Latest revision as of 21:41, 7 May 2020

This is the user sandbox of Didile04. A user sandbox is a subpage of the user's user page. It serves as a testing spot and page development space for the user and is not an encyclopedia article. Create or edit your own sandbox here.

Other sandboxes: Main sandbox | Template sandbox

Finished writing a draft article? Are you ready to request review of it by an experienced editor for possible inclusion in Wikipedia? Submit your draft for review!

The Grand-Place (former spelling: Grand'Place) is the main square of the historical centre of the Belgian city of Mons.

The Grand-Place, which is very spacious and similar to other town squares in Flanders, is located next to the pedestrian shopping street and the belfry. The edges of the square are accessible by car, but it is forbidden to park or to drive through the centre. Each year, on Trinity Sunday, it is the stage of the fight called Lumeçon, a fight between Saint Georges and a dragon.^[1]

The Grand-Place is cobbled in the style of old cities and is home to many cafes, restaurants, as well as a chapel and the City Hall that dominates the squar with its huge structure, stature, construction (emblematic presence). The City Hall, as well as the theatre, respond to its historical traditions, like a master plan to follow. We can also admire a wrought iron statuette that was inserted into the Town Hall's facade at an unknown date. It represents a monkey,^[2] that has so often been stroked by the inhabitant of Mons and tourists from all over the world that its skull is polished.

History

Executions of criminals have taken place on the Grand-Place of Mons. In 1791, before their sentences were carried out,^[3] Alexandre Buisseret and Félix-François Gérin (two accomplices of the robber Moneuse) were exhibited respectively for six and two hours. They were fastened to a post placed on a scaffold, in view of the population. A sign in large letters over their heads displayed their names, their professions, their address, the reason of their condemnation and the judgment given against them.

On Friday, 5 June 1807, the guillotine was erected in the lower part of the Grand-Place, near the Rue d'Havré, for the execution of eight convicted persons, la bande à Boulanger. Those were hooded and were brought by cart. The younger convicts were guillotined first and the leader of the gang, Jean-Joseph Boulanger, last.^[4] Mons was at that time under Napoleon's regime.

On 16 June 1846, Euphrasie Deroux was executed there for infanticide of her two-year-old daughter.^[5] Originally from Montignies-lez-Lens, she was the last woman to be guillotined in Belgium.^[6]

On 19 July 1851, Hippolyte Visart de Bocarmé was also executed. He had been condemned for having poisoned his brother-in-law with nicotine.^[7]^[8]

The monkey

Several centuries old, the exact origin of the presence of this monkey hanging next to the porch, on the facade of the Town Halll, is unknown. There are 3 theories: the masterpiece of a blacksmith, the sign of a small café,^[9] or a pillory for "unruly" children. The only sure thing is that it has become the lucky charm of the city of Mons, if we stroke his skull of the left hand. A legend that has been fabricated entirely by Paul Heupgen in 1930^[10].

The Lumeçon

Once a year, on Trinity Sunday, the Lumeçon takes place on the Grand-Place. It is a tradition^[11] going back to the Middle Ages, when the confraternity of Saint George was expected to participate in the procession and to relate the life of their patron saint. The most emblematic episode is his fight against the dragon and that was performed as a holy mystery within the procession itself. Having become popular and noisy, disturbing the order required for the procession, the confraternity was excluded from the route and had to go into exile on the square to perform the fight, which still explains the spatio-temporal difference between the two events. The confraternity would be reintegrated into the procession during the second part of the 20th century. This tradition gathers the adults, as well as the children, who enjoy a copy adapted to their age on the Sunday of the Feast of Corpus Christi, when they grab the horsehair placed at the end of the dragon's tail. Tradition regards this as a sign of good luck. The word "Lumeçon" derives from "limaçon" (snail): the participants of the fight spin in opposite directions, giving the visual effect of a snail shell. The current word shows change of time and popular practice.

Gallery

Grand-Place
	La Grand-Place de Mons
Type	rectangular
Location	Mons, Hainaut
Coordinates	lat : 50.454688 long: 3.952235

The Town Hall, and behind it on the left, is the belfry
The fountain
The fall fair
At the end of the Grand-Place, the beginning of the rue de Nimy and the Sainte-Elisabeth church
General view
Some renovated facades
The house known as the Blanc Lévrier
The former Saint-Georges chapel
The house known of the Toison d'Or
The former Hotel of the Crown
The Town Hall
The royal Theatre

