This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this articlebyadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Bernissart" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Bernissart (French pronunciation: [bɛʁnisaʁ]; Picard: Bernissåt) is a municipalityofWallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Bernissart
Bernissåt (Picard)
| |
|---|---|
 | |
Flag 
Coat of arms | |
Location of Bernissart  | |
  Bernissart
Location in Belgium
Location of Bernissart in Hainaut  | |
| Coordinates: 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 (PS) |
| • Governing party/ies | PS - Ecolo |
| Area | |
| • Total | 43.81 km2 (16.92 sq mi) |
| Population
(2018-01-01)[1]
| |
| • Total | 11,868 |
| • Density | 270/km2 (700/sq mi) |
| Postal codes |
7320-7322
|
| NIS code |
51009
|
| Area codes | 069 |
| Website | www.bernissart.be |
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 consists of the following districts: Blaton, Bernissart, Harchies, Pommerœul, and Ville-Pommerœul.
In 1878, dozens of Iguanodon skeletons were discovered in a coal mine, at a depth of 322 m (1,056 ft).[2] 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 bipedal, which is not the case.[citation needed] Found alongside the Iguanodon skeletons were the remains of plants, fish, and other reptiles,[2] including the crocodyliform Bernissartia.[3] The sediments are considered to belong to the Sainte-Barbe Clays Formation.
Media related to Bernissart at Wikimedia Commons