Chimay (, ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. In 2006, Chimay had a population of 9,774. The area is 197.10 km2 which gives a population density of 50 inhabitants per km2. It is the source of the Oise River.
In the administrative district of Thuin, the municipality was created with a merger of 14 communes in 1977. The Trappist monastery of Scourmont Abbey in the town is famous for the Chimay Brewery.
Toponymy The etymology of the name is ultimately, via Vulgar Latin, from the Proto-Celtic word koimos meaning "pretty, pleasant".
Subdivisions The Walloon names of the place names are in brackets and italics. Baileux (Balieu) Bailièvre (Bailleve) Bourlers (Bourlé) Chimay (Chimai) Forges (Foidjes) L'Escaillère (L'Ecayire) Lompret (Lompré) Rièzes (Rieze) Robechies (Robchiye) Saint-Remy (Sint-Rmey) Salles (Sale) Vaulx (Vå) Villers-la-Tour (Vilé-al-Tour) Virelles (Virele)
Demographics
Year Population Change Density 1904 3,383 17.1/km2 2003 9,871 +6,488 50.1/km2 2006 9,774 −22 or −0.23% 49.6/km2 2016 9,850 +76 or +0.78% 50.0/km2
Attractions Chimay Castle, the château of the princes of Chimay Lake Virelles The source of the Oise Chimay has traditionally hosted an annual motor racing event, run on a street circuit formed from local public roads. From the 1920s to 1960s the event was run for contemporary Grand Prix and sportscar categories, and included the famous Grand Prix des Frontières. In recent times, while the event has persisted it has been run for historic race series. The track briefly lost its licence in 2006 related to safety fears, but has since had it reinstated.
Chimay Trappist beers and cheeses are produced in the town by the Chimay Brewery, run by the Trappist monks of Scourmont Abbey, and are internationally renowned.
Notable people Daniel van Buyten (b. 1978), football player Alfred Cogniaux (1841–1916), botanist Émile Coulonvaux (1892–1966), politician François Duval (b. 1980), rally car driver Jean Froissart (c.1337-c.1405), medieval historian Georges Hostelet (1875–1960), mathematician, philosopher, and sociologist Thibaut Ramaekers (b. 2009), racing driver François-Joseph-Philippe de Riquet (1771–1843), Prince of Chimay, and his wife Thérésa Tallien (1773–1835), French social figure
Twin cities/towns Ramsgate, United Kingdom Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, France
References
External links
Official website Chimay at the Union of Cities and Municipalities of Wallonia chimay.be atheneeroyaldechimay.free.fr