Parc National de Champagne/Ardennes Parc National de Furfooz
TheArdennes,[a] also known as theArdennes Forest orForest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily inBelgium andLuxembourg, extending intoGermany andFrance.
Geologically, the range is a western extension of theEifel; both were raised during theGivetian age of the Devonian (382.7 to 387.7 million years ago), as were several other named ranges of the same greater range.[1]
The Ardennes proper stretches well into Germany and France (lending its name to theArdennesdepartment and the formerChampagne-Ardenneregion) and geologically into the Eifel (the eastern extension of the Ardennes Forest intoBitburg-Prüm, Germany); most of it is in the southeast ofWallonia, the southern and more rural part of Belgium (away from the coastal plain but encompassing more than half of the country's total area). The eastern part of the Ardennes forms the northernmost third of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, also called "Éislek" (German:Oesling). On the southeast the Eifel region continues into the German state of theRhineland-Palatinate.
The trees and rivers of the Ardennes provided thecharcoal industry assets that enabled the great industrial period of Wallonia in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was arguably thesecond great industrial region of the world. The greater region maintained an industrial eminence into the 20th century, after coal replaced charcoal inmetallurgy. The strategic position of the Ardennes has made it a battleground for European powers for centuries; it was the site of major battles during both World Wars.
Morphologically connected mountains of Ardennes and Eifel, framed by the rivers Semois, Meuse,Moselle and Rhine. The highest elevation is theHohe Acht at 746.9 m above sea level. NHNArduenna silva between Maas und RheinThe Ardennes in Belgium
Much of the Ardennes is covered in dense forests, with the hills averaging around 350–400 m (1,150–1,310 ft) in height but rising to over 694 m (2,277 ft) in the boggy moors of theHigh Fens region of south-easternBelgium. The region is typified by steep-sided valleys carved by swift-flowing rivers, the most prominent of which is theMeuse. Its most populous cities areVerviers in Belgium andCharleville-Mézières in France, both exceeding 50,000 inhabitants. The Ardennes is otherwise relatively sparsely populated, with few of the towns exceeding 10,000 inhabitants. (Exceptions include Belgium'sEupen andBastogne.)
TheEifel range inGermany adjoins the Ardennes and is part of the same geological formation, although they are conventionally regarded as being two distinct areas.[citation needed]
The Ardennes are the remnants of amountain range formed during theHercynian orogeny; in France similar formations are theArmorican Massif, theMassif Central, and theVosges. The low interior of such former mountains often contains coal, plus iron, zinc and other metals in the sub-soil. This geologic fact explains the greatest part of the geography of Wallonia and its history. In the North and West of the Ardennes lie the valleys of theSambre andMeuse rivers, forming an arc (Sillon industriel) going across the most industrial provinces ofWallonia, for exampleHainaut Province, along the riverHaine (the etymology of Hainaut); theBorinage, theCentre andCharleroi along the river Sambre;Liège Province along the river Meuse.
The region the Ardennes are part of has been uplifted further in the last few hundred thousand years by amantle plume, as measured from the present elevation of old river terraces, with the largest amount of uplift concentrated in the east, where the Ardennes connect with the Eifel, where the same mantle plume is also responsible for volcanic activity.[2]
This geological region is important in the history of Wallonia because this former mountain is at the origin of the economy, the history, and the geography of Wallonia. "Wallonia presents a wide range of rocks of various ages. Some geological stages internationally recognized were defined from rock sites located in Wallonia: e.g.,Frasnian (Frasnes-lez-Couvin),Famennian (Famenne),Tournaisian (Tournai),Visean (Visé),Dinantian (Dinant), andNamurian (Namur)".[3] Except for the Tournaisian, all these rocks are within the Ardennes geological area.
The Ardennes includes the greatest part of Belgium'sLuxembourg Province (not to be confused with the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Luxembourg), the south ofNamur Province, andLiège Province, plus a very small part ofHainaut Province, as well as the northernmost third of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, called "Éislek" (German:Oesling) and the main part of the FrenchArdennes department.
Before the 19th century industrialization, the first furnaces in these four Belgian provinces (all in theWallonia region) and in the French Ardennes used charcoal for fuel, made from harvesting the Ardennes forest. This industry was also in the extreme south of present-day Luxembourg Province (which until 1839 was part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg), in the region calledGaume. The most important part of the Walloon steel industry, using coal, was built around the coal mines, mainly in the region around the cities ofLiège, Charleroi,La Louvière, theBorinage, and further in theWalloon Brabant (inTubize). Wallonia became the second industrial power area of the world (after Great Britain) in proportion to its territory and to its population (see further).
The rugged terrain and the harsh climate of the Ardennes limits the scope foragriculture; arable and dairy farming in cleared areas form the mainstay of the agricultural economy. The region is rich in timber and minerals, and Liège and the city ofNamur are both major industrial centres. The extensive forests have an abundant population ofwild game. The scenic beauty of the region and its wide variety of outdoor activities, including hunting, cycling, walking and canoeing, make it a popular tourist destination.
The region takes its name from the vast ancient forest known asArduenna Silva in theRoman Period.Arduenna probably derives from aGaulish cognate of theBrythonic wordardu- as in theWelsh:ardd ("high") and theLatinarduus ("high", "steep").[4] The second element is less certain, but may be related to the Celtic element*windo- as in the Welshwyn/wen ("fair", "blessed"), which tentatively suggests an original meaning of "forest of blessed/fair heights".[citation needed]
The Ardennes probably shares this derivation with the numerousArden place names in Britain, including theForest of Arden.[citation needed]
Bayard Rock, Dinant, on the right bank of theMeuse. According to a legend, a magic horse jumped from the top of this rock to the left bank of the river, carrying theFour Sons of Aymon fleeingCharlemagne.
