Mons

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

The central square and town hall of Mons

Mons (Dutch/German: Bergen) is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. On January 1st, 2005 Mons had a total population of 91,083. The total area is 146.56 km² which gives a population density of 621.47 inhabitants per km².

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Located close to the French border, it is the centre of the Borinage district, the old coal mining centre of the country. Mons was the site of the 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.

NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) was relocated to Mons, Belgium from Fontainebleau, France after France's withdrawal from the military structure of the alliance in 1967.

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

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

Image:Mons 030130 JPG0100.jpg|Winter view of Mons. Image:Mons 050424 JPG103.jpg|The beginning of the Nimy street. Image:Mons JPG0101.jpg|The Grand’Place, the town hall and the belfry. Image:Mons 050424 JPG0102.jpg|The town hall lock. Image:Mons JPG0104.jpg|The old Castle garden. Image:Mons 050424 JPG0106.jpg|The Sunday flower market. Image:Mons 050424 JPG0107.jpg|The Mine school Founders. Image:Mons 050424 JPG0108.jpg|La rue des Soeurs Noires (the Black Nuns street). Image:Mons JPG0105.jpg|The town hall little monkey. Image:Mons 050602 JPG0106.jpg|The "Spanish" house. Image:Mons 050521 JPG0112.jpg|The St-Elisabeth church. Image:Mons 050424 JPG0111.jpg|The Houzeau monument sundial.

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Mons

See also