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Menen
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>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. </p><p>The city was part of <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a> between 1668 and 1713. <a href="/facts/Vauban/c3o8tPNM">Vauban</a> turned Menen into a model-fortification (1679–1689). </p><p>The city was <a href="/facts/Siege_of_Menin_(1706)/3HHoo7GB">besieged</a> and taken by the <a href="/facts/John_Churchill,_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough/33GkYhmP">Duke of Marlborough</a>'s allied Army in August 1706. Between 1744 and 1748, it was again under French rule after the <a href="/facts/Siege_of_Menin_(1744)/tM1nj4t7">Siege of Menin (1744)</a>. There was a devastating fire in 1750, that almost completely destroyed the city. During the <a href="/facts/Low_Countries_theatre_of_the_War_of_the_First_Coalition/s1cCoeQx">Flanders Campaign</a> of the <a href="/facts/Wars_of_the_French_Revolution/S6nK1AT0">Wars of the French Revolution</a> the city changed hands several times. It was also the scene of a <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Menin_(1793)/AUojoyGS">battle</a> in September 1793. </p><p>Menen was a <a href="/facts/Barrier_town/Y1svP5ne">barrier town</a> for the <a href="/facts/Dutch_Republic/PlxBXbKF">Dutch Republic</a> against France from 1715 to 1781. </p><p>In 2013, the city drew international attention by forbidding its civil servants to speak <a href="/facts/French_language/qe1DnaQh">French</a> with <a href="/facts/Francophone/I9arP2JJ">francophones</a>. The <a href="/facts/Mayor/KN24kwhp">mayor</a>, Martine Fournier [nl], ordered that, if necessary, the communication should be in <a href="/facts/Sign_language/Wjfl9Db6">sign language</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="culture">Culture</h2> <p>A new art museum, the Stadsmuseum ’t Schippershof, opened in 1999, holds many works by Menen-born sculptor <a href="/facts/Yvonne_Serruys/gAzzKMsR">Yvonne Serruys</a>. Opposite 't Schippershof there is the <a href="/facts/Cultural_center/VD5AW8DB">cultural center</a> CC De Steiger that houses the city's theater, <a href="/facts/Public_library/VDjIpJS8">public library</a> and a concert space for live music. </p> <h2 id="gallery">Gallery</h2> <h2 id="towns">Towns</h2> <p>The municipality of Menen consists of Menen proper, <a href="/facts/Lauwe_(Belgium)/IVpymKbe">Lauwe</a> and <a href="/facts/Rekkem/I15BjAqV">Rekkem</a>. In the area of Rekkem, there is also the hamlet of Paradijs (Rekkem) [nl], separated from Rekkem proper by the A14/<a href="/facts/European_route_E17/77dWaA6u">E17</a>. In addition to the central town, Menen proper also contains the parishes and districts of De Barakken [nl] and Ons Dorp [nl]. Menen proper is mainly located north of the <a href="/facts/Leie/DSToD5vd">Leie</a>; 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 <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">French</a> municipality of <a href="/facts/Halluin/WGeIdSYv">Halluin</a>. </p> <table><tbody><tr><th>#</th><th>Name</th><th>Area</th><th>Population (2006)</th></tr><tr><td>I (V)(VI)</td><td>Menen – Menen - De Barakken – Ons Dorp</td><td>16,49 </td><td>19.246 </td></tr><tr><td>II</td><td><a href="/facts/Lauwe_(Belgium)/IVpymKbe">Lauwe</a></td><td>8,80</td><td>8.357</td></tr><tr><td>III (IV)</td><td><a href="/facts/Rekkem/I15BjAqV">Rekkem</a> – Rekkem – Paradijs</td><td>7,90 </td><td>4.813 </td></tr></tbody></table> <table><tbody><tr><td></td><td><p>The municipality of Menen borders the following villages:</p><ul><li>a. <a href="/facts/Moorsele/9ItqVXuD">Moorsele</a> (Wevelgem)</li><li>b. <a href="/facts/Wevelgem/9ItqVXuD">Wevelgem</a> (Wevelgem)</li><li>c. <a href="/facts/Marke,_Belgium/xQ45x6CW">Marke</a> (Kortrijk)</li><li>d. <a href="/facts/Aalbeke/4BVlSdCT">Aalbeke</a> (Kortrijk)</li><li>e. <a href="/facts/Mouscron/0Uuf81PP">Mouscron</a> (<a href="/facts/Wallonia/rXg1nkTV">Wallonia</a>)</li><li>f. <a href="/facts/Neuville-en-Ferrain/HxE85GlB">Neuville-en-Ferrain</a> (<a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a>)</li><li>g. <a href="/facts/Halluin/WGeIdSYv">Halluin</a> (<a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a>)</li><li>h. <a href="/facts/Wervik/FPH2oUWo">Wervik</a> (Wervik)</li><li>i. <a href="/facts/Geluwe/j3htWMrs">Geluwe</a> (Wervik)</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="notable-people-from-menen">Notable