin , Huy, Neuville-sous-Huy , and Tihange . Francia 636–843 Middle Francia 843–855 Lotharingia 855–959 [REDACTED] Duchy of Lower Lorraine 959–985 [REDACTED] Prince-Bishopric of Liège 985–1789 [REDACTED] Republic of Liège 1789–1791 [REDACTED] Prince-Bishopric of Liège 1791–1795 [REDACTED] French Republic 1795–1804 [REDACTED] French Empire 1804–1815 [REDACTED] Kingdom of

56-444: A geographical, linguistic, economic, social or cultural nature. In 1964 and in 1969 and 1970, roughly 300 municipalities ceased to exist and were subsumed into other municipalities. The number of municipalities was reduced from 2,663 in 1961 to 2,586 in 1965 and to 2,359 in 1971. Article 4 of the constitution states that each municipality must belong to only one of the four official language areas that were established in 1962–63. In

84-890: A result, there are several differences between the municipal institutions in Flanders, in Wallonia and in Brussels. Wallonia has also further devolved part of its responsibilities to the German-speaking Community with regards to its 9 municipalities. The three Regions can amend or replace the existing legislation on the municipalities, most notably the New Municipal Law. In the Flanders the Municipal Decree of 15 July 2005 applies. In Wallonia

112-417: Is also responsible for the maintenance of public order in their municipality. They chair the college of mayor and aldermen or the municipal college, depending on the region , as well. In the Flanders and Brussels , the mayor is appointed by the regional government, on the nomination of the municipal council, for a term of office of six years. In Wallonia , the mayor is the municipal councillor who received

140-533: Is home to the finish of La Flèche Wallonne (English: Walloon Arrow ; Dutch: Waalse Pijl ), an important 1-day cycling race held midweek in mid-April. The race traverses, and finishes, at the summit of the Mur de Huy (English: Wall of Huy ), a climb of about 1 kilometer with an average gradient of 10%, with sections of 20%. Huy has also been used in the Tour de France four times: 1995 , 2001 , 2006 and 2015 . Huy

168-454: Is responsible for the daily administration of the municipality. It is also responsible for the preparation and implementation of the decisions of the municipal council. The municipal council ( Dutch : gemeenteraad ; French : conseil communal ; German : Gemeinderat ) is the representative assembly of the municipality and consists of members directly elected for a term of office of six years. The number of municipal councillors depends on

196-692: The Brussels Capital Region , which is not divided in provinces. In most cases, the municipalities are the smallest administrative subdivisions of Belgium, but in municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, on the initiative of the local council, sub-municipal administrative entities with elected councils may be created. As such, only Antwerp , having over 500,000 inhabitants, became subdivided into nine districts ( Dutch : districten ). The Belgian arrondissements ( Dutch : arrondissementen ; French : arrondissements ; German : Bezirke ), an administrative level between province (or

224-610: The East Cantons that were added to Belgium following the First World War . In 1961, the so-called Unitary Law ( Dutch : Eenheidswet ; French : Loi unique ; German : Einheitsgesetz ), of which the fourth chapter was dedicated to the territorial organisation of the municipalities, was adopted. The authority to abolish municipalities was entrusted to the executive branch for a period of 10 years. Municipalities could be merged on financial grounds or on grounds of

252-435: The regular elections of 14 October 2018 , and the change took effect on 1 January 2019. The mayor ( Dutch : burgemeester ; French : bourgmestre ; German : Bürgermeister ) is not only the head of the municipality but also the representative of the regional and the federal government at the local level. In that capacity, they are responsible for the execution of laws , decrees , ordinances and orders. The mayor

280-612: The 20th century was felt here, as in other parts of Wallonia. Today, the city has started to prosper again, thanks in part to its tin products and tourist activity. In 1970, the Tihange Nuclear Power Station was built nearby. Every seven years, a religious procession takes place in the so-called 'septennial festivities' in commemoration of the end of a drought in 1656. The last one took place on 15 August 2019. The four 'wonders of Huy' are (in Huy dialect ): Huy

308-584: The Belgian borders were recognised in 1839, as 124 municipalities were ceded to the Netherlands and another 119 municipalities became the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (see the article Communes of Luxembourg for details). New municipalities were created until 1928. There were 2,528 municipalities in 1850, 2,572 in 1875, 2,617 in 1900 and a maximum of 2,675 in 1929. This also includes the municipalities of

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336-625: The Code of Local Democracy and Decentralization applies. In Brussels several provisions of the New Municipal Law have been modified by ordinance , such as the Ordinance of 17 July 2003. The legal framework in the three Regions is still relatively similar, but that could change in the future. Since 1970, the Belgian Constitution includes the possibility to create agglomerations and federations of municipalities by law. This possibility

364-527: The Netherlands 1815–1830 [REDACTED]   Kingdom of Belgium 1830–present The first village originated around the Roman castrum , an early fortress located on the right bank of the river Meuse . The village was evangelized by Saint Domitian , bishop of Tongeren in the 6th century and the town is mentioned for the first time in a 7th-century testament (as Hoius vicus , taking its name from

