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From Mons, with love
We visit Mons as it prepares to become the 2015 European Capital of Culture
Mons is a city with no shortage of symbols. The most important is arguably its patron saint, Saint Waudru, who is said to have founded the city in the 7th century and whose relics are paraded through the streets once a year. There’s also Saint George, whose battle with the dragon is re-enacted annually on the town’s market square, where, as the dragon is slain, the spectators cry out: “And the people of Mons shall never perish!” Competing with these two figures is the town’s beloved little monkey statue, a lucky charm on the facade of the town hall.
In fact, according to locals, the first thing to do when you arrive in Mons is to pat the monkey’s head, a gesture that will bring a year of happiness. Even if you don’t believe the folklore, it’s a good place to start a tour as it’s right in the heart of the city, on the market square, or Grand’ Place.
On one side of the Grand’ Place are the tourist office and the town hall, on the other plenty of bars and restaurants with terraces ideal for people-watching. If you’d rather enjoy some peace and quiet, head through the archway in the middle of the town hall leading to a tranquil courtyard and a small garden known as the Jardin du Mayeur. Here you’ll also find the home of the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia.
Radiating from the Grand’ Place are small cobbled streets that evoke the city’s medieval origins. Heading south is the winding street of Rue de la Coupe, leading on to Rue des Fripiers: these streets form the heart of the Quartier des Fripiers shopping area, where there’s an abundance of upmarket gift shops, vintage clothes shops and places to buy knick-knacks for the home. If it’s high street chains you’re after, then head to the Grande Rue a few blocks up.
Most of Mons’s main attractions lie within walking distance of the Grand’ Place. They include Belgium’s only Baroque belfry, which is on Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites, the Collegiate Church of Saint-Waudru, with its early 16th-century stained-glass windows, and the François Duesberg Museum of Decorative Arts, devoted to neo-classical objects from 1775 to 1825.
On display in the Duesberg museum is a personal collection of exotic clocks, porcelain, gilt bronzes, silverwork and other objects from the Napoleonic era. “It’s fifty years of passion, fifty years of work,” Duesberg, now in his 80s, tells me as he darts from one piece to another bursting with enthusiasm about how rare or unusual a particular object is. He complains that his collection is under-appreciated in Mons: “It’s too beautiful, too bling-bling, too elitist for Mons,” he says. Still, the museum has been recognised by Michelin, and he and his wife have been made a baron and baroness.
This month, Mons is hosting its annual International Festival of Love Films, which started back in 1984 under the initiative of then city councillor Elio Di Rupo, now the city’s best-known resident. The festival, which shuns romantic clichés and instead aims to deal with the theme of love in all its forms, showcases films that have not been commercially distributed as well as ‘rare and thought-provoking works that challenge the status quo’. The films will be screened from February 24 until March 2.
While you could easily spend a day exploring the city of Mons, it’s definitely worth making a detour to nearby Grand-Hornu, a 19th-century mining complex that has been converted into a heritage and cultural site. Housing both the Museum for Contemporary Arts of the French Community of Belgium and Grand-Hornu Images, there’s always a good selection of exhibitions and events to choose from. A tour of the industrial archaeological site is also possible. For something to eat or drink, there’s a restaurant, or you could try the cafe, in the former salle des pendus, or ‘hanging room’, where the miners would hang their clothes during their shifts. To feed the mind, there’s a library and an art bookshop.
Grand-Hornu gives a taste of what Mons has to offer on the cultural front, something that is moving up the agenda as the town prepares for 2015, when it will be European Capital of Culture. ‘Mons 2015’ posters and billboards are already hanging all around town, from the railway station to the Collegiate Church to the restaurants. Time will tell whether this modern symbol will have as long a legacy as the historical ones of Saint Waudru, Saint George and the little monkey.
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
BY CAR From Brussels, head south on the E19/E42, coming off at exit 23/23bis signposted Mons Est, which brings you in on the east side of town. The journey takes just under an hour
BY TRAIN Direct trains from Brussels to Mons leave approximately every 30 minutes, with the journey taking just under an hour
WHERE TO EAT
L’impératif’ment Belge, just off the Grand’ Place, takes traditional Belgian dishes and adds a little twist. Make sure you try the traditional Mons dish of côtelette de porc à l’berdouille: pork chops served with a sauce that takes its name from the local word for mud (berdouille)
14 Rue de Nimy
WHERE TO STAY
If you want to stay overnight in central Mons, you have a handful of hotels to choose from, including the four-star Best Western Hotel le Lido and a couple of three-star hotels that pride themselves on their historic charm: the Saint James and the Infotel
USEFUL LINKS
MONS TOURIST OFFICE
ALL ABOUT MONS
EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2015
INTERNATIONAL LOVE FILM FESTIVAL
