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The history of Wallonia, from prehistoric times to the present day, is that of a territory which, since 1970, has approximately coincided with the territory of Wallonia, a federated component of Belgium, which also includes the smaller German-speaking Community of Belgium (73,000 inhabitants). Wallonia is the name colloquially given to the ...
Wallonia is a cognate of terms such as Wales, Cornwall and Wallachia. [9] [10] [11] The Germanic word Walha, meaning the strangers, referred to Gallic or Celtic people. Wallonia is named after the Walloons, a group of locals who natively speak Romance languages.
The history and presence of the Walloon people, i.e. francophone Belgians, in the Netherlands goes back to the foundation process of the Dutch state. Even more so, the region now known as Wallonia was part of the historical Southern Netherlands, a region now divided between the Netherlands, Belgium and the French Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
Based on other surveys and figures, Laurent Hendschel wrote in 1999 that between 30 and 40% people were bilingual in Wallonia (Walloon, Picard), among them 10% of the younger population (18–30 years old). According to Hendschel, there are 36 to 58% of young people have a passive knowledge of the regional languages. [25]
Coastal Flanders, the old territory of the Menapii, became part of the "Saxon Shore". In inland northern Belgium, Franks from the Roman frontier in the Rhine delta were allowed to re-settle in Toxandria in the 4th century. Wallonia remained more heavily Romanized, although it eventually became subject to Franks in the 5th century.
A song about Charlemagne, the Old French 12th-century chanson de geste Quatre Fils Aymon, mentions many of Wallonia's rivers, villages and other places. In Dinant the rock named Bayard takes its name for Bayard , the magic bay horse which, according to legend, jumped from the top of the rock to the other bank of the Meuse.
Mons (French: ⓘ; German and Dutch: Bergen, Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɛrɣə(n)] ⓘ; Walloon and Picard: Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Namur has taken on a new role as the capital of the federal region of Wallonia. Its location at the head of the Ardennes has also made it a popular tourist centre, with a casino located in its southern district on the left bank of the Meuse. The town's most prominent sight is the Citadel of Namur, now demilitarised and open to the public.