Mons 56495 223635999 2008-07-05T00:30:06Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{dablink|This article is about the city in Belgium. For other uses, see [[Mons (disambiguation)]].}} {{redirect|Montes}} {{Infobox Belgium Municipality |name=Mons |picture=Mons beffroi JPG01B.jpg |picture-legend=The Belfry in Mons |map=MonsLocation.png |map-legend=Location of Mons in Hainaut |arms=Blason ville be Mons (Hainaut).svg |flag=Flag of Mons.svg |region={{BE-REG-WAL}} |community={{BE-FR}} |province={{BE-PROV-HT}} |arrondissement=[[Arrondissement of Mons|Mons]] |nis=53053 |pyramid-date= |0-19= |20-64= |65= |foreigners= |foreigners-date= |mayor=[[Elio Di Rupo]] ([[Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)|PS]]) |majority=[[Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)|PS]], [[Reformist Movement|MR]] |postal-codes=7000-7034 |telephone-area=065 |web=[http://www.mons.be/ www.mons.be] |lat_deg=50 |lat_min=27 |lon_deg=03 |lon_min=57 }} '''Mons''' ([[Dutch language|Dutch]]: ''Bergen'', [[Picard language|Picard]]: ''Mont'') is a [[Walloon Region|Walloon]] [[city]] and [[Municipalities in Belgium|municipality]] located in the [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[Provinces of Belgium|province]] of [[Hainaut (province)|Hainaut]], of which it is the capital. The Mons [[municipality]] includes the old [[Municipalities in Belgium|communes]] of [[Cuesmes]], [[Flénu]], [[Ghlin]], [[Hyon]], [[Nimy]], [[Obourg]], [[Baudour]] (partly), [[Jemappes]] (partly), [[Ciply]], [[Harmignies]], [[Harveng]], [[Havré]], [[Maisières]], [[Mesvin]], [[Nouvelles]], [[Saint-Denis (Mons)|Saint-Denis]], [[Saint-Symphorien(Mons)|Saint-Symphorien]], [[Spiennes]], [[Villers-Saint-Ghislain]], [[Casteau]] (partly), [[Masnuy-Saint-Jean]] (partly), and [[Ville-sur-Haine]] (partly). ==History== ===Early settlements to the Middle Ages=== [[Image:Mons JPG01.jpg|left|thumb|The Sainte Waudru collegiate church and the belfry.|250px]] The first signs of activity in the region of Mons can be found at [[Spiennes]], where some of the best [[flint]] tools in [[Europe]] were found dating from the [[Neolithic]] period. When [[Julius Caesar]] arrived in the region in the 1st century BC, the region was settled by the [[Nervii]]. A [[castrum]] was built in [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times, giving the settlement its first [[Latin]] name '''Castrilocus'''; the name was later changed into '''Montes''' for the hills on which the castrum was built. In the 7th century, [[Saint Ghislain]] and two of his disciples built an [[Oratory (worship)|oratory]] or [[chapel]] dedicated to Saints [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] near the Mons hill, at a place called Ursidongus, now known as [[Saint-Ghislain]]. Soon after, [[Waltrude|Saint Waltrude]] (in [[French language|French]] ''Sainte Waudru''), daughter of one of [[Clotaire II]]’s intendants, came to the oratory and was proclaimed a saint upon her death in 688. She was [[canonization|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. [[Image:Mons JPG0101.jpg|left|thumb|The central square and town hall of Mons with the belfry in the background|250px]] ===From 1500 to 1800=== In 1515, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] took 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]] to oppose Spanish rule. After the murder of [[Gaspard de Coligny|de Coligny]] during the [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]], the [[Duke of Alba]] took control of Mons in September of 1572 in the name of the [[Roman Catholic Church|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. From 1697 to 1701, Mons was alternately French or [[Austria]]n. After being under French control from 1701 to 1709, 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 to the present=== [[Image:Canadians Entering Mons.jpg|thumb|right|Canadians entering Mons in 1918 (source: Archives of Ontario)]] 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 made to dismantle fortified cities such as Mons, [[Charleroi]], and [[Namur (city)|Namur]]. The actual removal of fortifications only happened in the 1860s, allowing the creation 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 [[Borinage]] region as a whole. It was to become an integral part of the [[sillon industriel]], the industrial backbone of [[Wallonia]]. 