Citadel of Namur
Hilltop fortress above the Meuse and Sambre, with ramparts, underground galleries and a visitor centre.
The Citadel of Namur occupies a rocky spur where the Sambre joins the Meuse, a position fortified since Roman and medieval times. The visible works date mainly from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries: Spanish and Austrian bastions, a comprehensive remodelling by the Dutch engineer Menno van Coehoorn after the sieges of the 1690s, and a further reconstruction under Dutch rule between 1816 and 1825. Louis XIV besieged the fortress twice, on the second occasion with Vauban directing the attack.
Decommissioned as a military site in 1891, the citadel became a public park and is now run as a heritage attraction covering some eighty hectares. Visitors can walk the ramparts and moats free of charge, take guided tours through several kilometres of underground galleries, and visit the Terra Nova visitor centre, which sets out two thousand years of the site's history. A small tourist train circles the ramparts, and the hill gives wide views over Namur and the two rivers.
Highlights
- Bastions remodelled by the Dutch engineer Menno van Coehoorn after 1692
- Guided tours through several kilometres of underground galleries
- Terra Nova visitor centre covering two thousand years of the site
- Views over the confluence of the Sambre and the Meuse
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