Ronse

Ronse, called Renaix in French, is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders, and the municipality covers only the city of Ronse proper. The hills around it show signs of human activity from the Paleolithic, and its urban centre took shape in the 7th century when a church and monastery were built there. The church of Saint Hermes was consecrated in 1129 above a Romanesque-style crypt, and in 1240 the Lord of Ronse, Gerard de Wautripont, gave the town all the privileges of a city. Its economy long rested on linen and then the textile industry, which declined after World War II, and today Ronse is mainly a commercial centre and a tourist destination. Its sights include the basilica of Saint Hermes, one of the oldest railway stations in Europe and the Villa Carpentier, an Art Nouveau house by Victor Horta, and its Bommels festival in January is the first carnival of the year in Belgium.