392-694: The capital region) and municipality, or the lowest judicial level, are in English sometimes called districts as well. Here are three lists of municipalities for each one of the three regions: The municipalities, as an administrative division , were officially created in 1795, when the Directoire reorganised the structures of the Ancien Régime . The municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants were grouped in so-called canton municipalities. In 1800, these canton municipalities were abolished again and

420-465: The city to be repeatedly attacked and put to the sword, to the point that the frustrated inhabitants dismantled their own castle, source of their miseries, in 1715. A new fortress was built by the Dutch in 1818 at the same strategic location above the town, called Fort de Huy . The 19th century was a period of relative prosperity based on the paper and other industries. The decline of heavy industry in

448-463: The cloth industry. The castle on a hill right in the middle of town, was used in times of war and strengthened accordingly. By the 15th century, it had become the symbol of the city. The following two centuries, however, witnessed a gradual decline in the city's fortunes, due in large part to the strategic value of its location on the Meuse. In the latter part of the 17th century, Louis XIV 's wars caused

476-532: The federal level to the three regions. This did not instantly have any significant effect on the reorganisation of municipalities, up until the Flemish Bourgeois Government (2014-2019) provided a legal framework and financial incentives for municipalities to consider merging. This led 15 Flemish municipalities to merge into seven, decreasing the total number of Flemish municipalities from 308 to 300. Their municipal councils were elected in

504-439: The largest number of preferential votes of the majority party that received the largest number of votes in the municipal elections. Hence, it is also possible that the mayor is not a member of the largest party, as the largest party is not always part of the governing coalition. It is also possible in Wallonia for the municipal council to adopt a constructive motion of no confidence in the municipal college. The executive organ of

532-565: The most minute Belgian municipalities are still found in this group, notably Herstappe with only 84 inhabitants (in 2006). Lucien Harmegnies, Minister of the Interior in the government of Gaston Eyskens (1968–1972) decided to continue the process of territorial reorganization of Belgium. In 1971, the provisions of the Unity Law were extended and modified to apply to large agglomerations, which were initially excluded from its provisions. It

560-477: The municipalities of Berchem , Borgerhout , Deurne , Hoboken , Ekeren , Merksem and Wilrijk in 1983 finally reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium to 589 and was the last reorganization of the municipalities for several decades because the merger of the 19 municipalities of Brussels was postponed indefinitely. The fifth state reform (2001) transferred the responsibility over municipalities from

588-426: The municipality is known as the college of mayor and aldermen ( Dutch : college van burgemeester en schepenen ; French : collège des bourgmestre et échevins ), commonly referred to as the college of aldermen ( Dutch : schepencollege ; French : collège échevinal ), in Flanders and Brussels, and as the municipal college ( French : collège communal ; German : gemeindekollegium ) in Wallonia. This college

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616-485: The number of autonomous municipalities became 2,776. Not much changed during the United Kingdom of the Netherlands , only a number of smaller municipalities were merged. In 1831, Belgium was divided into 2,739 municipalities, a number which remained more or less constant until 1961. The law of 30 March 1836 regulated municipalities and their governing bodies. The number of municipalities was reduced to 2,508 when

644-530: The number of inhabitants of the municipality, and can vary from 7 to 55. It is responsible for all matters that are of municipal interest. Following the Fifth State Reform in 2001, the responsibility for the composition, the organization, the competences and the activities of the municipal institutions were devolved to the Regions , as well as the responsibility for the provincial institutions . As

672-489: The river Hoyoux ). In the early Middle Ages , Huy was one of the most prosperous cities on the Meuse, with a flourishing economy based mostly on metallurgy , but also on tanning , sculpting , woodworking , and wine -making. In the 10th century, Huy was promoted to county status , but soon became part of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège , with which it would share its history for more than eight centuries. Huy

700-404: The three officially unilingual language areas, a couple of dozen municipalities in the vicinity of another language area must provide limited facilities for speakers of that other language. As only a law carried by special majorities can change the language status of any municipality, these arrangements have prevented some small municipalities with facilities to be merged in the 1970s, and thus

728-721: Was another Minister of the Interior, Joseph Michel, who managed the process. On 30 December 1975 the law regarding the merger of the municipalities was adopted. The merger became effective on 1 January 1977. The merger of 1977 further reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium from 2,359 to 596. Because of the specific nature of the reorganization in Antwerp , the law of 30 December 1975 did not enter into force for Antwerp until 1 January 1983. The formerly-independent municipalities were called districts and were given an advisory function. However, on 1 January 2001 they were given an administrative function again. The merger of Antwerp with

756-679: Was the recipient of the first historically known charter north of the Alps , confirming it as a city in 1066. It is around that time that Peter the Hermit harangued the locals and persuaded them to participate in the First Crusade , having already participated himself in the People's Crusade and the Rhineland massacres in 1096. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the economy boomed thanks to

784-466: Was used as a location for the first series of the 2014 BBC television drama series The Missing . Huy is twinned with: Municipalities of Belgium Belgium comprises 581 municipalities ( Dutch : gemeenten ; French : communes ; German : Gemeinden ), 300 of them grouped into five provinces in Flanders and 262 others in five provinces in Wallonia , while the remaining 19 are in

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