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| Mons |
Population : 93,072
Location: Mons, Walloon Region, Belgium.
Area: 146.56 km2(56.59 sq mi)
Mons is a Belgian city and municipality, and the
capital of the province of Hainaut. The Mons municipality includes the former
communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour (partly),
Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,
Saint-Denis, Saint-Symphorien, Spiennes, Villers-Saint-Ghislain, Casteau
(partly), Masnuy-Saint-Jean (partly), and Ville-sur-Haine (partly). Together
with the Czech city of Plzeň, Mons will be the European Capital of Culture in
2015.
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 Belgian
tribe. A castrum was built in Roman (Belgica) times, giving the settlement its
Latin name Castrilocus; the name was later changed into Montes for the mountain
on which the castrum was built. In the 7th century, Saint Ghislain and two of
his disciples built an oratory or chapel dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul
near the Mons hill, at a place called Ursidongus, now known as Saint-Ghislain.
Soon after, Saint Waltrude (in 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 canonized in 1039.
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| Mons |
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 quickly, 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.
Street
View of Mons
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