Wervicq-Sud

History

The name appears in the form Viroviacum in the Antonine Itinerary and the Peutinger map of settlements in the 3rd century. It was here that the Roman road from Tournai to Cassel crossed the Lys (a tributary of the Scheldt). It had a fortified post, of which traces are still visible. It was mentioned by Sanderus in his "Flandria illustrata" in the sixteenth century. For centuries, Werviq-Sud and Wervik were one unified settlement and belonged to the County of Flanders, an autonomous but tributary principality to French kings. In 1527 by the Treaty of Madrid it passed under the suzerainty of the Spanish empire. The town was during the sixteenth century the main centre of tobacco production in Europe. It remained dependent on Spain until Louis XIV's conquest in 1667. Subsequently the town passed on to Austrian Empire then back to French. It wasn't until 1713 that Werviq-Sud was finally separated from Wervik when the Treaty of Utrecht led to the river Lys becoming a border splitting the French and Austrian territories in this area. The town's right (south) bank become a part of the Nord department under the name Wervicq-Sud in 1790. There was a small uprising here after the 1830 Belgian Revolution. Locals, together with those in nearby Bousbecque and a small number from Comines, demanded reunification with their Belgian counterparts on the other side of the Lys. This ended after an intervention of the Gendarmes. During World War I the town was occupied by the Germans. In World War II it was integrated into the Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France and reunited with its Belgian counterpart Wervik.

Most-observed species

• Yellow-legged hornet

  Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836 · Insecta
  12,113
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,322
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,623
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  4,451
• Ring-necked Pheasant

  Phasianus colchicus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,732
• Egyptian Goose

  Alopochen aegyptiaca (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,663
• Harlequin ladybird, Asian ladybird, Asian ladybeetle

  Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) · Insecta
  3,645
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,461

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2008-08-08
  1 km SSE of Boussu, Belgium
• M 3.2 — 2008-07-14
  1 km SW of Boussu, Belgium
• M 3.1 — 2005-02-27
  1 km NW of Libercourt, France
• M 2.5 — 2004-10-03
  0 km ESE of Maubray, Belgium
• M 2.7 — 2002-04-30
  0 km SSE of Waudrez, Belgium
• M 3.1 — 2001-07-02
  3 km NNE of Oostduinkerke, Belgium