CHARLEROI, a town of Belgium, in the province of Hainault, about
33 miles south of Brussels, on the Sambre, a navigable tributary
of the 'Meuse. It is the seat of a court of primary instance,
and possesses a gymnasium, an academy of painting, a hospital, a
parish church dating from the time of Louis MN., and a prison
erected in 1852 in the style of a feudal castle. Situated in the
midst of an extensive mining district, it has developed into one
of the most important industrial centres in the country,
carrying on a large manufacture of glass, iron, cutlery, cotton
cloth, and woollen yarn. Several thousand persons are engaged in
the nail trade alone ; and the forges of Couillet. about two
miles from the town, supply a third Of the whole quantity of
cast-iron produced in the kingdom. In 1870 upwards of 24,000
people were employed in the coal mines of the district ; and
3,832,850 tons of coal were brought to the surface. Abundant
means of transit are afforded by the railways, which form a
junction at the town, an