Hainaut Province
Hainaut, historically also known as Heynault in English, is the westernmost province of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.
To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders on the Flemish provinces of West Flanders, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant and the Walloon provinces of Walloon Brabant and Namur.
Its capital is Mons and the most populous city is Charleroi, the province's urban, economic and cultural hub, the financial capital of Hainaut and the fifth largest city in the country by population. Hainaut is one of the two only Belgian provinces whose capital is not its largest city; the other one is Walloon Brabant. Hainaut has an area of and as of January 2024 a population of over 1.36 million. Another notable city is Tournai on the Scheldt river, one of the oldest cities in Belgium and the first capital of the Frankish Empire.
Hainaut province has a rolling landscape, except for the very southern part, the so-called Boot of Hainaut, which is quite hilly and belongs to the Ardennes and its foothills Fagne and the Condroz.
The village of L'Escaillère in the utmost southeastern corner, at an altitude of 365 metres, is the highest point of the province.
In the Boot of Hainaut on the border of Namur province the artificial five Eau d'Heure lakes are situated, the largest lake area of Belgium.
A well-known region is the Borinage, the old coal mining region around the city of Mons. Also well-known is the Pays des Collines, a low hilly area forming one natural region with the Flemish Ardennes in the East Flanders province.
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Language
In addition to the main language French, Picard is spoken in the western and central parts of the province, while in the eastern part a mixture of Walloon and Picard is spoken.Some Flemish and Brabantic dialects of Dutch are spoken in the municipalities bordering the Flemish region.