Menen (; french: Menin ; vls, Mêenn or ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem. The city is situated on the French/Belgian border. On January 1, 2006, Menen had a total population of 32,413. The total area is 33.07 km² which gives a population density of 980 inhabitants per km². The city of Menen gives its name to the Menin Gate in Ypres, which is a monument to those killed in World War I. The gate is so called as the road from that gate is the road to Menen. The town hall of Menen, with its large belfry, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 as part of the Belfries of Belgium and France site, because of its civic importance and architecture.

History

Menen's position near the French border led to many sieges in the history of the city. There were as many as 22 sieges between 1579 and 1830. The city was part of France between 1668 and 1713. Vauban turned Menen into a model-fortification (1679–1689). The city was besieged and taken by the Duke of Marlborough's allied Army in August 1706. During the

Flanders Campaign The Flanders Campaign (or Campaign in the Low Countries) was conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. A coalition of states representing the Ancien Régime in Western Europe – Aus ...

of the Wars of the French Revolution the city changed hands several times. There was a devastating fire in 1750 that almost completely destroyed the city. It was also the scene of a battle in September 1793. Menen was a barrier town for the Dutch Republic against France from 1715 to 1781. In 2013 the city drew international attention by forbidding its civil servants to speak French with

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

s. The mayor, , ordered that, if necessary, the communication should be in sign language.

Culture

A new art museum, the Stadsmuseum ’t Schippershof, opened in 1999, holds many works by Menen-born sculptor Yvonne Serruys. Opposite 't Schippershof there is the cultural center

CC De Steiger CC, cc, or C-C may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * C.C. (''Code Geass''), a character in the ''Code Geass'' anime series, pronounced "C-two" * C.C. Babcock, a character in the American sitcom ''The Nanny'' * Come ...

that houses the city's theater,

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

and a concert space for live music.

Gallery

File:Menen - Schippershof 1.jpg, in Menen. File:Menen duits kerkhof.jpg, German World War I military cemetery in Menen. File:Menen - Casemates 1.jpg, Menen casemates File:Generaal J. Van der Mersch.JPG, Statue of General

Jean-André van der Mersch Jean-André is a French masculine given name. It may refer to: * Jean-André Cuoq (1821–1898), French philologist * Jean-André Deluc (1727–1817), Swiss geologist and meteorologist * Jean-André Mongez (1750–1788), French priest and mineral ...

Belfry of Menen (DSCF9322).jpg, Belfry File:Sint-Franciscuskerk, Menen (DSCF9328).jpg, Sint-Franciscuskerk (church) File:Menen, molen de Goede Hoop oeg55911 foto4 2015-08-09 10.54.jpg, Windmill: molen de Goede Hoop File:Menen, de watertoren oeg55937 foto5 205-08-09 17.17.jpg, Watertower

Towns

The municipality of Menen consists of Menen proper, Lauwe and Rekkem. In the area of Rekkem, there is also the hamlet of , separated from Rekkem proper by the A14/ E17. In addition to the central town, Menen proper also contains the parishes and districts of and . Menen proper is mainly located north of the Leie; Lauwe and Rekkem are located south of the river. The urban area of the city of Menen is directly connected with the urban area of the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

municipality of Halluin. The municipality of Menen borders the following villages: *a. Moorsele (Wevelgem) *b. Wevelgem (Wevelgem) *c. Marke (Kortrijk) *d. Aalbeke (Kortrijk) *e. Mouscron ( Wallonia) *f. Neuville-en-Ferrain ( France) *g. Halluin ( France) *h. Wervik (Wervik) *i. Geluwe (Wervik)

Notable people from Menen

Jonathan Breyne Jonathan Breyne (born 4 January 1991) is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for Belgian amateur team Gaverzicht–BE Okay. In 2013, Breyne was accused of using illegal drugs following the discovery of clenbuterol in a sample taken following ...

(born 1991), cyclist * Yves Chauvin (1930–2015), French chemist, Nobel Prize winner 2005 *

Françoise Chombar Françoise Chombar (born May 1962) is a Belgian businesswoman. She is the current CEO and one of the original founders of the semiconductor company . She took over as a CEO from her husband and co-founder Rudi de Winter in 2004, having previously ...

(born 1962), entrepreneur

Paul Deman Paul Deman (25 April 1889 in Rekkem, West Flanders, Belgium – 31 July 1961 in Outrijve, Belgium)David De Marchi David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

(born 1985), Industrial Markets Goeroe, was born in La Louviere * Bernard Lietaer, (1942-2019), economist, was born in Lauwe *

(1734–1792), leader of the Brabant patriots in the Brabant Revolution in 1789 *

Arthur Van Overberghe Arthur Vanoverberghe (born 7 February 1990) is a Belgian former racing cyclist. He rode at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships. Major results ;2007 : 1st Stage 3a (TTT) Sint-Martinusprijs Kontich ;2008 : National Junior Road Championships ::1 ...

(born 1990), cyclist * Yvonne Serruys (1873–1953), Franco-Belgian artist * Gerard Vandenbussche (1902–1986) entrepreneur * Louis Verhelst (born 1990), cyclist * Albert Wauquier (born 1940), neurophysiologist, sleep medicine, writer * (born 1928), sculptor

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Municipalities of West Flanders Divided cities Vauban fortifications in Belgium