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Hainaut (province)

Hainaut
Province of Belgium
Flag of Hainaut
Flag
Coat of arms of Hainaut
Coat of arms
Location of Hainaut
Coordinates: 50°30′N 3°55′E / 50.5°N 3.92°E / 50.5; 3.92Coordinates: 50°30′N 3°55′E / 50.5°N 3.92°E / 50.5; 3.92
Country  Belgium
Region  Wallonia
Capital Mons
Government
 • Governor Tommy Leclercq
Area
 • Total 3,800 km2 (1,500 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)
 • Total 1,337,157
 • Density 350/km2 (910/sq mi)
Website www.hainaut.be

Hainaut (Archaic English: Hainault, Heynalt, Heynowes; French: Hainaut, French pronunciation: ​[ɛno]; Dutch: Henegouwen, IPA: [ˈɦeːnəˌɣʌuwə(n)]; German: Hennegau; Walloon: Hinnot; Picard: Hénau) is a province of Belgium in the Walloon region.

To its south lies the French Nord department, while within Belgium it borders (clockwise from the North) on the Flemish provinces of West Flanders, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant and the Walloon provinces of Walloon Brabant and Namur.

Its capital is Mons (Dutch Bergen) and the most populous city is Charleroi, also the province's major urban, economic and cultural hub. The city is also the financial capital of Hainaut and one of the most important commercial centers in Belgium, being the fifth largest city in the country by population.

The province derives from the French Revolutionary Jemmape department, formed in 1795 from part of the medieval County of Hainaut, Tournai and the Tournaisis, a part of the county of Namur (Charleroi) and of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (Thuin). (A large part of the historical county is now within France and sometimes referred to as French Hainaut.)


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Wikipedia

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