Hainaut, historically also known as Heynault in English, is the westernmost province of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.
To its south lies the French department of Nord, 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, the province's urban, economic and cultural hub, the financial capital of Hainaut and the fifth largest city in the country by population. Hainaut is one of the two only Belgian provinces whose capital is not its largest city; the other one is Walloon Brabant. Hainaut has an area of and as of January 2024 a population of over 1.36 million. Another notable city is Tournai (Dutch Doornik) on the Scheldt river, one of the oldest cities in Belgium and the first capital of the Frankish Empire.
Hainaut province has a rolling landscape, except for the very southern part, the so-called Boot of Hainaut, which is quite hilly and belongs to the Ardennes and its foothills Fagne and the Condroz.
The village of L'Escaillère in the utmost southeastern corner, at an altitude of 365 metres, is the highest point of the province.
In the Boot of Hainaut on the border of Namur province the artificial five Eau d'Heure lakes are situated, the largest lake area of Belgium.
A well-known region is the Borinage, the old coal mining region around the city of Mons. Also well-known is the Pays des Collines (English: "Hill Country"), a low hilly area forming one natural region with the Flemish Ardennes in the East Flanders province.
Language In addition to the main language French, Picard is spoken in the western and central parts of the province, while in the eastern part a mixture of Walloon and Picard is spoken (Wallo-Picard).
Some Flemish and Brabantic dialects of Dutch are spoken in the municipalities bordering the Flemish region.
History
The province derives from the French Revolutionary Jemmape department, formed in 1795 from part of the medieval County of Hainaut, the small territory of Tournai and the Tournaisis, a part of the county of Namur (Charleroi), and also a small part of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (Thuin). (A large part of the historical county of Hainaut is now within France and sometimes referred to as French Hainaut.)
Subdivisions Hainaut province is divided into 7 administrative districts (arrondissements), subdivided into a total of 69 municipalities. It has an area of .
Arrondissements
Municipalities
Map no. Municipality Arrondissement 1 Aiseau-Presles Charleroi 2 Anderlues Thuin 3 Antoing Tournai-Mouscron 4 Ath Ath 5 Beaumont Thuin 6 Belœil Ath 7 Bernissart Ath 8 Binche La Louvière 9 Boussu Mons 10 Braine-le-Comte Soignies 11 Brugelette Ath 12 Brunehaut Tournai-Mouscron 13 Celles Tournai-Mouscron 14 Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont Charleroi 15 Charleroi Charleroi 16 Châtelet Charleroi 17 Chièvres Ath 18 Chimay Thuin 19 Colfontaine Mons 20 Comines-Warneton Tournai-Mouscron 21 Courcelles Charleroi 22 Dour Mons 23 Écaussinnes Soignies 24 Ellezelles Ath 25 Enghien Ath 26 Erquelinnes Thuin 27 Estaimpuis Tournai-Mouscron 28 Estinnes La Louvière 29 Farciennes Charleroi 30 Fleurus Charleroi 31 Flobecq Ath 32 Fontaine-l'Évêque Charleroi 33 Frameries Mons 34 Frasnes-lez-Anvaing Ath 35 Froidchapelle Thuin 36 Gerpinnes Charleroi 37 Ham-sur-Heure-Nalinnes Thuin 38 Hensies Mons 39 Honnelles Mons 40 Jurbise Mons 41 La Louvière La Louvière 42 Le Rœulx Soignies 43 Lens Mons 44 Les Bons Villers Charleroi 45 Lessines Ath 46 Leuze-en-Hainaut Tournai-Mouscron 47 Lobbes Thuin 48 Manage Soignies 49 Merbes-le-Château Thuin 50 Momignies Thuin 51 Mons Mons 52 Mont-de-l'Enclus Tournai-Mouscron 53 Montigny-le-Tilleul Charleroi 54 Morlanwelz La Louvière 55 Mouscron Tournai-Mouscron 56 Pecq Tournai-Mouscron 57 Péruwelz Tournai-Mouscron 58 Pont-à-Celles Charleroi 59 Quaregnon Mons 60 Quévy Mons 61 Quiévrain Mons 62 Rumes Tournai-Mouscron 63 Saint-Ghislain Mons 64 Seneffe Soignies 65 Silly Ath 66 Sivry-Rance Thuin 67 Soignies Soignies 68 Thuin Thuin 69 Tournai Tournai-Mouscron
Governors
Economy The gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was €34.2 billion in 2018, accounting for 7.4% of Belgium's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €22,500 or 75% of the EU27 average in the same year. Hainaut is the province with the second lowest GDP per capita.
Miscellaneous The patron saint of the province Hainaut is Saint Waltrude.St. Waltrude at saints.sqpn.com. Retrieved 26.March 2013.
Notes
References
External links
Official web site of the Hainaut province Official gateway to the Hainaut The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hainaut Euro Info Centre Hainaut Walloon Settlers Monument