people from Menen</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Jonathan_Breyne/zoMHjGd8">Jonathan Breyne</a> (born 1991), cyclist</li> <li><a href="/facts/Yves_Chauvin/Ftgeqng5">Yves Chauvin</a> (1930–2015), French chemist, Nobel Prize winner 2005</li> <li><a href="/facts/Fran%C3%A7oise_Chombar/fJ1Pf3Bo">Françoise Chombar</a> (born 1962), entrepreneur</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Paul_Deman/QcnBQQqA">Paul Deman</a> (1889–1961), cyclist</li> <li><a href="/facts/Bernard_Lietaer/5foow6IB">Bernard Lietaer</a>, (1942–2019), economist, was born in Lauwe</li> <li><a href="/facts/Jean-Andr%C3%A9_van_der_Mersch/F9a75vao">Jean-André van der Mersch</a> (1734–1792), leader of the Brabant patriots in the Brabant Revolution in 1789</li> <li><a href="/facts/Arthur_Van_Overberghe/4yuD34QA">Arthur Van Overberghe</a> (born 1990), cyclist</li> <li><a href="/facts/Yvonne_Serruys/gAzzKMsR">Yvonne Serruys</a> (1873–1953), Franco-Belgian artist</li> <li>Gerard Vandenbussche (1902–1986) entrepreneur</li> <li><a href="/facts/Louis_Verhelst/thfv2cbl">Louis Verhelst</a> (born 1990), cyclist</li> <li>Albert Wauquier (born 1940), neurophysiologist, sleep medicine, writer</li> <li>Maurits Withouck [nl] (born 1928), sculptor</li></ul> <h2 id="politics">Politics</h2> <h2 id="mayors">Mayors</h2> <ul><li>1921-1938: August Debunne (socialist)</li> <li>1939-1942: Armand Deweerdt (liberal)</li> <li>1944-1946: Armand Deweerdt (liberal)</li> <li>1947-1964: René Gombert (liberal)</li> <li>1964-1982: Paul Isebaert (N/D)</li> <li>1983-1989: Fernand Dehaene (Christian Democrat)</li> <li>1989-1994: Gilbert Bossuyt (Socialist)</li> <li>1995-2000: Jean Libbrecht (liberal)</li> <li>2001-2012: Gilbert Bossuyt (socialist) <ul><li>2003-2004: Karl Debuck (replacement mayor)</li></ul></li> <li>2013-2018: Martine Fournier (Christian Democrat)</li> <li>2019-: Eddy Lust (liberal)</li></ul> <table><tbody><tr><th colspan="2">Political Parties</th><th colspan="2">10-10-1976<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></th><th colspan="2">10-10-1982</th><th colspan="2">9-10-1988</th><th colspan="2">9-10-1994</th><th colspan="2">8-10-2000</th><th colspan="2">8-10-2006<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></th><th colspan="2">14-10-2012<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></th><th colspan="2">14-10-2018</th><th colspan="2">13-10-2024</th></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Votes/Chairs</th><th>%</th><th>31</th><th>%</th><th>31</th><th>%</th><th>31</th><th>%</th><th>31</th><th>%</th><th>31</th><th>%</th><th>31</th><th>%</th><th>31</th><th>%</th><th>31</th><th>%</th><th>31</th></tr><tr><td></td><td>Christian Democrats</td><td>38,391</td><td>13</td><td>30,181</td><td>10</td><td>28,031</td><td>10</td><td>26,211</td><td>9</td><td>24,111</td><td>8</td><td rowspan="2">21,99A</td><td rowspan="2">7</td><td>23,862</td><td>8</td><td>29,42</td><td>10</td><td>20,82</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>New Flemish Alliance<p>(Flemish Nationalists)</p></td><td>14,831</td><td>4</td><td>16,041</td><td>5</td><td>10,191</td><td>2</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>17,252</td><td>6</td><td>12,62</td><td>4</td><td>22,12</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats</td><td>10,591</td><td>3</td><td>13,761</td><td>4</td><td>17,051</td><td>5</td><td>17,72</td><td>6</td><td>22,242</td><td>7</td><td>19,082</td><td>6</td><td>16,013</td><td>5</td><td>18,13</td><td>6</td><td rowspan="2">32,0D</td><td rowspan="2">11</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Vooruit/SP.A<p>(Socialist Party)</p></td><td>33,851</td><td>11</td><td>33,811</td><td>12</td><td>37,981</td><td>13</td><td>31,151</td><td>11</td><td>32,951</td><td>12</td><td>32,24B</td><td>12</td><td rowspan="2">24,26C</td><td rowspan="2">8</td><td>17,22</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Greens</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>5,981</td><td>1</td><td>6,081</td><td>1</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>4,822</td><td>0</td><td>9,23</td><td>2</td><td>6,83</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Flemish Interest<p>(Flemish separatists)</p></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>5,481</td><td>1</td><td>7,531</td><td>2</td><td>12,512</td><td>4</td><td>5,922</td><td>1</td><td>10,22</td><td>3</td><td>16,92</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Party