Menen Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Menen

Town hall of Menen

Flag	Coat of arms

Menen

Location in Belgium

Country

Flemish Community

Arrondissement

Kortrijk

Area

• Total

33.07 km² (12.77 sq mi)

Population

(2018-01-01)Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

• Total

Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1,575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Postal codes

8930

Area codes

056

Menen is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It is located right on the border with France. The municipality includes the city of Menen itself, plus the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem.

As of January 1, 2006, Menen had about 32,413 people living there. The total area of the municipality is 33.07 square kilometers. This means there are about 980 people living in each square kilometer.

The city of Menen is famous for giving its name to the Menin Gate in Ypres. This gate is a special monument built to remember those who died in World War I. It's called the Menin Gate because the road from that gate leads directly to Menen.

Menen's town hall has a tall bell tower, called a belfry. In 1999, this belfry was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. It's part of a group called the Belfries of Belgium and France. It was chosen because of its important history and beautiful design.

History of Menen
Culture and Arts
Towns in Menen Municipality
Famous People from Menen
Images for kids
See also

History of Menen

Menen's location near the French border made it a very important place. Because of this, the city faced many attacks and "sieges" throughout its history. A siege is when an army surrounds a city to try and take control of it. Between 1579 and 1830, Menen was besieged 22 times!

The city was part of France from 1668 to 1713. During this time, a famous military engineer named Vauban turned Menen into a very strong fortress. He built many defenses between 1679 and 1689.

In August 1706, the city was attacked and captured by an army led by the Duke of Marlborough. It was under French rule again from 1744 to 1748. In 1750, a terrible fire almost completely destroyed the city.

During the Wars of the French Revolution, Menen changed hands many times. There was also a big battle fought here in September 1793. From 1715 to 1781, Menen was a "barrier town" for the Dutch Republic. This meant it was a fortified city that helped protect the Dutch Republic from attacks by France.

In 2013, the city had a rule about languages. The mayor at the time, Martine Fournier, said that city workers should speak only Dutch with people who spoke French. If needed, they were told to use sign language to communicate. This rule caused a lot of discussion.

Culture and Arts

Menen has a modern art museum called the Stadsmuseum ’t Schippershof. It opened in 1999 and displays many artworks by Yvonne Serruys, a famous sculptor who was born in Menen.

Right across from 't Schippershof is the cultural center CC De Steiger. This center is a lively place for the city. It has a theater for plays, the city's public library for books, and a concert space for live music events.

Towns in Menen Municipality

The municipality of Menen is made up of Menen city itself, plus two other towns: Lauwe and Rekkem.

In the area of Rekkem, there is also a small village called Paradijs. It is separated from Rekkem by a major highway, the A14/E17.

Besides the main city, Menen also includes two smaller areas called De Barakken and Ons Dorp. Menen city is mostly located north of the Leie River. Lauwe and Rekkem are found south of the river. The city area of Menen is directly connected to the French town of Halluin.

#	Name	Area	Population (2006)
I (V) (VI)	Menen – Menen - De Barakken – Ons Dorp	16,49	19.246
II	Lauwe	8,80	8.357
III (IV)	Rekkem – Rekkem – Paradijs	7,90	4.813

Menen, its towns, and neighboring villages. The yellow areas show where people live.

The municipality of Menen shares its borders with these nearby villages:

a. Moorsele (part of Wevelgem)
b. Wevelgem (a town itself)
c. Marke (part of Kortrijk)
d. Aalbeke (part of Kortrijk)
e. Mouscron (in Wallonia)
f. Neuville-en-Ferrain (in France)
g. Halluin (in France)
h. Wervik (a town itself)
i. Geluwe (part of Wervik)

Famous People from Menen

Many interesting people have come from Menen or its nearby towns:

Jonathan Breyne (born 1991), a cyclist
Yves Chauvin (1930–2015), a French chemist who won the Nobel Prize in 2005
Françoise Chombar (born 1962), an entrepreneur
Paul Deman (1889–1961), a cyclist

Paul Deman in 1914

Bernard Lietaer (1942–2019), an economist, was born in Lauwe
Jean-André van der Mersch (1734–1792), a leader in the Brabant Revolution in 1789
Yvonne Serruys (1873–1953), a Franco-Belgian artist
Louis Verhelst (born 1990), a cyclist