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Ath Ât (Picard) Aat (Dutch) | |
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 Ath City Hall | |
 Flag .svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Ath  | |
  Ath Location in Belgium Location of Ath in Hainaut  | |
| Coordinates:50°37′N03°46′E / 50.617°N 3.767°E /50.617; 3.767 | |
| Country |  Belgium |
| Community | French Community |
| Region | Wallonia |
| Province |  Hainaut |
| Arrondissement | Ath |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bruno Lefèbvre (PS) |
| • Governing party/ies | PS-MR-Ecolo |
| Area | |
• Total | 127.9 km2 (49.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 29,164 |
| • Density | 230/km2 (590/sq mi) |
| Postal codes | 7800, 7801, 7802, 7803, 7804, 7810, 7811, 7812, 7822, 7823 |
| NIS code | 51004 |
| Area codes | 068 |
| Website | www.ath.be |
Ath (French pronunciation:[at]ⓘ;Dutch:Aat,Dutch pronunciation:[aːt]ⓘ;Picard:Ât;Walloon:Ate) is a city andmunicipality ofWallonia located in theprovince of Hainaut,Belgium.
Themunicipality consists of the following districts:Arbre, Ath,Bouvignies,Ghislenghien,Gibecq,Houtaing,Irchonwelz,Isières,Lanquesaint,Ligne,Maffle,Mainvault,Meslin-l'Évêque,Moulbaix,Ormeignies,Ostiches,Rebaix,Villers-Notre-Dame, andVillers-Saint-Amand.
Ath is known as the "City of Giants" after theDucasse d'Ath festivities which take place every year on the fourth weekend in August. Huge figures representingGoliath,Samson, and other allegoric figures are paraded through the streets, and Goliath's wedding and his famous fight withDavid are re-enacted.
Ath is the point of origin of the riverDender from the merger of its Eastern and Western branches.
The nameAthum is attested first in 1076. Other spellings includeAat andAeth. It may refer to a fortified place on aford (Celtic origin; cf.Irish name of Dublin,Baile Átha Cliath, whereÁtha clearly means the ford, as oft-elsewhere inIreland where there is a river to cross).
Archeological records show the existence of severalGallo-Roman settlements in the Ath area. The origin of the city of Ath, however, dates from around 1160, when CountBaudouin IV ofHainaut, bought some territory from his liegeman, Gilles de Trazegnies. A few years later, Baldwin built the Burbant Tower – which can still be seen today – to protect his new acquisition. The new city was soon given privileges and its newly built (1325) market hall on theGrand-Place began to attract residents.
Ath was the setting of the "Peace of Ath", signed on June 4, 1357, to end the question of theBrabant succession.[2] By then, the weekly Ath market, which took place – and still takes place – on Thursdays, had started attracting sellers from a much larger region. The production of linen, cloth, hide, and luxury items such as gold ware, cabinets, and sculptures was growing fast. The population growth necessitated the building of a second wall, which was completed at the end of the 14th century. In 1416, the city built a school for the study ofLatin, whichJustus Lipsius attended. The city counted then about 5,000 people.
In 1667, Ath was conquered in a single day by the army ofLouis XIV and became the firstFrench city of theSpanish Netherlands. Soon after,Vauban built new fortifications, which included eight bastions. The city suffered again at the hands of the French army in 1745. At the end of the 18th century, Ath counted about 7,300 inhabitants but the population count decreased in the first half of the 19th century.
In 1816, two military engineering surveys concluded that Ath defences should be improved, the British survey recommended a garrison of 3,000 troops and the building cost would be £143,599. The Dutch wished to spend an additional £266,000. TheDuke of Wellington agreed to the Dutch plan. The funding was paid for by England (30%), Holland (30%) and by French war reparations (40%).[3]: 388 In 1824, theDutch under KingWilliam I, built the Féron Fort, and the city once more gained strategic value.
A treaty drafted in London on 15 November 1831,[4] which the Netherlands refused to sign, was followed by theTreaty of London (1839), which created theKingdom of Belgium. Part of the terms of the treaty required the fort, amongst others, to be dismantled.
The freed up land assisted the town for the activities of a growing population. A new growth period took place between 1850 and 1914 driven by the forestry, agricultural (breweries, mills) and textile industries.
In the 20th century, most of these industries went into decline and were replaced by commercial, administrative and educational activities. In the last 30 years, several neighbourhoods have been revitalized and developed, and the city's monuments renovated or restored.
The Ghislenghien industrial park near Ath was the scene of one of Belgium's worst ever industrial disasters on July 30, 2004. Around 8:30 amlocal time, workers constructing a new factory forabrasives firmDiamant Boart [nl] (asubsidiary of theElectrolux Group)[5][6] reported a strong smell ofgas. It is believed the gas was escaping from a high-pressure undergroundpipeline conveying natural gas fromZeebrugge toFrance, operated by gas transportation companyFluxys.Firefighters were soon on the scene and were attempting to clear the area when at least two explosions occurred at around 9:00 am. The strongest of these demolished the partly built Diamant Boart structure, and fires were started in several other buildings. 24 people were killed, with over 120 injured. Five volunteer firemen and one police officer were among the dead.[7]
The “Ducasse”[8] originated from a yearly procession developed in the 15th century (first mentioned in 1399) as a celebration of the consecration of the local Saint Julien church. This procession illustrated stories from theOld Testament,New Testament,Golden Legend, andCarolingian cycle. Today, the “Ducasse” is a very popular celebration that includes various festivities and lasts several days spanning the end of August and beginning of September. The highlight is the cortege of giants[9] (inFrench:Cortège des géants), withDavid andGoliath as the most famous characters. In 2008, the Ducasse was listed byUNESCO among theMasterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It was delisted in 2022 following complaints about one of the characters that appears in the procession: a 'savage', depicted by a white person inblackface, wearing anose ring and chains.[10]
Ath is located along theN56 road.
 | This article's list of residentsmay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Pleaseimprove this article by removing names that do not have independentreliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are residents, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations.(July 2021) |
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Places adjacent to Ath | |
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| Ath |  | |
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| Charleroi | ||
| La Louvière | ||
| Mons | ||
| Soignies | ||
| Thuin | ||
| Tournai-Mouscron | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
