🇧🇪 Mons is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. The population grew quickly, trade flourished, and several commercial buildings were erected near the Grand’Place. In 1814, King William I of the Netherlands increased the fortifications, following the fall of the First French Empire. The Industrial Revolution and coal mining made Mons a centre of heavy industry. In 1830, Belgium gained its independence and the decision was made to dismantle the fortifications, allowing the creation of large boulevards and other urban projects.
Today, the city is an important university town and commercial centre. The main square is the centre of the old city. It is paved in the manner of old cities and is home to many cafes and restaurants, as well as the town hall and belfry. It is forbidden to park in or drive through the centre. Together with the Czech city of Plzeň, Mons was the European Capital of Culture in 2015.
1Districts The municipality consists of the following districts: Ciply, Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Hyon, Jemappes, Maisières, Mesvin, Nimy, Nouvelles, Obourg, Saint-Denis, Saint-Symphorien, Spiennes, and Villers-Saint-Ghislain.
1Education There are several public educational facilities in Mons: • Conservatoire royal de Mons , CRM • UCLouvain FUCaM Mons, a campus of the University of Louvain located in Mons since 1899. • University of Mons, UMons, founded in 2009 by a merger between the Faculté polytechnique de Mons and the University of Mons-Hainaut. • Institut Reine Astrid Mons • Collège Saint-Stanislas, founded in 1851.
1Transportation Mons is located along the N56 road. It is also accessed via European route E42, which is a continuation of French Autoroute A2, linking the British WW1 battlefields of Mons with the Somme Battlefields, Mons railway station opened on 19 December 1841.
A small, general aviation airfield Saint-Ghislain Airport is located nearby for private aircraft.
1Mons has a population of over 95,220 people. Mons also forms the centre of the wider Hainaut province which has a population of over 1,344,241 people.
To set up a UBI Lab for Mons see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork
Twin Towns, Sister Cities Mons has links with:
🇫🇷 Briare, France 🇧🇪 Bruges, Belgium 🇨🇳 Changsha, China 🇺🇸 Little Rock, USA 🇫🇷 Thoissey, France 🇫🇷 Vannes, France🇺🇦 Solomianskyi 50.45
🇵🇱 Tarnowskie Góry 50.445
Locations Near: Mons 3.94874,50.4533
🇧🇪 Soignies 4.067,50.567 d: 15.1
🇫🇷 Maubeuge 3.973,50.279 d: 19.5
🇧🇪 La Louvière 4.235,50.494 d: 20.8
🇫🇷 Avesnes-sur-Helpe 3.927,50.124 d: 36.6
🇧🇪 Nivelles 4.317,50.583 d: 29.8
🇫🇷 Valenciennes 3.523,50.358 d: 32
Antipodal to: Mons -176.051,-50.453
🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 16754.3
🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 15963.8
🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 15924.6
🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 15664.4
🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 11944.9
🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 11870
🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 11857.9
🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 11852.5