MONS, the capital of Hainaut province, Belgium. Pop. (193o) 27,619. The town originated probably in the Roman citadel Château-Cesar. About 804 Charlemagne recognized it as the capital of Hainaut. At first the counts occupied the castle of Hornu, leaving Mons to the abbey and the church of St. Waudru. Regnier V. moved to Mons at the beginning of the iith century, and his only child—a daughter—Richilde, married Baldwin VI. of Flanders. The two countdoms were again divided between Richilde's sons. At the beginning of the 14th century Mons was converted into a trading town by establishment of a cloth market. At the same time the count transferred his principal fortress from Valenciennes to Mons. When the Hainaut title became merged in the duchy of Burgundy, Mons was a stronghold near the French frontier. Its capture, defence and surrender by Louis of Nassau in 1572 and its many sieges in the 17th and 18th centuries attest its troubled history. Mons was converted into an open town in 1862.
The cathedral of St. Waudru, named after the first countess, was built 1450-1600 and contains some good glass as well as a few pictures by Van Thudden. The Hotel de Ville is about the same
age as the cathedral, having been commenced in 1443 and finished in 1467. The tower was added in 1718. There is also a fine belfry with a peal of bells. Mons is now a flourishing town with a good trade in cloth, lace, sugar refinery, etc. ; but its chief importance is derived from its proximity to the Borinage (place of boring), district containing mines of the finest coal in Belgium. The mili tary engineering college for the Belgian army is here, and not far from Mons are the battle-fields of Malplaquet (1709) and Jemappes (1792).