- Hainaut
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/e noh"/, n.1. a medieval county in territory now in SW Belgium and N France.2. a province in SW Belgium. 1,271,649; 1437 sq. mi. (3722 sq. km). Cap.: Mons.
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Flemish HenegouwenMedieval county, now a province in southwestern Belgium.The area was once part of the county of Hainaut, which was larger than the modern province, and was bounded by Flanders on the north. United with Flanders several times from the 11th to the 13th century, it was later ruled by the house of Avesnes, the Wittelsbachs, the Burgundians, and finally the Habsburgs. Gradually annexed to France in the 17th and 18th centuries, part of the county stayed with France (now the Nord départment), and the rest passed to The Netherlands in 1814 and to Belgium in 1831. It is a well-farmed region with varied agriculture; animals, including Belgian draft horses, are raised. There are more than 100 castles in Hainaut.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