Notes and references

MHAN2016

^ http://www.doudou.mons.be/ducasse-rituelle/combat-dit-lumecon
^ "Singe du Grand Garde".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ "Moneuse. Le procès".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ Declercq, Jacques. "Petites notes d'Histoire Locale".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ http://www.montignies-lez-lens.be/index.php/en/35-a-la-une/155-le-saviez-vous-d-2
^ http://www.lesoir.be/archive/recup/-amorce-ces-enfants-qui-deviennent-des-mobiles-de-crime_t-20100809-010LW3.html
^ http://www.visart.be/grands_dossier_criminels.htm
^ http://plus.lesoir.be/171978/article/2018-08-08/histoire-dassises-de-1851-le-roi-refusa-sa-grace-au-comte-visart-de-bocarme
^ http://www.dhnet.be/archive/et-le-petit-singe-la-dedans-51b7e2d9e4b0de6db9944739
^ http://www.visitmons.be/decouvrir/mons-superstars/le-singe-du-grand-garde
^ http://www.doudou.mons.be/

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{User sandbox}}
 <!-- EDIT BELOW THIS LINE -->
+{{Infobox square
-= Imagix =
+|name        =Grand-Place
-'''Imagix''' is the name of two cinema complexes, one is situated in [[Mons]], the other is in [[Tournai]] in [[Belgium]].
+|image       =Mons JPG06.jpg
+|caption     =La Grand-Place de Mons
+|coordinates =lat : 50.454688 long: 3.952235
+|type        =rectangular
+|country     =Belgium
+|location    =Mons, Hainaut
+}}
+The '''Grand-Place''' (former spelling: ''Grand'Place'') is the main square of the historical centre of the [[:fr:Liste_des_villes_de_Belgique|Belgian city]] of [[Mons]].
-= Mons =
-The cinema complex Imagix Mons is located at the north-west of the city centre of [[Mons]] in [[Belgium]] next to the motorway E19-E42, in the new area located, out of the city, behind the station, close to the [[:fr:Les_Grands_Prés|Grands Prés]].
+The Grand-Place, which is very spacious and similar to other town squares in [[Flanders]], is located next to the [[Pedestrian zone|pedestrian]] shopping street and the belfry. The edges of the square are accessible by car, but it is forbidden to park or to drive through the centre. Each year, on Trinity Sunday, it is the stage of the fight called ''[[Ducasse de Mons|Lumeçon]]'', a fight between [[Saint George|Saint Georges]] and a [[dragon]].<ref>http://www.doudou.mons.be/ducasse-rituelle/combat-dit-lumecon</ref>
-The complex of Mons is compounded of 14 rooms. Some of them are equipped of the sound [[Dolby Atmos|Doldy Atmos]]. The largest room can receive 401 people and the smallest one 96. The complex have a parking of 1400 places that has been renewed during the second semester of 2017.
+The Grand-Place is cobbled in the style of old cities and is home to many cafes, restaurants, as well as a chapel and the [[Town hall|City Hall]] that dominates the squar with its huge structure, stature, construction (emblematic presence). The City Hall, as well as the theatre, respond to its historical traditions, like a master plan to follow.<!-- I don't understand this sentence --> We can also admire a wrought iron statuette that was inserted into the Town Hall's facade at an unknown date. It represents a monkey,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mons.be/vivre-a-mons/mons-et-son-histoire/patrimoine/patrimoine-civil/singe-du-grand-garde|title=Singe du Grand Garde|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> that has so often been stroked by the inhabitant of Mons and tourists from all over the world that its skull is polished.
-The cinema complex was constructed in 1993, under the initial name of ImagiMons, directed at that time by Régine Brieghe (12 rooms)<sup>1</sup>. The Kinépolis group was at that moment minority shareholder (20%). It was only in 2003 that the Carpentier family is the head of ImagiMons, with a big renovation project of the site. Two big cinemas are added (a total of 14 rooms), a new hall and a business space are constructed as well as a facade building intended for various concessions (bar, restaurant, etc.)
+== History ==
-Screenings with the original soudtrack are organised in association with the Ciné-Club Educatif et Culturel asbl (CCEC).
+Executions of criminals have taken place on the Grand-Place of Mons. In 1791, before their sentences were carried out,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://users.skynet.be/sky71622/Moneuse3.html|title=Moneuse. Le procès|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Alexandre Buisseret and Félix-François Gérin (two accomplices of the robber [[:fr:Antoine-Joseph_Moneuse|Moneuse]]) were exhibited respectively for six and two hours. They were fastened to a post placed on a scaffold, in view of the population. A sign in large letters over their heads displayed their names, their professions, their address, the reason of their condemnation and the judgment given against them.
