Mons

During the Middle Ages, the town became the administrative capital of the province. The current layout of Mons, within its former walls, has remained intact since the Middle Ages since this was adapted to the topography of the hill. From the Grand-Place (main square) the main radial axes linking the town to the exterior existed before the XIIth century. Mons, a fortified town, could only expand its territory and thus its population following the demolition of the remparts in 1865. The characteristic silhouette of the town can be seen from afar: at the crown of the hill stands a belfry built in the XVIIth century, and bell towers and spires marks its flanks. 

Numerous churches and official buildings still bear witness today to the important of Mons in the military, religious, commercial, legal, industrial and educational sectors. Examples of these are the collegial church of Sainte-Waudru in the Gothic style (XVth century), the Saint-Calixte Chapel (XIth century), the churches of Saint-Nicolas and Sainte-Elisabeth, the Saint-Georges chapel and the Town Hall (XVth century). Similarly, private houses still remain from the Spanish, Renaissance, and Baroque periods and the XVIIIth century. 

Today, Mons has extended well beyond its former ramparts. This movement was to begin in the XIXth century - and in particular thanks to its proximity to the mining area of Borinage - and more recently as the result of two successive merges with surrounding communes  (1972 et 1977). 

Access: 
By car:
From Paris: E19/A2 highway
From Lille (via Tournai): E42 highway
From Brussels: E19-E42 highways (with link towards Antwerp and the Netherlands)
From Lieège and Charleroi: E42 highway, from the German border (link towards Aix-la-Chapelle and Cologne via E40). 

By train: 
Daily links from Paris (Nord station) to Mons with the Thalys high speed train and normal trains.
Numerous daily links Lille-Mons. 

By air: 
Bruxelles-Zaventem airport, 75 kilometres from Mons.
Lille-Lesquin airport 80 kilometres from Mons. 

Other key figures in the town's history:
De Lassus Roland (vers 1532-1594): Composer and a contemporary of Palestina, he made his career in Italy and in Munich, where he was the Chapel Master to the reigning dukes (as of 1563). At the time, he was called the "Prince of Musicians". He was one of the recognised masters of polyphonic music in the Renaissance period, and was equally talented at composing secular music and religious works. 

Du Broeucq Jacques (vers 1505-1584): Architect and sculptor during the Renaissance period, he was responsible for the châteaux of Binche, Mariemont, Boussu, and the "jubé de Sainte-Waudru" (statues and alabaster relifs). Compromised during the occupation of Mons by Louis Nassau in 1572, he was protected by the cannonesses during the repression of the Duke of Albe. 

Dumont Jean-Bonaventure, Count of Gages (1682-1753): Knight of the Golden Fleece. A brilliant capitain in service of King Philippe V, he took an active part in the War of Spanish Succession, and ended his career in Pampelune as Captain General of the armies and viceroy of Navarre. 

Plisnier Charles (1896-1952): Doctor of law, man of letters, novellist and poet. Winner of the Goncourt Prize in 1937 for "mariages", he was the first non-French writer to obtain this distinction. Founder of the magazine "Haro" in 1919, and of "Prospections" in 1929, he was a member of the communist party and created the magazine "Communisme". However, he also reflected upon the problems of Christianity. 

Warocqué Raoul (1870-1917): Politican, patron of the arts, philanthropist and one of the founders of the Commercial Institute of Industrialists in Hainaut, now the  Warocqué Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Mons-Hainaut. He left his collections to the Belgian state and thus founded the Mariemont domain and Royal Museum. 

Clubs and associations: 
MOHA (athletics): This renowned club regularly reaches the national finals in numerous disciplines, including the hammer throw, a genuine local "speciality". 

Union TELINDUS Mons-Hainaut (basketball): Our representative among the national elite, and practising at the Halles de Jamappes since many years. This professional club has already taken part in playoffs (96-97 and 97-98 season) and at European competitions. 

Hemerocallis (gymnastics): Gymnastics for all, but also preparation for competition from division VI to division I. Many young gymnasts from Mons distinguish themselves regularly at a national and international level. 

Jet-ski Club Mons-Borinage: Twice European chammpions and nearly 20 times Belgian champions, this Mons club regularly supplies jetskiers for the world championships. The club also proposes initiation courses in this discipline. 

RAEC Mons (football): The flagship of football in the region, the Mons club is aiming to reach the national 2nd division as rapidly as possible - a justified objective for a town with 100,000 inhabitants. The A squad regularly includes young players from the RAEC school in Mons. More than half of the current team were trained at this institution. 

Borina (table tennis): The club proposes training sessions at all levels and for all categories on virtually a daily basis. The A team regularly forms part of the national elite, and has already taken part in the European Cup. Stylisports Hall. 

The AFT Centre(tennis): The training centre for the Francophone Tennis Association (AFT) is located in Mons, at the ADEPS centre, Sapinette. Thanks to a special timetable at the Marguerite Bervoets Secondary High School, young players aged between 12 and 18 benefit from training by Eduardo  Masso and his team of coaches. 