of the labourers<p>(Marxists)</p></td><td>0,771</td><td>0</td><td>0,621</td><td>0</td><td>0,762</td><td>0</td><td>0,991</td><td>0</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>3,21</td><td>0</td><td>-</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Open City Menen</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>7,37</td><td>2</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>New</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>9,37</td><td>2</td><td>5,33</td><td>1</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>VIA</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>5,37</td><td>1</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>GEBE</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>11,57</td><td>3</td><td>5,28</td><td>1</td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td><td>-</td><td></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><i>Other Political Parties(*)</i></td><td><i>1,57</i></td><td><i>0</i></td><td><i>5,59</i></td><td><i>0</i></td><td><i>-</i></td><td></td><td><i>0,82</i></td><td><i>0</i></td><td><i>2,51</i></td><td><i>0</i></td><td><i>-</i></td><td></td><td><i>-</i></td><td></td><td><i>-</i></td><td></td><td><i>1,4</i></td><td><i>0</i></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Total Votes</th><th colspan="2">23750</th><th colspan="2">23079</th><th colspan="2">23009</th><th colspan="2">22605</th><th colspan="2">22327</th><th colspan="2">22918</th><th colspan="2">22314</th><th colspan="2">22326</th><th colspan="2">13261</th></tr><tr><th colspan="2">attendance (in%)</th><th colspan="2"></th><th colspan="2"></th><th colspan="2">94,26</th><th colspan="2">93,12</th><th colspan="2">92,62</th><th colspan="2">94,08</th><th colspan="2">91,94</th><th colspan="2">93,4</th><th colspan="2">56,0</th></tr><tr><th colspan="2">blank/invalid (in%)</th><th colspan="2">5,2</th><th colspan="2">5,91</th><th colspan="2">6,08</th><th colspan="2">6,79</th><th colspan="2">6,29</th><th colspan="2">5,62</th><th colspan="2">6,59</th><th colspan="2">6,2</th><th colspan="2">2,5</th></tr></tbody></table> <p>The Chairs of the majority coalition are written in Bold: 2018 = New Flemish Alliance: 4, Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats: 6, SP.A/Greens: 8 </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Menen. <ul><li><a href="http://www.menen.be">Official website</a> (in Dutch)</li> <li><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_International_Encyclop%C3%A6dia/Menin">"Menin" </a>. <i><a href="/facts/New_International_Encyclopedia/k0NUmBoF">New International Encyclopedia</a></i>. 1905.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Belfries of Belgium and France". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 5 November 2021. <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/943" target="_blank">http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/943</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Français interdit: Belgian town of Menen bans the use of French". Independent.co.uk. 5 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2022-05-12. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/franais-interdit-belgian-town-of-menen-bans-the-use-of-french-8800788.html" target="_blank">https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/franais-interdit-belgian-town-of-menen-bans-the-use-of-french-8800788.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>1976-2000:Verkiezingsdatabase Binnenlandse Zaken <a href="http://www.ibzdgip.fgov.be/result/nl/main.html" target="_blank">http://www.ibzdgip.fgov.be/result/nl/main.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Gegevens 2006: http://www.vlaanderenkiest.be/verkiezingen2006". Retrieved 16 June 2019. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help) <a href="https://www.vlaanderenkiest.be/verkiezingen2006/lijsten.html?type=GE&nis=34027#tabevent_tab_uitslagen_GE" target="_blank">https://www.vlaanderenkiest.be/verkiezingen2006/lijsten.html?type=GE&nis=34027#tabevent_tab_uitslagen_GE</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Gegevens 2012: www.vlaanderenkiest.be/verkiezingen2012 <a href="https://www.vlaanderenkiest.be/verkiezingen2012/index.html#/gemeente/34027/uitslagen" target="_blank">https://www.vlaanderenkiest.be/verkiezingen2012/index.html#/gemeente/34027/uitslagen</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>