Luttre

Luttre is a small village in Wallonia, Belgium, about 50km south of Brussels along the Charleroi-Brussels Canal, railway line and motorway. Its name means "crystal clear water". It is part of Pont-à-Celles, one of the municipality in the province of Hainaut.

From the Roman times till the Belgian independence

Following the conquest of Gaul (57B.C-52 A.D), Rome re-organised the new territories. Northern Gaul became the province BELGICA with Reims (F) as its capital city. This province was further divided into ‘civitates’. The area that would later become Luttre belonged to civitas Tungrorum with Tongeren (B) as the capital city, and was near civitas Nerviorum with Tournai (B) as capital.

The new rulers quickly developed a good road infrastructure (partly based on existing links). A ‘service station’ (Roman baths, taverns, stables….) have been discovered by archaeologists at Liberchies (a village located 3 km from Luttre) along the road “Bavai (F) – Tongeren (B) – Köln (D)”.

The first document mentioning the name of Luttre dates back to the end of the XIIIth century. It was an agreement between the seignior of Rêves (also seignior of Luttre) and the Monastery controlling the church of Celles (which would become Pont-à-Celles at the end of the XVIIIth century). The agreement was signed in 1289 and, from that time on, the priest of Celles would come thrice a week to hold services in a newly built chapel in Luttre.

It is generally agreed that the name of Luttre comes from an old German word “lutere” which means “pure, transparent, limpid water”.

Luttre was a tax-haven in the duchy of Brabant, extending from Nivelles (B) till St Hertogenbosch (NL) with Leuven (B) as the capital city. Luttre depended on Nivelles – duchy of Brabant – for administrative duties (taxes, justice) while the birth, marriage and death registers were kept by the priest of Celles which depended on Thuin (B), and thus to the principality of Liège (B). The church kept such registers at that time.

Being a tax-free zone, the inhabitants were exempted from paying taxes on consumer goods. It also meant that people from the neighbouring villages were coming to Luttre for alcohol, wine or beer. We can also imagine a number of inns and pubs for travellers as the Roman highway was quite near.

The area suffered a lot because of continuous wars throughout the centuries. Nevertheless, a traveller in 1615 going from Tournai (B) to Liège (B) wrote about the crystal clear water of the “Piéton”, the stream crossing Luttre, and the beauty of the landscape (green hills, forests and surrounding prairies).

Because of the new ideas following the French revolution in 1789, the Austrian Emperor (who was governing present day Belgian territories) wanted to impose reforms. It was followed by a period of unrest that ended with the French invasion in 1794. The old regime (rights of the seigniors, the power of the monasteries, the church keeping official registers) was abolished.

A new system based on municipalities was established in 1795. The municipality of Pont-à-Celles was created from 6 former seigniories (including Luttre). At the same time, the invaded territories were divided in 9 departments. Some municipalities, including that of the new Pont-à-Celles, were withdrawn from Nivelles (which went to the Dyle department, later which became the province of Brabant in 1815) and have become part of the Jemappes (named after a French victory in 1792) department.

After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, present day Belgian territories were united to those of the Netherlands. The Jemappes department became the current province of Hainaut.

Railway

Since 1998, Luttre is an IC/IR railway station along the line Charleroi-Sud - Brussels - Antwerpen-Centraal. Luttre is served twice an hour by IC (Intercity) trains Charleroi - Nivelles - Brussels - Mechelen - Antwerpen. This means that Luttre is connected every half an hour to Charleroi, Nivelles, Brussels, Mechelen and Antwerpen by a fast train. Luttre is also served every hour by the L (local) train Charleroi - Pont-à-Celles - Manage - Braine-le-Comte.