Mons: Guide

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:This article is about the city in Belgium. For other uses, see Mons (disambiguation).

Mons (Walloon: Mont) is a Belgium|Belgian Municipalities in Belgium|municipality located in the Wallonia|Walloon Provinces of Belgium|province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour (partly), Jemappes (partly), Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles, Saint-Symphorien, Spiennes, Villers-Saint-Ghislain, Casteau (partly), Masnuy-Saint-Jean (partly), and Ville-sur-Haine (partly).

History

Early settlements to the Middle Ages

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The first signs of activity in the region of Mons can be found at canonized in 1039.

Like Ath, its neighbour to the north-west, Mons was made a fortified city by Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut in the 12th century. The population grew fast, trade flourished, and several commercial buildings were erected near the Grand’Place. The 12th century also saw the appearance of the first town halls. The city had 4,700 inhabitants by the end of the 13th century. Mons succeeded Valenciennes as the capital of the county of Hainaut in 1295 and grew to 8,900 inhabitants by the end of the 15th century. In the 1450s, Matheus de Layens took over the construction of the Saint Waltrude church from Jan Spijkens and restored the town hall.

From 1500 to 1800

In 1515, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V takes an oath in Mons as Count of Hainaut. In this period of its history, the city became the target of various occupations, starting in May 1572 with the Protestantism|protestant takeover by Louis of Nassau, who had hoped to clear the way for the France|French protestant leader Gaspard de Coligny against the Spanish. De Coligny having been murdered during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, the Duke of Alba takes Mons in September of 1572 in the name of the Catholicism|catholic Spanish monarchy|King of Spain. This spelled the ruin of the city and the arrest of many of its inhabitants; from 1580 to 1584, Mons became the capital of the Southern Netherlands. On April 8, 1691, after a nine-month siege, Louis XIV’s army stormed the city, which again suffered heavy casualties. Between 1697 and 1701, Mons was alternately French and Austrian, then French again from 1701 to 1709. That year, the Netherlands|Dutch army gained the upper hand in the Battle of Malplaquet. In 1715, Mons returned to Austria under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). But the French did not give up easily; Louis XV besieged the city again in 1746. After the Battle of Jemappes (1792), the Hainaut area was annexed to France and Mons became the capital of the Jemappes district.

From 1800 until now

Following the fall of the First French Empire in 1814, King William I of the Netherlands fortified the city heavily. In 1830, however, Belgium gained its independence and the decision was taken to dismantle fortified cities such as Mons, Charleroi, and Namur. The actual dismantlement only happened in the 1860s, which allowed the planning of large boulevards and other urban projects. The Industrial Revolution and coal mining made Mons a center of heavy industry, which strongly influenced the culture and image of the whole Borinage region.
On August 23 and 24, 1914, Mons was the site of the Battle of Mons|first battle fought by the British Army in World War I. The British were forced to retreat and the town was occupied by the Germans, before being liberated by the Canadian Corps during the final days of the war. As an important industrial centre, the city was heavily bombed and several fights took place in September 1944 between the American troops and the retreating German forces. After the war, most industries went into decline. NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) was relocated in Casteau, a village near Mons, from Fontainebleau after France's withdrawal from the military structure of the alliance in 1967. Today, the city is an important university town and commercial centre.

Sights

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The Grand Place is the centre of the historic town and the stage for the annual battle of the Lumeçon.
The City Hall, originally built near the current location of the Belfries of Belgium and France|belfry, was moved on the Grand Place in the 13th century. The flamboyant gothic building we can admire now dates from the 15th century. In front of it stands the statue of a monkey, which is said to bring good fortune to those who pat his head.
The collegiate church of Saint Waltrude is paradoxically a good specimen of the Gothic architecture of Duchy of Brabant|Brabant.
The neighbouring belfry, classified as a World Heritage Site, dates from the 17th century and is the only Baroque-style belfry in Belgium.
The so-called Spanish House dates from the 16th century.

Festivities

The Doudou is the name of a week-long series of festivies or Ducasse, which originates from the 14th century and takes place every year on Trinity Sunday. Highlights include:
The entrusting of the reliquary of Saint Waltrude to the mayor of the city on the eve of the procession.
The placement of the reliquary on the Car d’Or (golden carriage), before it is carried in the city streets in a colourful procession that counts more than a thousand costumed participants.
The lifting of the Car d’Or on a paved area near the church of Saint Waltrude; tradition holds that this operation must be successful for the city to prosper.
The Lumeçon fight, where Saint George confronts the dragon. The fight lasts for about half an hour, accompanied by the rhytmic "Doudou" music. The tradition of the processional dragon is listed among the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Education

Mons has a strong education community with three universities :
Faculté polytechnique de Mons or FPMs
Facultés universitaires catholiques de Mons or FUCAM
Université de Mons-Hainaut or UMH

Sports

The town hosts a football club named R.A.E.C. Mons.

People born in Mons

Gilles Binchois, composer (15th century, birth in Mons is uncertain)
Orlande de Lassus, composer (16th century)
Giuseppe Grisoni, painter and sculptor (17th century)
François-Joseph Fétis, musicologist, composer, critic, and teacher (18th century)
Paul Émile de Puydt, botanist, economist, and writer (19th century)
Émile Motte, painter (19th century)

Twin cities

: Briare
: Thoissey
: Vannes
: Sefton
: Changsha
: Little Rock, Arkansas

External links

, an exhaustive list of references on the history of the Mons region, in French language|French.
, in French language|French.
, in French language|French.

See also