Namur

At a crossroads of trading routes, Namur has been an important town ever since ancient times. After defeating the local Celtic tribe, the Romans built a lookout tower on top of the rocky heights opposite the town at the junction of the Sambre and the Meuse rivers. Throughout the middle ages, fortifications were built on the heights by successive rulers of the town and by the 14th century, there was an extensive fortress overlooking Namur, which itself was surrounded by a wall with many towers.

In 1542, Emperor Charles V sanctioned plans for extensive defences at Namur, which were not completed until 1555. These consisted of a bastioned trace around the town, consisting of 6 bastions, fronted by a flooded ditch and a covered way.

Behind this line of new defences was another wet ditch, on the far side of which lay the medieval walls. The core of the town, which was the oldest part, was surrounded by another medieval wall and flooded ditch. This could act as a last line of defence for the town. Philip II of Spain used Namur as a military base for campaigns against the Dutch during the 80 Years' War.

Work was also carried out on the heights above the town, where the castle was transformed into a modern citadel. The castle was left intact, but in front of it on the landward side was added a front of two demi-bastions connected by a curtain. Before this was another double-bastioned front, with a demi-lune protecting it.

In front of all this lay a strong hornwork, projecting south-westwards to protect the high ground near the river Meuse.

Coehoorn visited Namur in the late 17th century, and added his improvements to the exisiting fortifications. He changed the town's wall to comprise 7 bastions instead of 6, deeming the intervals between bastions to be dangerously long.

Coehoorn added demi-lunes to the defences, and built a strong covered way. In the west, there was a strange indented outwork, covered by two lunettes. More defences were built to protect the bridgehead on the east bank of the Meuse.

Coehoorn also improved the citadel, by designing fortifications along the river banks, and extending the hornwork to the west, adding a demi-bastion. To cover the western approach to the citadel, a strong redoubt called Fort William was built. The fort had a front of two demi-bastions and indented lines to cover its flanks. It was protected by a large ditch and a strong covered way.

In 1692, Louis XIV laid siege to Namur, with Vauban as chief engineer. Coehoorn was defending his work in person. After a two-month siege, it was taken, and Vauban set to work fortifying the place according to his own ideas. Namur was already very strong and so Vauban's improvements were limited.

He added various advanced lunettes and exchanged Coehoorn's 'indented outwork' for a more conventional bastion and demi-lune. The works on the far bank of the Meuse seem to have been completely redesigned, although it is possible that Coehoorn's work was never carried out. Maps of the time show four different fortifications here, so perhaps one or more were only plans, never actually carried out. Vauban also seems to have added some bonnets, which is very unusual for him.

Three years later, in 1695, Coehoorn took the town again for the Allies, after another two-month siege. Under Napoleon, parts of the citadel were destroyed (possibly Fort William was destroyed at this stage). When Belgium became independant in 1830, the citadel was re-fortified, but fell after only 3 days of attack in 1914.

Visiting Namur

The fortifications of the town of Namur are long gone, only the gates remain. The citadel has also seen some destruction since the days of Vauban and Coehoorn - the central parts are the most intact. Fort William is gone, replaced by three lunettes, of which only one remains, called the Fort d'Orange.

There are many tourist facilities at the citadel, including restaurants and accommodation. There is a small road-train that goes round the citadel area, including through some of the underground tunnels that were part of the defence system. Namur is a main line station, easily reached by rail or road.

Official Site of the Citadel of Namur