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{{Short description|Municipality in Flemish Community, Belgium}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox Belgium municipality
|name             = Ronse
|picture          = RonseRenaixmosaik.jpg
|picture-legend   = Ronse
|map              = Ronse East-Flanders Belgium Map.svg
|map-legend       = Location of Ronse in East Flanders
|arms             = Blason ville be Ronse.svg
|flag             = Flag of Ronse.png
|province         = [[East Flanders]]
|arrondissement   = [[Arrondissement of Oudenaarde|Oudenaarde]]
|nis              = 45041
|mayor            = Ignace Michaux ([[Christian Democratic and Flemish|CD&V]])
|majority         = [[Christian Democratic and Flemish|CD&V]], [[New Flemish Alliance|N-VA]], [[Vooruit]] 
|postal-codes     = 9600
|telephone-area   = 055
|web              = {{website|http://www.ronse.be/}}
|coordinates      = {{coord|50|45|N|03|36|E|region:BE|display=inline,title}}
}}

'''Ronse''' ({{IPA|nl|ˈrɔnsə|lang|Nl-Ronse.ogg}}; {{langx|fr|link=no|Renaix}} {{IPA|fr|ʁənɛ|}}) is a Belgian [[City status in Belgium|city]] and a [[Municipalities in Belgium|municipality]] in the [[Flemish Region|Flemish]] [[Provinces of Belgium|province]] of [[East Flanders]]. The municipality only encompasses the city of Ronse proper.

== History ==

=== Early settlements to 14th century ===

The hills around Ronse show clues of human activity in the [[Paleolithic]] period.  In the [[Neolithic]], the area was populated with settled farmers and cattle breeders.  Assorted fragments of building structures also attest of settlements in the area during [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times.  Ronse's urban center took shape in the 7th century, when [[Saint Amand]] – or one of his successors – built a church and monastery in honour of [[Saint Peter]] and [[Paul of Tarsus|Saint Paul]].  In the 9th century, Ronse and its monastery were given to the [[Inde]] Monastery (in [[Cornelismünster]], near [[Aachen]]) by [[Louis the Pious]].  It is around that time that the relics of [[Saint Hermes]] arrived in Ronse.  During those troubled times, [[Viking]] raids forced the monks to flee the town more than once, and the monastery was burnt by the [[Normans]] in 880.  The relics were recovered in 940 and housed in a [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]]-style [[crypt]] in 1083.  The church of Saint Hermes, which was later built on top of the crypt, was [[consecration|consecrated]] in 1129.  A pilgrimage in honour of the Saint, who had by then become known to cure mental illnesses, sustained the local economy.  There is still a French saying today which translates as "Saint Hermes cures the area's madmen but keeps the Ronse dwellers as they are".  The [[Lord]] of Ronse, Gerard de Wautripont, who was also in charge of the Inde Monastery at that time, gave the town all the privileges of a city in 1240.  A few years later, the economy was flourishing and the Inde Monastery sold all its Ronse-based possessions.  Until the [[French Revolution]], the Ronse [[Manorialism|seigneury]] – a [[baron]]y as of 1549 – included an [[enclave]], the Ronse [[exclusive right|Franchise]], which was administered by the [[Chapter (religion)|Chapter]] of Saint Hermes with complete juridical and fiscal independence and its own justice system.

=== Renaissance and Old Regime ===

On March 26, 1478, French troops pillaged and burned the city.  It quickly recovered, however, thanks to its booming economy based on the fabrication and preparation of linen.  Around the middle of the 16th century, the city became an important [[Calvinist]] center in the [[Southern Netherlands|Spanish Netherlands]].  The religious troubles of that century, especially the terrible repression of the [[Duke of Alba]], forced a large number of the city's [[Weaving|weavers]] and [[Fulling|fullers]] to find permanent refuge in [[Holland]], England, and Germany.  The fire of July 21, 1559 completely ruined the city.  At the beginning of the 17th century, Ronse took advantage of the relative peaceful period under the [[Catholic Monarchs|archdukes Ferdinand and Isabella]] to get back on its feet.  It is during that period that one of the most beautiful castles of the [[Southern Netherlands]] (demolished in 1823) was built for [[John VIII of Nassau-Siegen|Count Jean de Nassau-Siegen]], [[baron]] of Ronse since 1629, the [[castle of Ronse]]. The [[Bubonic plague|plague]] in 1635–1636 nearly emptied the city.  Despite opposition by the [[Spanish monarchy|King of Spain]], Ronse was annexed to France from 1680 to 1700.  During the following Austrian period, on March 31, 1719, a gigantic fire again turned most of the city to ashes.  Thanks to the perseverance of its inhabitants, Ronse could again rank as a city, with its commerce and businesses still based on the textile industry.

