Bernissart

Bernissart
Municipality

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Coat of arms
Bernissart

Location in Belgium

Coordinates: 50°29′N 03°39′E / 50.483°N 3.650°E / 50.483; 3.650Coordinates: 50°29′N 03°39′E / 50.483°N 3.650°E / 50.483; 3.650
Country Belgium
Community French Community
Region Wallonia
Province Hainaut
Arrondissement Ath
Government
 • Mayor Roger Vanderstraeten
 • Governing party/ies PS
Area
 • Total 43.42 km2 (16.76 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)[1]
 • Total 11,943
 • Density 280/km2 (710/sq mi)
Postal codes 7320-7322
Area codes 069
Website www.bernissart.be

Bernissart is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Bernissart had a total population of 11,458. The total area is 43.42 km², which gives a population density of 264 inhabitants per km². The municipality includes the village of Blaton, formerly an independent municipality.

The Iguanodon mine

In 1878, dozens of Iguanodon skeletons were discovered in a coal mine, 322 m (1,050 ft) below the ground. At the time, their proximity was considered proof that some dinosaurs were herd animals. They were mounted by Louis Dollo and set the standard that was followed for over a century. Nine of the twenty-nine skeletons are currently on display at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, and one at the Bernissart Museum. The two museums even made an error they acknowledge with humour : they displayed the skeletons "standing", suggesting that the dinosaurs were bidepal, which is not the case.

References

  1. ↑ Population per municipality as of 1 January 2016 (XLS; 397 KB)

External links

Péruwelz Belœil
Condé-sur-l'Escaut (FR-59) Saint-Ghislain
   Bernissart  
Saint-Aybert (FR-59) Hensies


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.