WAVRE

(French), Flemish Waver capital of Walloon Brabant province, central Belgium. It lies along the Dijle (Dyle) River about 14 miles (22 km) southeast of Brussels. The town began as a trading centre at a river crossing and was chartered in 1222. Wavre was burned in 1489 for revolting against the rule of the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian I, and it was burned again by the Spanish in 1604. A battle was fought at Wavre between the French and Prussians in 1815 on the same day as the nearby Battle of Waterloo. Much of the town was destroyed by German bombing in May 1940. Wavre became the capital of newly created Walloon Brabant province in 1995. The Town Hall occupies the rebuilt church of a Carmelite friary dating from 1662. The Gothic-style Church of Saint John the Baptist was completed in 1480. Modern Wavre is primarily a commercial centre with some metal and plastics manufacturing. One of the popular Walibi amusement parks is nearby. Pop. (1991) 28,565.