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Welcome The city entity of Leuze-en-Hainaut appeared in 1977, after the merging of the City of Leuze and its 9 adjacent municipalities: Blicquy, Chapelle-à-Oie, Chapelle-à-Wattines, Gallaix, Grandmetz, Pipaix, Thieulain, Tourpes and Willaupuis. As a result, the city entity includes an urban area surrounded by a rural zone, making it possible for each one to hold half of the population (13,341 residents as of June 1st, 2009).
The City of Leuze-en-Hainaut is located at the intersection of two main roads: the RN 7 Brussels-Ath-Tournai-Lille and the RN 60 Gent-Ronse-Péruwelz-Valenciennes. The city is bordered by two highways located within 10 km of the city center: A8 Brussels-Lille and E42-A16, the Wallonia highway.
Until the seventies, Leuze-en-Hainaut was a largely industrial city with the hosiery business as its main source. Major restructuring included implementing industrial zones and remodeling the majority of sites of economic activity, no longer used by the hosiery industry, and localized into the urban structure of Leuze - a city benefiting the new destinations (housing, offices, etc…) that match an urban center. Other projects (such as sports facilities and filing) are also underway for the most recent major industrial wasteland
The population of Leuze saw a slight increase (4% in 20 years). To serve the public, the city entity has made available the majority of the necessary everyday equipment: administrative services, teaching centers and cultural, sports, health and religious facilities.
The industrial activities are currently directed toward the two industrial parks located east of the city center.
In the entity’s municipalities, the rural features are oriented toward agriculture, and primarily dedicated to the major cultivation and cattle breeding. Agricultural land occupies 82% of the municipal territory; 11% is urbanized; the remaining 7% varies.
There are few woods and forests on the territory; they cover about 133 ha, with the majority in Blicquy.
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