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Dottignies (in Dutch Dottenijs, in Picard Dot'gnie) is a Belgian village in the municipality of Mouscron located in the province of Hainaut in the Walloon Region. Geographically, Dottignies is part of Picard Wallonia.

History
In 1101, the line of the lords of Dottignies began, with Maria de Dothegnies. The families of Halluin, de Stavele, Van der Gracht, de Croy, Richardot, de Jonghe and de Berthout would succeed her.

The day after the Battle of the Golden Spurs, the fleeing French were chased by the Flemings to Dottignies. In 1303, the Flemings ravaged the region as far as Tournai and set fire to the Vallemprez farm.

On 18 July 1693, at the head of two allied army corps, the Duke of Württemberg attacked the French at Dottignies. The battle was fierce and many buildings were destroyed.

In 1792 and 1793 the French revolutionaries made regular incursions into the area and terrorized the population. They threatened to set fire to the church but were bought off with a ransom of 1,000 crowns.

Following administrative and territorial changes under the French regime, Dottignies entered the department of La Lys in 1795. The municipality became part of the canton of Kortrijk in 1815, then of the canton of Mouscron in 1882.

The village's population numbered 2,578 inhabitants in 1765, 2,923 inhabitants in 1801, 3,995 inhabitants in 1846, 5,948 inhabitants in 1934.

The symbol of Dottignies
The symbol of Dottignies, the "Dottignian Hand", has more than obscure origins. Although there is no written document or tangible evidence, there are several hypotheses as to the origins of this hand:
 * An etymological relationship with "Dottignies", which could have meant by pleasant analogy "fingers that hold"; unrelated to the real etymology
 * A relationship between the hand of Dottignies and the coat-of-arms of the Dukes of Burgundy (in 1450) or those of Antwerp
 * The installation of this emblem following the end of the conflicts between Flanders and France (13th century)
 * A sign of unity created between populations of different cultures within the same country
 * A sign of reconciliation between the parties at the time of the Revolution, around 1793.