Mons is the capital of Walloon province called Hainaut. After town was fortified in 12th century, it became an attractive place to live and developed itself into a rich town of fine architecture. Mons has quite a turbulent past, being a target of attacks by neighbours. This went into 20th century too: the battle of Mons was one of key elements of World War I, and during World War II the town was heavily bombed. Nowadays Mons enjoys the period of peace and its cultural importance is acknowledged by European Commission that named Mons a European Cultural Capital in 2015.
