Charleroi, Belgium

Charleroi (Walloon: Tchålerwè, Dutch: Karelskoning) is a city and a municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1st, 2004 Charleroi had a total population of 200,608 (97,034 males and 103,574 females). The total area is 102.08 km² which gives a population density of 1,965.25 inhabitants per km². The agglomeration has a population of around 500,000. It is the fourth largest city in Belgium and the largest in Wallonia. The inhabitants are called Carolorégiens.

The municipality features an industrial area, iron and steel industry, glassmakings, chemicals, electrical engineerings. Charleroi is in the center of a vast coal basin, called Pays noir. Surrounding the town, there are still many slag heaps.

History

The origin of the city is a small village named Charnoy, in 1666 the Spaniards build there a fortress which was named Charleroy in the honor of the child-king Charles II.