Namur stands at the confluence of the riversSambre andMeuse and straddles three different regions –Hesbaye to the north,Condroz to the south-east, and Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse to the south-west. The city ofCharleroi is located to the west. The language spoken isFrench.
The town began as an important trading settlement inCeltic times, straddling east–west and north–south trade routes across theArdennes. TheRomans established a presence afterJulius Caesar defeated the localAduatucitribe.
Namur came to prominence during the earlyMiddle Ages when theMerovingians built acastle or citadel on the rocky spur overlooking the town at the confluence of the two rivers. In the 10th century, it became acounty in its own right. The town developed somewhat unevenly, as the counts of Namur could only build on the north bank of the Meuse - the south bank was owned by the bishops ofLiège and developed more slowly into the town of Jambes (now effectively a suburb of Namur). In 1262, Namur fell into the hands of theCount of Flanders, and was purchased by DukePhilip the Good ofBurgundy in 1421.
After Namur became part of theSpanish Netherlands in the 1640s, its citadel was considerably strengthened.Louis XIV of France invaded in 1692, capturing the town and annexing it to France. His renowned military engineerVauban rebuilt the citadel.[2] French control was short-lived, asWilliam III of Orange-Nassaucaptured Namur only three years later in 1695 during theWar of the Grand Alliance. Under theBarrier Treaty of 1709, the Dutch gained the right to garrison Namur, although the subsequentTreaty of Utrecht of 1713 gave control of the formerlySpanish Netherlands to the AustrianHouse of Habsburg. Thus, although the Austrians ruled the town, the citadel was controlled by the Dutch. It was rebuilt again under their tenure.
GeneralJean-Baptiste Cyrus de Valence's column laid siege to the city on 19 November 1792 during theWar of the First Coalition and, after 12 days, the city surrendered on 1 December and its whole garrison of 3,000 men was taken prisoner. France invaded the region again in 1794, annexing Namur and imposing a repressive regime. After the defeat ofNapoleon in 1815, theCongress of Vienna incorporated what is now Belgium into theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands. Belgium broke away from the Netherlands in 1830 following theBelgian Revolution, and Namur continued to be a major garrison town under the new government. The citadel was rebuilt yet again in 1887.
InWorld War I, Namur was a major target of theGerman invasion of Belgium in 1914, which sought to use the Meuse valley as a route into France. On August 21, 1914,the Germans bombarded the town of Namur without warning. Several people were killed. Despite being billed as virtually impregnable, the citadel fell after only three days' fighting[2] and the town was occupied by the Germans for the rest of the war. Namur fared little better inWorld War II; it was in the front lines of both the Battle of the Ardennes in 1940 and theBattle of the Bulge in 1944. The town suffered heavy damage in both wars.
After the creation of theWalloon Region, Namur was chosen as the seat of itsexecutive andparliament. In 1986, Namur was officially declared capital of Wallonia.[3] Its position as regional capital was confirmed by the Parliament of Wallonia in 2010.[4]
Namur, theMeuse, the Walloon Parliament and thecitadel
Namur is an important commercial and industrial centre, located on the Walloon industrial backbone, theSambre and Meuse valley. It produces machinery, leather goods, metals and porcelain.[6] Itsrailway station is also an important junction situated on the north–south line betweenBrussels andLuxembourg City, and the east–west line betweenLille andLiège. Riverbarge traffic passes through the middle of the city along the Meuse.
Namur has taken on a new role as the capital of the federal region of Wallonia. Its location at the head of the Ardennes has also made it a popular tourist centre, with acasino located in its southern district on the left bank of the Meuse.
An odd Namurois custom is thejoust on stilts (dating back to 1411) practiced by thestiltwalkers of Namur. The annual Combat de l'Échasse d'Or (Fight for the Golden Stilt), held on the third Sunday in September, is the most important joust of the year. Two teams, the Mélans and the Avresses, dress in medieval clothes while standing on stilts and do battle in one of the town's principal squares.[8] Since 2021, Namur stilt jousts are registered on theUNESCORepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Namur possesses a distinguisheduniversity, theUniversity of Namur (previously known as the Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, FUNDP), founded in 1831. TheUniversity of Louvain (UCLouvain) also has several facilities in the city through itsUCLouvain Namur University Hospital (CHU UCLouvain Namur), the provinces' largest employer.
(in French) Jean-Pol Hiernaux :Namur, capitale de la Wallonie, inEncyclopédie du Mouvement wallon, Tome II, Charleroi, Institut Jules Destrée, 2000,ISBN2-87035-019-8 (or 2d ed., CD-ROM, 2003,ISBN2-87035-028-7)
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