Association of Belgian municipalities

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On January 1, 1977, many Belgian parishes were merged into new, larger parishes. The total number of Belgian municipalities was reduced from 2359 to 596 as a result of this municipal area reform. As a result of the reorganization of the city of Antwerp , which came into force on January 1, 1983, the number of 589 was reached. After the mergers on January 1, 2019, there are only 581 parishes left.

prehistory

In 1831 there were a total of 2739 parishes in Belgium. This number of parishes remained more or less constant until 1961. This year it was decided to significantly reduce the number of parishes. The community amalgamations initially took place in 1964, 1969 and 1970. In total, more than 300 parishes were added to other parishes or merged with others to form new parishes.

In 1961 there were 2,663 parishes. In 1965 there were 2586 and in 1971 finally 2359 parishes.

Mergers 1977

Lucien Harmegnies , Minister of the Interior of the G. Eyskens V government (1968 to 1972), prepared the large-scale reorganization of the Belgian municipalities, which was to come into effect on January 1, 1977. Joseph Michel , Interior Minister in the Tindemans I government completed the project. On October 6, 1975, the reorganization plans were published. Smaller communities in particular felt abandoned by the plans. However, the law on the reorganization of Belgian municipalities was passed by Parliament on December 30, 1975. With the exception of the incorporation into the city of Antwerp, the regulations came into force in early 1977. Because of the language problems, two very small communities were able to keep their independence: Herstappe in the province of Limburg and Mesen in the province of West Flanders .

Antwerp

The law on the merger of municipalities in the Antwerp area did not come into force until January 1, 1983. The municipalities incorporated into Antwerp were called districts and received administrative tasks within the greater municipality of Antwerp. As a result of the merger of Antwerp with the previous outlying municipalities of Berchem , Borgerhout , Deurne , Ekeren , Hoboken , Merksem and Wilrijk , the total number of Belgian municipalities fell to 589.

Mergers 2019

The following mergers took place on January 1, 2019:

Todays situation

There are 581 parishes left . They are distributed among the regions as follows:

Mergers in the future

Efforts have been and continue to be to unite the often very small congregations into newer, more efficient congregations. A state-wide project is no longer possible, however, since the structure of the municipalities is the responsibility of the respective regions or, for the German-speaking community, these.

For a long time now, Brussels has been considering forming just one municipality (with city districts) or at least six municipalities from the existing 19 municipalities.

In Flanders, the plan for municipalities to join forces on January 1, 2013, failed. Not a single church was ready. The newly formed communities should receive financial support. In the meantime, there are current merger plans in individual cases that have not yet progressed beyond the planning phase. So Kruibeke could merge with Beveren in the province of East Flanders and Merchtem with Opwijk in the province of Flemish Brabant .

See also

Web links