=== After the French Revolution ===

The [[Battle of Fleurus (1794)|Fleurus Victory]], on June 26, 1794, allowed France to occupy and annex the country.  Ronse faced important [[Confiscation|expropriations]] and the city soon found itself in financial difficulty.  In 1796, the old city administration was disbanded and a municipality was created.  French legislation was applied from this point on, until Belgium merged with the [[Netherlands]] in 1815.  In 1798, the so-called "farmers' war", a reaction to the military [[conscription]] imposed by France, cost many lives.  In 1799, Ronse counted about 10,000 inhabitants but a third of the population lived in poverty.  In 1840, within the newly created Kingdom of Belgium, more than 55% of the city's inhabitants derived a living from the textile industry.  A few years later, however, increased [[mechanisation]] gave rise to a deep [[Crisis (economic)|economic crisis]].  Many left Ronse to join the textile plants in Northern France ([[Lille]]-[[Roubaix]]-[[Tourcoing]]) or to take on agricultural work in the [[Somme (department)|Somme]] or the [[Oise]].  From the 1870s, Ronse's textile industry prospered despite a temporary slow down during [[World War I]].  The decline of this industry started after [[World War II]] but was especially acute during the 1960s.  Today, Ronse is mainly a commercial center and a [[tourism|touristic]] destination.
[[File:Ronse-Renaix.jpg|thumb|right|Ronse: Stationstraat]]
[[File:Ronse Belgium.jpg|thumb|right|Ronse: museum and church of Saint Hermes in the background]]

[[File:Ronse station (3441776801).jpg|thumb|right|Ronse railway station]]

== Sights ==
* The basilica of Saint Hermes, famous for its 13th-century [[Romanesque Architecture|Romanesque]] [[crypt]].
* A [[folklore]] museum and a textile museum.
* The city's railway station, one of the oldest in Europe.
* An [[Art Nouveau]] house built by [[Victor Horta]]: the Villa Carpentier.
* The surrounding hills, several of which offer good views of the city

== Festivities ==
* The "Bommels" fest, which takes place in January on the Saturday preceding the first Monday after [[Epiphany (Christian)|Epiphany]], is the first [[carnival]] of the year in Belgium.  Its roots can be traced to the [[Middle Ages]].
* The "Fiertel", also dating from the Middle Ages, takes place on [[Trinity Sunday]].  On that occasion, the [[reliquary]] of Saint Hermes is carried around the city in a 32-km long [[procession]], with thousands of walkers and cyclists cheering in.

==Sports==

The [[GP Mario De Clercq]] is a [[BPost Bank Trophy]] [[cyclo-cross]] competition in October.

The [[Tour of Flanders (disambiguation)|Tour of Flanders]], amongst other races in road cycling, passes every year through Ronse and includes hills like the [[Kruisberg|Oude Kruisberg]] and since 2014 the [[Kanarieberg]].

It is the home of former football club [[K.S.K. Ronse]].

== People born in Ronse ==
* [[Cipriano de Rore]], [[Flanders (county)|Flemish]] composer and teacher (16th century)
* [[Alphonse Francois Renard]], geologist and petrographer (19th century)
* [[Ovide Decroly]], teacher and psychologist (19th century)
* [[Princess Isabelle of Liechtenstein]] (20th century)
* [[Rudy Demotte]], socialist politician (20th century)
*[[Roland Cardon]] (1929–2001), composer and teacher
* [[Nicolas Provost]], film maker (1969–)
* [[Ann De Renais]], Soprano (b. 1971)
* [[Astrid Stockman]], Soprano (b. 1987)
* [[Stéphanie de Lannoy]] (b. 1984), Hereditary Grand Duchess of [[Luxembourg]].
*[[Flavie Van den Hende]] (1865–1925), cellist

== Industry ==
* [[Associated Weavers]], a textile manufacturing company.

== Twin cities ==
* {{GER}}: [[Kleve]]
* {{UK}}: [[Sandwich, Kent]]
* {{FRA}}: [[Saint-Valery-sur-Somme]]
* {{CZE}}: [[Jablonec nad Nisou]]
* {{TUN}}: [[Msaken]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* [[Antonius Sanderus|Sanderus A.]], Flandria Illustrata, 1638 and 1644, in [[Latin]], reproduced by Tielt, Veys, 1978, In folio, (24) + 654 + (12) pp., cited in [[:fr:Renaix]].
* Delghust O., Renaix à travers les âges, presses de Julien Leherte-Delcout, Renaix, 1936 and 1948, in French, reproduced by Culture et Civilisation, Brussels, 1975, In-8, 170 pp., cited in [[:fr:Renaix]].
* Gadeyne G., Aperçu de l’histoire de l’industrie textile à Renaix jusqu’en 1900, Annales de Renaix (C.H.A.R.T.I.), tome XXV, 1976, in French, cited in [[:fr:Renaix]].

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{in lang|nl}} [http://www.ronse.be Official website]

{{Geographic location
|Centre = Ronse
|North     = [[Maarkedal]]
|East      = [[Ellezelles]] ([[Hainaut (province)|WHT]])
|South     = [[Frasnes-lez-Anvaing]] ([[Hainaut (province)|WHT]])
|West      = [[Mont-de-l'Enclus]] ([[Hainaut (province)|WHT]])
|Northwest = [[Kluisbergen]]
}}
{{Municipalities in East Flanders}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ronse| ]]
[[Category:Municipalities of East Flanders]]
[[Category:Romanesque architecture in Belgium]]
[[Category:Populated places in East Flanders]]