Mons

The city of Bergen originated on hilly terrain (hence the name) between the rivers Hene and Trouille.

The collegiate Church of Saint Waltrude (Collégiale Sainte-Waudru), in Brabantine High Gothic style, is one of the most beautiful churches in Belgium. The interior of the church is particularly remarkable, with its 16th-century stained glass windows, and the famous Car d'or, a richly decorated, gilded ceremonial carriage (from 1780, with the reliquary of Saint Waltrudis) that is carried through the city in procession every year.
The belfry tower was built in 1662 on the foundation of the destroyed Gravenkasteel (which was the residence of the counts of Hainaut from the 9th to the 15th century). The fine belfry, of which the French poet Victor Hugo had only disdain, is the only Belgian belfry in Baroque style. From the gravenkasteel itself, the Conciergerie and the Romanesque Saint Callixte Chapel (1051) have been well preserved.
The beautiful buildings of the Grand Place provide a worthy backdrop for the Town Hall (Hôtel de Ville), to which Matthijs de Layens donated a High Gothic facade in 1458. To the left of the entrance is the popular monkey, the Singe du Grand Garde, a small statue that allegedly brings good luck to those who pet its head. The origin has not yet been traced: perhaps the statue adorned a pillory in the 15th century... for children.
In a private castle estate in the district of Harveng stands the largest swamp cypress in Belgium. Outside of the old specimens in the natural distribution area of this species, this tree is perhaps the largest swamp cypress in the world.

In the Car d'Or, on the morning of the Ducasse, the shrine of Saint Waltrudis is carried through the city in a procession that finds its origins in 1348, when the area of Bergen was ravaged by the plague. The procession departs at 10:00 AM, and when it returns to its starting point around 12:30 PM, the Combat du Lumeçon begins in the Grand Place, a symbolic fight where a Saint George, seated on an armored horse, slays a dragon precisely at the moment the belfry strikes 1:00 PM. This celebration, unique in Belgium, takes place every year on Trinity Sunday.

(source: wikipedia)

Sarah De Keyzer