The modern Ardennes region covers a greatly diminished area from the forest recorded in Roman times.
A song about Charlemagne, theOld French 12th-centurychanson de gesteQuatre Fils Aymon, mentions many of Wallonia's rivers, villages and other places. InDinant the rock namedBayard takes its name fromBayard, the magic bay horse which, according to legend, jumped from the top of the rock to the other bank of the Meuse.
The strategic position of the Ardennes has made it a battleground for European powers for many centuries. Much of the Ardennes formed part of the Duchy (since 1815, the Grand Duchy) of Luxembourg, a member state of the Holy Roman Empire, which changed hands numerous times between the powerful dynasties of Europe. In 1793 revolutionary France annexed the entire area, together with all other territories west of theRhine river. In 1815, theCongress of Vienna, which dealt with the political aftermath of theNapoleonic Wars, restored the previous geographical situation, with most of the Ardennes becoming part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After therevolution of 1830, which resulted in the establishment of the Kingdom of Belgium, the political future of the Ardennes became a matter of much dispute between Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, as well as involving the contemporarygreat powers ofFrance,Prussia, andGreat Britain. As a result, in 1839, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg ceded the westernmost 63% of its territory (being also the main part of the Ardennes) to the newKingdom of Belgium, which is now itsLuxembourg Province.[6]
In the 20th century, leading military strategists generally considered the Ardennes to be unsuitable for large-scale military operations, due to its difficult terrain and narrow communication lines. However, inWorld War I as well asWorld War II, Germany successfully gambled on making a rapid passage through the Ardennes to attack a relatively lightly defended part of France. The Ardennes became the site of three major battles during the world wars: theBattle of the Ardennes (August 1914) in World War I, and theBattle of France (1940) and theBattle of the Bulge (1944–1945) in World War II. Many of the towns of the region suffered severe damage during the two world wars and its various battles.
1914
TheBattles of the Frontiers (1914) involved a series of skirmishes between the French and the German armies. The French forces carried out a counter-offensive ("Plan XVII"), attacking the flank of the westward-advancing German army executing itsSchlieffen Plan.
TheBattle of the Ardennes (1914) was the second of the Battles of the Frontiers. After the advancing German left wing defeated French forces in Lorraine, France launched another attack just north of Lorraine, advancing temporarily into the Ardennes.
Allied generals inWorld War II believed that the region was impenetrable to massed vehicular traffic and especially armoured tanks, so the area was effectively "all but undefended"[citation needed] during the war. The German Army twice used this region to invade northern France and southern Belgium, via Luxembourg in theBattle of France and the laterBattle of the Bulge.
In 1939 and 1940,Nazi Germany's military strategists selected the forest as the primary route of theirmechanised forces in theInvasion of France. The forest's great size could conceal thearmoured divisions, and because the French did not suspect that the Germans would make such a risky move, they did not consider a breakthrough there, or imagine that it would take at least 15 days for an army to pass through the forest. German forces, primarily under the command ofErich von Manstein, carried out the plan in two days, and managed to slip numerous divisions past theMaginot Line to attack France from the north, and rout the French forces. In May 1940 the German army crossed theMeuse, despite the resistance of theFrench Army. Under the command ofGeneral Heinz Guderian,[7] the German armoured divisions crossed the river at Dinant and atSedan, France. This was a crucial step in the push towards Paris, andFrance fell on 25 June 1940.
1940
Battle of France (1940) The Germans executeErich Von Manstein's plan forFall Gelb. Armoured divisions cross theMeuse (16 May), (principally inDinant),Sedan and the Ardennes. The Ardennes are located just to the east of the red shading which marks the extent of the German advance. On 16 May GeneralMaurice Gamelin said he could no longer protectParis because he had lost the Ardennes.
Battle of France (1940) The Wehrmacht advances further, particularly accelerating through theGembloux gap northwest of the Ardennes, in the week of 21 May (red shading), quickly reachingAbbeville, near the English Channel. This cut off the Allied troops of the North (some French divisions, theBelgian Army and theBritish Expeditionary Force). In this way, the German armies won the first stage of the Battle of France.
At the other end of the war, the Ardennes area came to prominence again during theBattle of the Bulge. The German Army, which had been forced to retreat for some time, launched a surprise attack in December 1944 in an attempt to recaptureAntwerp and to drive a wedge between the advancing British and American forces in northern France. After a fierce battle theAllied forces blocked the German advance on the river Meuse at Dinant.
1944
Battle of the Bulge. In 1944, the Germans counterattacked across the Ardennes and theMeuse valley but they were eventually thwarted after fierce battles. Their most advanced position was the "nose" of the salient, just in front ofDinant and the Meuse river. They had wanted to move northeast and reachAntwerp and theNorth Sea.
The salient was mainly in the Ardennes, its "nose" being just to the west of it, in theCondroz. Areas above 400 metres (1,300 ft) (shown in the darkest shade of brown) form the heart of the Ardennes.
In the postwar period, the Ardennes has become a weekend retreat that is popular among Belgians as well as people from neighbouring countries. The tourist industry offers an extensive and varied range of activities and types of accommodation.
Panorama of Botassart orLe Tombeau du Géant (Giant's Tomb) along theSemois
^Vasmer, Max (1986–1987) [1950–1958]."рост". InTrubachyov, O. N.; Larin, B. O. (eds.).Этимологический словарь русского языка [Russisches etymologisches Wörterbuch] (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: Progress.
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