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 [[withdrawal (military)|retreat]] and the town was occupied by the Germans, until its liberation by the [[Canadian Corps]] during the final days of the war. As an important industrial centre, the city was heavily bombed and several skirmishes 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. The relocation of SHAPE to this particular region of Belgium was largely a political decision, based in large part on the depressed economic conditions of the area at the time with the view to bolstering the economy of the region. A riot in the prison of Mons took place in April 2006 after prisoner complaints concerning living conditions and treatment; no deaths were reported as a result of the riot, but the event focused attention on prisons throughout Belgium. Today, the city is an important university town and commercial centre. ==Sights== [[Image:Mons 050602 JPG0106.jpg|right|thumb|The ''Spanish House'' and belfry]] [[Image:050522 Mons Car d'Or MCL01.jpg|right|thumb|The ''Car d'Or''|250px]] *The ''Grand Place'' is the centre of the historic town and the stage for the annual mock-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 see today dates from the 15th century. In front of it stands a 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 [[Ducasse de Mons|Doudou]] is the name of a week-long series of festivities 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 rhythmic "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) *[[Guido de Bres]], theologian (1522 to [[31 May]] [[1567]]) *[[Giuseppe Grisoni]], painter and sculptor (17th century) *[[François-Joseph Fétis]], musicologist, composer, critic, and teacher (18th century) *[[François-Philippe de Haussy]], first governor of the [[National Bank of Belgium]] (18th century) *[[Paul Émile de Puydt]], botanist, economist, and writer (19th century) *[[Émile Motte]], painter (19th century) ==Twin cities== *{{FRA}}: [[Briare]] *{{FRA}}: [[Thoissey]] *{{FRA}}: [[Vannes]] *{{UK}}: [[Sefton]] *{{CHN}}: [[Changsha]] *{{USA}}: [[Little Rock]], [[Arkansas]] ==See also== *[[Battle of Mons]], 1914 *[[Angels of Mons]] *[[Mons Meg]] *[[Grand Hornu]] *[[Duke of Mons]], 1560 - 1623 *[[Initialis Science Park]] ==External links== {{commonscat|Mons (Hainaut)}} *[http://www.loiseaulire.com/Hainaut/cam.html Cercle Archéologique de Mons], an exhaustive list of references on the history of the Mons region, in [[French language|French]]. *[http://www.mons.be Official site of the city], in [[French language|French]]. *[http://www.doudou.mons.be Official site of the Doudou], in [[French language|French]]. *[http://www.doudou.org Unofficial site of the Doudou (Text ; Movies ; Music...], in [[French language|French]]. *[http://www.minesdespiennes.org The World Heritage Flint mines in Spiennes], in [[French language|French]] (summary in English). {{Mons}} {{Hainaut}} [[Category:Municipalities of Hainaut]] [[Category:Cities and towns in Belgium]] [[Category:World Heritage Sites in Belgium]] {{Link FA|fr}} [[af:Mons]] [[br:Mons (Wallonia)]] [[bg:Монс]] [[ca:Mons]] [[cs:Mons]] [[da:Mons]] [[de:Mons]] [[el:Μονς]] [[es:Mons]] [[eo:Mons (Belgio)]] [[fr:Mons]] [[gl:Mons]] [[id:Mons, Belgia]] [[is:Mons]] [[it:Mons (Belgio)]] [[he:מונס]] [[la:Mons (Vallonia)]] [[li:Berge]] [[hu:Mons]] [[nl:Bergen (België)]] [[ja:モンス]] [[no:Mons]] [[nn:Mons]] [[pl:Mons]] [[pt:Mons]] [[ro:Mons]] [[simple:Mons]] [[sr:Монс]] [[fi:Mons]] [[sv:Mons]] [[vi:Mons]] [[vo:Mons]] [[wa:Mont]] [[zh:蒙斯]]