Castor club of Mons (water polo): A swimming club affiliated to the Belgian Swimming Leage, with a school for water polo and synchronised swimming. The water polo team is currently playing in the 2nd national division.

The "Car d'Or" procession 
This is one of the largest and most attractive historical/religious processions in Wallonia and indeed among the largest in the country. It was rehabilitated towards 1930 by Cannon Puissant. Moving through the stressed of the ancient districts of the town, it is composed of groups in costumes from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance period, and carrying the relics of the saints. It represents all the parishes. 

The "Lumeçon" combat to the air "DOUDOU"
The notoriety of the "Lumeçon" combat has long crossed Belgian borders. Unique in its country, this event is constantly changing along with our society and life itself (in 1998, a new dragon, the "biette" as the people of Mons call it, was inaugurated). On the Sunday, at 12.25 hrs, the bells of Sainte-Waudru ring and the carillon of the belfry begins the "Doudou" air. The band, in the bandstand on the Grand-Place, also strikes up the meolody until the end of the combat (at 13.00 hrs). For nearly twenty minutes, and following a carefully orchestrated ritual, Saint-Georges combats the dragon, whose renowned tail slashes arouse enthusiasm amid an enthusiastic public. In a circular movement, the dragon then enters the crowd, who fall upon its lucky mane, tearing it out and holding on to it. Although the dragon is extraordinarily popular among the people of Mons, its defeat is nonetheless unavoidable. After blows from the lance and the sabre, three pistol shots are still necessary for the beast to fall, defeated. More than a victory of good over evil, this ritual game is imbued by a strong sentiment of reconciliation: that of all the people of Mons and indeed of mankind as a whole.
 

Specialities:
Gastronomic specialities from Mons: 
Mons-style soup;
The "little rats" of the "Car d'Or" procession;
Mushrooms à la Saint-Feuillien (beer);
Calf's sweetbread with beer;
The Mons "escaveche";
Trout in the "Antoine Clesse" style;
Mussels with beer;
Pork chops "Berdouille" style;
"Hâte levée" (cold cuts)
Rabbit "A prones" (with plums);
Mons macaroons;
Bread pudding;
etc.
 

Musée des Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Art)
The collections of the Museum of Fine Art are representative of various schools, and mainly from the XIXth century. They include paintings, engravings, sculptures and drawings from Mons, the Hainaut area and Belgium.

Musée des Arts décoratifs (Museum of the Decorative arts)
François Duesberg 
Opposite the Sainte-Waudru collegial church, in the former premises of the National Bank of Belgium, this is an authentic museum of the decorative arts (1775-1825). It contains not only a prestigious collection of clocks with exotic designs (1795-1815) that is unique in the world, but also exceptional gilded bronzes from France, porcelain, pottery, gold and silver work (including pieces with the famous Mons hallmark), engravings, book bindings and extremely rare and unusual objects

Musée du folklore et de la vie montoise (Museum of folklore and life in Mons (Jean Lescarts)
The former infirmary of the "Couvent de la Congrégation des Filles de Notre-Dame" (1636) today houses collections organised around various themes in Mons life; public assistance, popular devotion, weights and measures, etc.

Trésor de la Collégiale Sainte-Waudru (Treasure of the Sainte-Waudru collegial church)
In the former capitulary room, a collection of relics of Sainte-Waudru (a ring and a clasp named the "Benoîte Affique", said to belong to the saint), plus manuscripts, gold and silverwork from the XIIth to the XIXth century, statues of Jacques Du Broeucq, liturgical ornaments, and not forgetting the famous "Car d'Or". 

Chapelle Saint-Calixte (Saint-Calixte Chapel)
The most ancient religious monument in Mons, this chapel from the XIIth century was decorated with Romanesque frescos discovered in the XIXth century and that were reconstituted in the XXth century. Museum of the Comtal Château: buildings from the XIth century with crypt. A heritage building. Relics, models and archaeological finds. Audio-visual presentation on the restoration of the neighbouring belfry. 

Maison Van Gogh (House of Van Gogh)
Vincent Van Gogh affirmed that the Borinage area was as picturesque as ancient Venice, Arabia and Brittany. The house wher he lived from August 1879 until October 1880 was saved from ruin (during the 1970s) and is now open to the public. It can be considered as one of the key points along Van Gogh's journey through Europe. Audio-visual presentation (Fr/Nl/Eng/De) on Van Gogh's travels in the Borinage area.

Mundaneum 
The Mundaneum is both a museum and centre for archives and documentation, and the inheritor of the International Office of Bibliography created in 1895 by Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine. It unites documentation on all subjects and all periods. It includes a collection of posters, postcards, newspapers (100,000 titles), plus information on anarchy, feminism and peace. A large proportion of these documents have been digitally scanned and are now accessible on a computer screen. By means of a scenography created by Schuiten and Peeters, the museum retraces the Mundaneum period from its beginnings in 1895 until the present day. 

