Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION 193

The commemorative Butte de Lion providing a lofty vantage point at Waterloo

The many fortresses of

Central Wallonia’s
provinces bear wit-

ness to the military sig-
nificance of these lands,

which have been fending off
invaders from the south, east

and west for centuries. For instance,
the rock on which the formidable

Citadelle of Namur was built was
once the site of a Roman fortress,

and was refortified incessantly over
nearly 2,000 years. The dark castles

and fortified manor houses are
strongly evocative of the region’s

medieval history. In the southwest
are garrison towns dating from the

16th century. One of Europe’s most
famous battlefields is in the Province

of Brabant Wallon – Waterloo, scene
of the final defeat of Napoleon in

1815. Central Wallonia also saw much
      fighting during the World Wars,

and Dinant marks the furthest point
west reached by the German army

during the 1944 Ardennes Offensive.

In parallel with these political

and military events, religion

left its mark on the land via

a number of superb abbeys

and cathedrals, such as the

Romanesque church in

Nivelles. Some buildings,

such as the 12th-century

Abbaye de Villers, are now

no more than spectacular ruins, while

others, such as the 19th-century

Neo-Gothic Abbaye de Maredsous,

are still active monasteries.

While Charleroi to its west and

Liège to its east became centres of

heavy industry in the 19th century,

Central Wallonia remained largely

agricultural. Today, its châteaux and

abbeys, the picturesque River Meuse

and the cities located on its banks

are the main draw for visitors.

Towards the south, where the

Belgian landscape rises to form the

Ardennes, limestone caves bristling

with stalactites and stalagmites offer

an equally appealing attraction.

CENTRAL WALLONIA

C

omprising the provinces of Namur and Brabant Wallon,

Central Wallonia is characterized primarily by rural land-

scapes. However, scattered across this expanse are numerous

fine castles and abbeys, and some of the most impressive caves of the

Ardennes. The city of Namur, capital of Wallonia, sits at its heart, on

the broad and busy convergence of the rivers Meuse and Sambre.

Fortress city of Dinant, with the onion-domed Collégiale Notre-Dame dominating the banks of River Meuse