City: The "Pearl of the Flemish
Ardennes", that is how Ronse sometimes is described.
Ronse is a city in the province of Eastern Flanders in Belgium.
The name of the city indicates a Celtic origin, it would be
a derivative of the nearby river 'Ronne ". This is an
idication that the history of this place goes far back in
time.
For example, it is known that there were people living
here in Gallo-Roman times. From the first century Ronse was
also a place of pilgramage. Many people brought invalids here
to be cured. From the 13th century Ronse was a centre of the
cloth industry, an industry which has been preserved for centuries.
For example, in 1850 more than 55% of the local population
were dependant on this textile industry. It is only after
the Second World War that this industry subsided. Today Ronse
is above all known as trading city.
