Mouscron

Mouscron (mukʁɔ̃; Dutch and Moeskroen, muˈskrun; Picard and Walloon: Moucron) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, along the border with the French city of Tourcoing, which is part of the Lille metropolitan area. The municipality consists of the following districts: Dottignies, Herseaux, Luingne, and Mouscron. In accordance with the national law, the municipality offers facilities for the Dutch speaking minority. Kortrijk, in Flanders, is located just to the north of Mouscron. The city substantially grew during the 19th and early 20th century with the development of the textile industry in the north of France. The symbol of the city is the Hurlu: a character representing Protestant activists, who plundered the countryside during the Wars of Religion (16th century). Mouscron is divided into 7 districts: the downtown (le centre), the train station (la gare), Mont-à-Leux, Tuquet, Risquons-Tout, Nouveau-Monde and Coquinie. The municipality of Mouscron now also includes the old municipalities of Dottignies, Luingne, and Herseaux since the Fusion of the Belgian municipalities. The metropolitan area of Mouscron forms a conurbation with the French metropolitan area of Lille and is at the crossroad of three different administrative regions: Wallonia, France and Flanders. Mouscron is located 9 km from Roubaix, 11 km from Kortrijk, 23 km from Lille and 25 km from Tournai. The city has been part of the French-speaking province of Hainaut since 1963 and, as a result, part of the administrative region of Wallonia. A few archaeological discoveries were made in this area proving the existence of settlements during Roman times. The name Dottignies – a village that is now part of Mouscron – appeared for the first time in the 9th century, while that of Mouscron only appeared in 1060. In 1066, Baldwin V, Count of Flanders ceded the local buildings and territories to the estate of the Church of Saint-Pierre in Lille.