Mons-Musiques
The "Musiques Nouvelles" rejoined the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia to establish its quarters in Mons, and to form the artistic entity "Mons-Music" under joint management, and in response to a wish expressed by the French-speaking community and the town of Mons for a strong musical entity. By uniting these two ensembles, it has been possible to increase their renown, and the titles "Mons" and "Musique" have become bywords well beyond the town itself. The "Musiques Nouvelles" ensemble has existed for 36 years, and is specialised in the creation and interpretation of contemporary and avant-garde  music. The Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia has now existed for 4 years. It travels through time by means of a repertoire based on classical roots but that derives inspiration from the romantic period but also ventures forth into more modern styles. It focuses upon little-known treasures of contemporary music but also on compositions by John Adams, Aaron Jay Kernis, Sofia Gubaïdulina and Horatio Radulescu. 

Le Centre culturel de la région de Mons (Cultural Centre of the Mons region)
The Cultural Centre of the Mons region was constituted in July 1994 by merging the Mons Royal Theatre and the Mons Region House of Culture. It is recognised by the French-speaking community, the town of Mons and the Province of Hainaut. The Cultural Centre manages wto main halls: the Theatre hall (1,050 seats) and the Arbalestriers hall (200 seats). At the Arbalestriers, the smaller rooms are also used to show films or for small theatre productions. The Cultural Centre also proposes cultural workshops for children, adolescents and students. African drums, theatres, cartoons, stories, modern dance, etc. Regularly, the centre proposes conferences on specific themes or meetings with artists who come to present their shows. And not forgetting jazz concerts in the bistros of Mons and rock concerts.

Scientific 

The INITIALIS Scientific Complex
Mons is developing a large-scale project around the creation of the INITIALIS Scientific Complex. This site is mainly aimed at installing top companies who are attracted by the presence of 3 universities in Mons and by the quality of the site itself. The complex was planned as a catalyst for close collaboration between the economic sector, the universities and research centres in Mons and its region. Within this framework, two competence centres have been inaugurated: "Multitel", which orients its research around the area of telecommunications (and intends to promote technologies linked to advanced telecommunications and to assimilate these within the industrial fabric of their region, and to develop their use within small and medium-sized companies, etc), and "Materianova", working on the development of new materials (polymers and new ceramics, etc.), an area in which the Mons region has considerable tradition and skills. 

"Le Grand Large" 
Mons took the decision to develop the entire zone West of Mons, integrating the sites of Grands Prés and Grand Large. The project for developing the Grand Large site consists of a vast theme park, including numerous and imposing sports and leisure  infrastructures: football school, golf, multi-sports centre, skating rink, bowling, Olympic swimming pool, tennis courts, fitness circuits, mountain bike trails, fitness trails, rollerblade parks, climbing wall, etc. In addition, river tourism is also being developed at this same site. In partnership with the French town of Douai and within the Interreg European programme, the town of Mons is also planning to develop the infrastructures of the leisure marina. 

Town centre management
The society for "Town Centre Management" was created in 1998 as a partnership between the public and private sectors. The association unites representatives of the town of Mons, the province of Hainaut, but also representatives of shopkeepers, the Union of Middle Classes, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, etc. Its major objective is to revitalise the town centre and commerce within Mons by means of ongoing concerted effort and specific measures. The society is headed by a City Manager, whose role is to co-ordinate efforts between the public and private sectors regarding this new impetus for the town centre. Management is similar to that of a major shopping centre, i.e. a focus on avoiding empty premises and developing projects and events, etc.

Events for the year 2000:

These will be organisesed on the basis of recurring events, but will have a strongly historical flavour. As of September 1999, Mons will offer a foretaste of the turn of the century.

September 1999: liberation of Mons by American troops in 1944 
Creation of the printing works within the framework of the French-speaking Community Festival
November 1999: Battle of Jemappes. A "son et lumière" is planned. 
December 199: the turn of the century
Firework display planned at 02.00 hrs. on the "Place du Marché-Aux-Herbes". 
Proposal for a major "aperitif" event 
June 2000: Birth of Roland de Lassus 
September 2000 : Baudouin VI grants the penal and feudal charters to the Count of Hainaut before leaving on crusade.

The Mons motto:
" Mons bat plus fort "
(Mons: the heart that beats more strongly)

www.mons.be

La Ville a une population de 92 000 habitants.
Son agglomération se compose de 12 communes et compte 240 000 habitants.

La Ville de Mons est :
Le Chef-lieu de la Province de Hainaut;
Pôle Culturel de la Communauté Française.

Mons est une cité internationale de culture et de savoir (ville universitaire, ville de développement technologique), elle se caractérise par un patrimoine extrêmement riche.

The Mundaneum
www.pastel.be/mundaneum

University of Mons-Hainaut
UMH : www.umh.ac.be
 
 

Polytechnical Faculty of Mons:
www.fpms.ac.be