+On Friday, 5 June 1807, the guillotine was erected in the lower part of the Grand-Place, near the Rue d'Havré, for the execution of eight convicted persons, [[Chauffeur (criminal)|la bande à Boulanger]]. Those were hooded and were brought by cart. The younger convicts were guillotined first and the leader of the gang, Jean-Joseph Boulanger, last.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gen.declercq.free.fr/Histoire%20Locale/8%20NISOLLES%20ET%20COMPAGNIE.htm|title=Petites notes d'Histoire Locale|last=Declercq|first=Jacques|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Mons was at that time under [[Napoleon|Napoleon's regime]].
-= Tournai =
-There is also an Imagix [[Tournai]] site located on the boulevards not far from the Tournai train station. It was inaugurated in 2005 to replace the dilapidated Multiscope Palace, which the Carpentier family used in the city centre of Tournai <sup>2</sup>. It is compouned of 10 roomss, 2 of which are equipped of the sound [[Dolby Atmos]]. The biggest room can receive 322 people and the smallest one 85.
+On 16 June 1846, [[:fr:Euphrasie_Deroux|Euphrasie Deroux]] was executed there for infanticide of her two-year-old daughter.<ref>http://www.montignies-lez-lens.be/index.php/en/35-a-la-une/155-le-saviez-vous-d-2</ref> Originally from [[:fr:Montignies-lez-Lens|Montignies-lez-Lens]], she was the last woman to be guillotined in Belgium.<ref>http://www.lesoir.be/archive/recup/-amorce-ces-enfants-qui-deviennent-des-mobiles-de-crime_t-20100809-010LW3.html</ref>
-= References =
-{{u|MHAN2016}}
+On 19 July 1851, [[Hippolyte Visart de Bocarmé]] was also executed. He had been condemned for having poisoned his brother-in-law with nicotine.<ref>http://www.visart.be/grands_dossier_criminels.htm</ref><ref>http://plus.lesoir.be/171978/article/2018-08-08/histoire-dassises-de-1851-le-roi-refusa-sa-grace-au-comte-visart-de-bocarme</ref>
-= External links =
+== The monkey ==
+Several centuries old, the exact origin of the presence of this monkey hanging next to the porch, on the facade of the Town Halll, is unknown. There are 3 theories: the masterpiece of a blacksmith, the sign of a small café,<ref>http://www.dhnet.be/archive/et-le-petit-singe-la-dedans-51b7e2d9e4b0de6db9944739</ref> or a  pillory for "unruly" children. The only sure thing is that it has become the lucky charm of the city of Mons, if we stroke his skull of the left hand. A legend that has been fabricated entirely by [[:fr:Paul_Heupgen|Paul Heupgen]] in 1930<ref>http://www.visitmons.be/decouvrir/mons-superstars/le-singe-du-grand-garde</ref>.
+== The ''Lumeçon'' ==
+Once a year, on Trinity Sunday, the [[Ducasse de Mons|Lumeçon]] takes place on the Grand-Place. It is a tradition<ref>http://www.doudou.mons.be/</ref> going back to the Middle Ages, when the confraternity of Saint George was expected to participate in the procession and to relate the life of their patron saint. The most emblematic episode is his fight against the dragon and that was performed as a holy mystery within the procession itself. Having become popular and noisy, disturbing the order required for the procession, the confraternity was excluded from the route and had to go into exile on the square to perform the fight, which still explains the spatio-temporal difference between the two events. The confraternity would be reintegrated into the procession during the second part of the 20th century. This tradition gathers the adults, as well as the children, who enjoy a copy adapted to their age on the Sunday of the Feast of Corpus Christi, when they grab the horsehair placed at the end of the dragon's tail. Tradition regards this as a sign of good luck. The word "Lumeçon" derives from "limaçon" (snail): the participants of the fight spin in opposite directions, giving the visual effect of a snail shell. The current word shows change of time and popular practice.
+= Gallery =
+<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
+File:Mons JPG0101.jpg|The [[:fr:Hôtel_de_ville_de_Mons|Town Hall]], and behind it on the left, is the [[Belfry of Mons|belfry]]
+File:Fontaine mons.jpg|The fountain
+File:Mons - Foire d'automne à la Grand'Place (1).JPG|The fall [[fair]]
+File:Mons 050424 JPG103.jpg|At the end of the Grand-Place, the beginning of the rue de Nimy and the [[:fr:Église_Sainte-Élisabeth_de_Mons|Sainte-Elisabeth church]]
+File:Mons JPG06.jpg|General view
+File:Place Mons.jpg|Some renovated facades
+File:070204 (65) Mons.JPG|The house known as ''the Blanc Lévrier''
+File:Mons 050424 (12).JPG|The former Saint-Georges chapel
+File:070204 (75) Mons.JPG|The house known of ''the Toison d'Or''
+File:070204 (23) Mons.JPG|The former Hotel of the Crown
+File:Hotel de ville de Mons.jpg|The Town Hall
+File:070204 (100) Mons.JPG|The royal Theatre
+</gallery><br />
+= Notes and references =
+{{u|MHAN2016}}<references />
+= See also =
+== External links ==
+* La [http://www.mons.be/decouvrir/patrimoine/patrimoine-civil/grand-place Grand-Place] sur le site officiel de [[Mons]]
+== Bibliography ==
+* Christiane Pierard, « La Grande-Place de Mons: étude architecturale », ''Bulletin de la Commission royale des Monuments et des Sites'', [[Heritage registers in Belgium|Commission royale des Monuments et des Sites]], t. 3, 1973, p 156-229 ([http://www.crmsf.be/sites/default/files/book/BCRMS_1973.pdf read online])