Lessines

Lessines (Dutch: Lessen; Picard: Lissene) is a Picard municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. As of the 2014 census, Lessine's total population was 18,637. The total area is 72.29 km² (27.91 square miles) which gives a population density of 247 inhabitants per km².

Lessines

Lessen  (Dutch)
Municipality
Flag
Coat of arms
Lessines
Location in Belgium
Location of Lessines in Hainaut
Coordinates: 50°43′N 03°50′E
CountryBelgium
CommunityFrench Community
RegionWallonia
ProvinceHainaut
ArrondissementAth
Government
 • MayorPascal De Handschutter (PS)
 • Governing party/iesPS, MR, cdH
Population
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total18,552
Postal codes
7860 Lessines
7861 Papignies
7861 Wannebecq
7862 Ogy
7863 Ghoy
7864 Deux-Acren
7866 Bois-de-Lessines
7866 Ollignies
Area codes068
Websitewww.lessines.be

The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Lessines proper, Ghoy, Bois-de-Lessines (Lessenbos), Ogy (Oseke), Papignies (Papegem), Deux-Acren (Acren), Wannebecq (Wannebeek), and Ollignies (Woelingen).

It is primarily known as the birthplace of the Surrealist painter René Magritte (1898 – 1967).

History

Postal history

The Lessines post office opened before 1830. It used postal code 71 with bars (before 1864), and 214 with points before 1874. Deux-Acren post office opened on 15 May 1866. It used postal code 104 with points before 1874. The Papignies post office opened on 18 February 1880, Ghoy and Ollignies on 25 May 1905, and Ogy on 5 November 1907.[2]

Postal codes in 1969:[3] -7850 Ollignies -7851 Bois-de-Lessines -7860 Lessines -7861 Papignies -7862 Ogy -7863 Ghoy -7870 Deux-Acren

Postal codes since at least 1990: -7860 Lessines -7861 Papignies, Wannebecq (not opened in 1969) -7862 Ogy -7863 Ghoy -7864 Deux-Acren -7866 Bois-de-Lessines, Ollignies

Culture

The Underwear Museum, created by Jan Bucquoy, is in Lessines; it moved from Brussels to Lessines in 2016.[4]

Images
  • Quarry
  • Porch keystone of the Hôpital Notre-Dame à la Rose ("Hospital of Our Lady with the Rose")
  • "Lessinia Vrbs" from the book "Het steden-Boek" by Joan Blaeu c. ± 1649 (Amsterdam).

References
  1. "Wettelijke Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2018". Statbel. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. Catalogue Spécialisé des Oblitérations Belges, Nationale en Internationale Postzegelmanifestaties Antwerpen (NIPA), Antwerp, 1999.
  3. Liste des Numéros Postaux, Administration des Postes, Bruxelles 1969.
  4. Boyle, Robyn (2016-09-25). "Underwear Museum moves from Brussels to Lessines". The Bulletin. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
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