See also: Namur (homonymy)

Namur (in Dutch Namen , in Walloon Nameur ) is a French-speaking city of Belgium, capital of the Walloon region, chief town of the Province of Namur. It is since 1559 the seat of évêché of Namur. On the site of the Grognon, with the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse, the Walloon Parlement is, which sits in the old renovated Saint-Gilles old people's home. The Élysette , which shelters the presidency of the Walloon Gouvernement, faces him on other side of the river.

On the heights of his citadel, strengthened at the 17th century successively by Coehoorn and Vauban, architect of the king of France Louis XIV, is organized since 1947 a test of motocross, which counts for the world championship. In 2006, the Belgian Stefan Everts was crowned world champion for the tenth time on this circuit, which one compares with that of Monaco for F1.

On the initiative of the ASBL Folknam, the tourist season is opened, each third Saturday of April, by the " Day of the folklore " who sees being held, in morning on the place of Weapons (center town) a gathering of the groups and local brotherhoods, which bran themselves after midday, in a vast procession through the city, to finish agapées to them in a final rondo on the aforementioned place.

In September, Namur also vibrates at the rate/rhythm of the Fêtes of Wallonia . Beginning of the month initially, the Royal Company Moncrabeau more commonly called " Forty molons" , organizes on the place of the Theater, a contest of lies. " menteries" are proposed as a Walloon by the candidates with the annual title of " king of the menteurs". The third we. then, the streets of the city are invaded by the popular jubilation. The Beer and the Peket run there with flood. One organizes there many cultural events, exposures, concerts and recitals. One often hears Li Bia there Bouquet (official song of the City since 1856) and Viv Nameur Po early, song of rallying of the Namurian one.

September ends in the F.I.F.F International festival of French-speaking Film, and this since 1989.

Namur is, in addition, European capital of the choir singing and the Watercolour.

Geography

Located at the confluence of the Sambre and the Meuse (two inland waterways), Namur is the capital of the Walloon region, chief town of the Province of Namur and also European capital of the Aquarelle. It is located at approximately of 61 km at the south-east of Brussels and is with the borders of the areas of the Hesbaye, the Condroz and the Between-Sambre-and-Meuse.

Routes transportation

The situation of Namur can be described as strategic:

1) It is located at the crossing of two inland waterways . a) The Sambre which arrive of the Hainaut and which is connected to the basin of the the Scheldt via the channel of the Center, the tilted Plan of Ronquières and the elevator of Strépy-Thieu that work in French territory will connect to the basin the Seine. It describes a western axis/east. It throws in the Meuse in Namur with the locality the Grognon, thus named because of the establishment, formerly, of a station of perception of a tax of passage for the barges.

b) The Meuse which arrives from the French Ardennes according to a southern/northern axis and forks in Namur towards the east in direction of Liege, Maastricht and Rotterdam. To the south it is connected to the basin of the the Rhine via the Canal of the East and the the Moselle.

2) Crossing of railway lines .

a) The north-western/south-eastern axis: the line 161 worms Brussels and beyond: Antwerp, Ostend, and the 162 connects it to the Grand Duche du Luxembourg, the Alsace and Lorraine French, the Suisse and possible also the Italy as well as the Croatia (via Lubiana).

b) The western axis/is which arrives of the Paris basin and Lille and which, after moves on Liege and beyond towards the Germany and the the Netherlands.

c) Towards the Dining south a secondary axis towards and Gedinne. 3) Crossing of two highway axes . a) The E411 which arrive from Brussels and continuous towards the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, Lorraine, the Champagne-Ardenne, the Alsace and can reach the south-east of the France, the the Alps, the Suisse, the Italy,…

b) The E42 which arrives of Tournai and which is joined by the connections which arrive from Lille and of the Paris region which move towards Liege, the Netherlands and Germany.

3) In the center of a triangle formed by three international airports . To approximately 30 km of Charleroi - Brussel South (specialized in flights “Low Cost”), 45 km of Zaventem - Brussels National (airport general practitioner) and 40 km of Liege - Bierset (specialized in the Charters and goods), Namur within reach has a whole of international services of air transport.

4) It is equipped with a complete network of telecommunications .

History

962: Namucho - 12th century: Namuco From its Celtic name orignel of Sedroch , Namur would draw its name from Gallic god NAM. During the christianization of the Gaulle, Saint Materne would have cancelled this worship and makes NAM dumb, nam mutus , from where the name given to the place, Namur . More realistic, the origin would be the property (Celtic suffix - uco) of Namo , anthroponyme Gallic.

Famous for its Citadel, Namur is also a historical city whose foundation goes back to the Roman conquest.

Like all the cities of the Middle Ages, it developed then safe from solids walls. The city knew thus, at the rate/rhythm of the increase in its population four Enceinte S successive. The fortifications develop as of the end of the 15th century starting from the castle comtal.

From, the importance of the military function of Namur increases because of its strategic position to the confluence of two important water ways. Its system defensive which is improved by Menno van Coehoorn and is still improved by Vauban makes the Fortified town of it most important of the southernmost Netherlands and one of the 10 most coveted fortified towns Europe.

At the 17th century, a Enceinte Bastion born doubles the old ramparts of the city. Namur is then true a Forteresse. During the Guerre of the league of Augsburg it undergoes two seat S successive. Catch first once by French ordered by the marshal of Luxembourg assisted by Vauban and in the presence of Louis XIV, in 1692 it is later taken again three years by the allies ordered by William of Orange, king d' Angleterre, and Maximilien-Emmanuel of Bavaria, governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Many districts as of the old monuments were destroyed or set fire to at the time of the seats. The end of the wars of Louis XIV moves away Namur from the battle fields… The city consequently will attack an intensive rebuilding which will give him its current aspect: middle-class houses, churches, hotels of Master were built in a sober style and luminous which combines brick and the stone of size.

