Havré

Havré

*Avrè* (Walloon)
Havré Avrè (Walloon)
Sub-municipality of Mons
	St. Martin Church
	Coat of arms
	Location of Havré
	Location of Havré in Mons
	Havré Havré
	Coordinates: 50°27′52″N 4°02′43″E / 50.46444°N 4.04528°E
Country	Belgium
Community	French Community
Region	Wallonia
Province	Hainaut
Arrondissement	Mons
Municipality	Mons
Area
• Total	17.94 km2 (6.93 sq mi)
Population (2020-01-01)
• Total	6,211
• Density	350/km2 (900/sq mi)
Postal codes	7021
Area codes	065

Havré (French pronunciation: [avʁe]; Walloon: Avrè) is a sub-municipality of the city of Mons located in the province of Hainaut, Wallonia, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1977. On 1 January 1977, it was merged into Mons.^[1]

Etymology

The village's name would likely originate from the old name Haverec. However, etymologists are uncertain about the origin and meaning of the name. Some say it would mean Country of the hops, some other think it would mean cleared ground, and more recently a German line of thought associate it with a German word that could translate to wild ash tree.

Geography

Havré is a village situated at the confines of the Borinage and the Centre region. It is traversed by the Canal du Centre and the Haine river. It is situated next to Boussoit, Bray, Mons, Obourg, Saint-Symphorien, Ville-sur-Haine, and Villers-Saint-Ghislain.

Economy

Havré was a wealthy municipality from the 19th century to 1950, with forests, salt refinery, tannery, tabac fabric, gunpowder factory, glass factory, phosphate quarry, but mostly thanks to coal mines which employed more than a thousand people.

In 1960, after the last coal mine closed, the village became a commuter-town for people mainly working in Brussels, Mons, and Charleroi.

In the tertiary sector of the economy, Havré counts small and medium supermarkets, and there are retail and handicraft shops. Sport is also developed with infrastructure for tennis, football, and basketball.