  ath (; ) is a belgian municipality located in the walloon province of hainaut. the ath municipality includes the old communes of lanquesaint, irchonwelz, ormeignies, bouvignies, ostiches, rebaix, maffle, arbre, houtaing, ligne, mainvault, moulbaix, villers-notre-dame, villers-saint-amand, ghislenghien (), isiÃ¨res, meslin-l'evÃªque, and gibecq. ath is known as the "city of giants" after the "ducasse" festivities which take place every year on the fourth weekend in august. huge figures representing goliath, samson, and other allegoric figures are paraded through the streets, and goliath's wedding and his famous fight with david are re-enacted. ==history== right|250px|location of ath in belgium ===before 1500=== the archeological record proves the existence of several gallo-roman settlements in the ath area. the origin of the city of ath, however, dates from around 1160, when baldwin iv, count of hainaut, bought some territory from his liegeman, gilles de trazegnies. a few years later, baldwin built the burbant tower &ndash; which can still be seen today &ndash; to protect his new acquisition. the new city was soon given privileges and started attracting dwellers around its newly built (1325) market hall on the grand-place. ath was the setting of the "peace of ath", signed on june 4, 1357 to end the question of the brabant succession. by then, the weekly ath market, which took place &ndash; and still takes place &ndash; on thursdays, had started attracting sellers from a much larger region. the production of linen, cloth, hide, and luxury items such as gold ware, cabinets, and sculptures was growing fast. the population growth necessitated the building of a second wall, which was completed at the end of the 14th century. in 1416, the city built a school for the study o
Masterpieces_of_the_Oral_and_Intangible_Heritage_of_Humanity Municipalities_of_Hainaut_(province) Populated_places_in_Belgium