Wavre

Wavre is a city and municipality of Wallonia in Belgium and the capital of the province of Walloon Brabant. It lies in the Dyle valley, and most of its inhabitants speak French as their mother tongue and are known as Wavriens and Wavriennes. The municipality is made up of Bierges, Limal and Wavre proper. The town is nicknamed the City of the Maca after the statue of a small boy climbing the wall of the city hall, and tradition holds that touching the Maca brings a year of luck. Wavre was first mentioned in 1050 as a dependency of the County of Leuven, and in 1222 Duke Henry I of Brabant granted it a city charter. A Roman villa has been found close to the town, and a priory of Affligem Abbey once drew pilgrims from across the region.