Explore Mons

Mons is a town with 92,000 inhabitants, situated at the heart of a built-up area of 250,000 inhabitants. It is Wallonia’s 3rd town.

Mons is also the main administrative and legal centre of the Province of Hainaut. It is also a major university centre with more than 10,000 students.

And, last but not least, it is the third commercial centre in Wallonia.

In cultural terms, Mons has its ambitions. Named Cultural Capital of Wallonia in 2002, the City of Mons is now bidding for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015. Needless to say, this is not an aim to be taken lightly! Preparations are already under way. Furthermore, culture is legitimately one of the 5 priorities of the City Project.

In fact, since 2000 and the arrival of Elio Di Rupo as burgomaster, the town is clearly on a footing to deserve this title of cultural capital. To complete this project, the city of Mons has completely reworked its cultural policy in the living arts, an ambitious, innovative, European policy. In-depth consideration of its museum policy, designed to give the culture of Mons an international scale, and the opening up of many sites for cultural infrastructures have been undertaken in this context. Some of these projects are already up and running, such as the Manège, the Maison Folie, the BAM and the Abattoirs, etc.  

This policy is firmly based on a network of European contacts and in particular on a very strong, original cross-border cultural action, as Mons and Maubeuge, the neighbouring French town, share the same programme with regard to the living arts.

Today, Mons is an open cultural city, whose central position at the crossroads of the Latin and Germanic cultures, a long tradition of contacts at international level and the setting up of original cross-border cultural programmes give it true European legitimacy.