Namur was the prefecture of the French department of Sambre-and-Meuse starting from 1795 until the end of the First Empire.

The European conflicts save Namur throughout the 19th century but its position Stratégique on the road of the invasions is worth to him to be again a target of choice at the time of the two world wars.

Its choice (tonic with 1912) as capital of this same Walloon region today replaced it under the full glare of the medias, with its originality and its richnesses historical and artistic, in a role worthy of its long story. In 1967, Namur accommodates the 3rd festival Europa Cantat, which it will find for its eighth edition in 1982, becoming the first city to be accommodated by twice this festival (joined in 2000 by Nevers).

Culture

As a city of the Great Area, Namur takes part in the program of the Européenne year of the Capitale of the Culture 2007 .

Teaching

Namur is also a university town. It shelters the university Facultés Notre-Dame of Peaces, founded in 1831 - and counting today more than 4000 students - which one can give like example of work: those concerning the nanotubes and the skin in culture.

The high schools (nonuniversity higher education) there are also very present: High School Albert-Jacquard, HE provincial, High school of Namur (HENAM).

A Folklore student's inoffensive and benevolent combined with a framework of calm and quiet life still adds to the charm of the city.

Monuments and museums

Monuments

  • the citadel (strengthened 18th century together)

  • the church Saint-Wolf (17th century)
  • the Cathedral Saint-Aubain (18th century)
  • the old episcopal palate (18th century)
  • the belfry (14th century)
  • the church St-Jean-Baptist (16th century)
  • the tower Marie Spilar (14th century)
  • the keep (11th century)
  • the Market Al' flesh (archaeological museum) (16th century)
  • the Hotel of Groesbeeck de Croix (museum) (18th century)
  • the Hotel of Gaiffier d' Hestroy (museum of Arts old of Namurian) (18th century) the
  • the church Notre-Dame (18th century)
  • the Arsenal (17th century) (major Inheritance of Wallonia
  • the Old people's home Saint-Gilles (seat of the Walloon Parliament) (17th century)
  • the door Sambre and Meuse (18th century)
  • the royal theater of Namur (19th century)
  • the horse Bayard (20th century)

Museums

  • the archaeological museum

  • the provincial museum Félicien Rops
  • the provincial museum of old Arts of the Namurian
  • the museum of the Namurian traditions
  • the museum diocesan and Treasure of the cathedral Saint-Aubain
  • the museum of Groesbeeck de Croix
  • the African museum
  • the museum of the Artillery
  • the museum of the Treasury of the Priory of Oignies

Tourism and Leisures

Tourism

  • Citadelle of Namur

  • Villes virtuelles.be Visit the city, its trade, its curiosities in panoramas 360°
  • the " Échasseurs" : tournaments on stilts
  • the Namourette : a river shuttle (small boat of a capacity of ten people approximately) organized with Namur. It connects Jambes (marina " Henri Hallet" , Right Bank of the Meuse) and Tabora (Right Bank of Sambre). The way lasts approximately 30 minutes. The shuttle functions only during the summer (from May 1st to September 30th).

Leisures

  • Festival Verdur Rock

  • Motocross of the Citadelle of Namur
  • Gravitational Parc Queen Fabiola (Citadel)
  • Parc Louise-Marie
  • Namur in May
  • Wallonia celebrates of it
  • FIFF (International festival of French-speaking Film)

Sports

Among the principal sporting clubs, one can in particular find:

Gastronomy

The town of Namur which one calls " Namur Li glotte" (the greedy one, as a Walloon) has its noble letters, one can quote:

According to the historian OJ Gerard, the Frite would go back to before 1680 and would be originating in the edges of the Meuse and thus of good part of Namur, city mosane par excellence. He wants of it for proof a family manuscript written by one of his ancestors, Joseph Gerard, entitled Curiosités of the table in the Netherlands Belgium and gone back to 1781, of which here an extract: “the inhabitants of Namur, Andenne and Dining have the use to fish in the Meuse of the small fry and to fry it to improve their ordinary, especially at the poor people. But when freezing seizes the rivers and that fishing becomes hazardous there, the inhabitants cut out potatoes in the shape of small fish and pass them to the crackling like those. It returns to me that this practice goes back already to more than one hundred years. ”

Twinnings

Namur is twinned with:

Namur also forms part of the Network Sesame which gathers 15 cities, regional capital all over the world. The goal of this network is to develop a co-operation of the type institutional, but so economic between companies, administrations, universities, schools and organizations public and private their territories.

  • Badalona (Catalonia, Spain)
  • Korolev (Area of Moscow, Russia)
  • Lafayette (Louisiana, the United States)
  • Longueuil (Quebec, Canada)
  • Moncton (New Brunswick, Canada)
  • Namur (Wallonia, Belgium)
  • Northampton (Northamptonshire, the United Kingdom)
  • Parma (Emilie-Romagna, Italy)
  • Pecs (Baranya, Hungary)
  • Poitiers (Poitou-Charentes, France)
  • Syracuse (New York, the United States)
  • Vaasa (Ostrobotnie, Finland)
  • Victoriaville (Quebec, Canada)
  • Zhengzhou (Henan, China)

Namurian famous

See too

Articles of Wikipédia

External bonds

  • Official site of the municipal authorities

  • Namur, a city, a capital, a province
  • House of tourism of the country of Namur
  • Namurian Échasseurs
  • Folknam, the Association of folklore
  • NamurByNight, the diary of the exits/evenings of the Namurian

Sources

Random links:Pizhou | Abrantes | Church autocéphale | Prater | Aratinga weddellii