Namur

Namur, city, Belgium

Namur, Du. Namen, commune (1991 pop. 103,443), capital of Namur prov., S central Belgium, at the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers. It is a commercial and industrial center as well as a rail junction. Manufactures include machinery, leather goods, and porcelain. It is also an episcopal center and a tourist attraction. Namur was a Merovingian fortress (first mentioned in the 7th cent.) and later (10th cent.) became the seat of a county. The county fell to the counts of Flanders in 1262 and in 1421 was bought by Philip the Good of Burgundy. It later shared the history of the Austrian and Spanish Netherlands. Because of its strategic location, Namur was frequently besieged. In the War of the Grand Alliance it fell (1692) to the French, but was retaken by the Dutch in 1695. The first Barrier Treaty (1709) gave the Netherlands the right to garrison Namur, a right confirmed by two further treaties (1713, 1715) that supplemented the Peace of Utrecht. Refortified in 1887, it served as a Belgian defense on the Meuse at the outset of World War I. Noteworthy are the Church of St. Loup (17th cent.) and St. Aubain Cathedral (18th cent.).

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Namur, province, Belgium

Namur (nämür`), Du. Namen, province (1991 pop. 423,317), S Belgium, bordering on France in the south. The chief cities are Namur (the capital) and Dinant. The province is generally hilly; it is drained by the Meuse, Sambre, and Lesse rivers and is traversed in the south by the Ardennes. It is largely agricultural. There are also extensive marble, limestone, and granite quarries; iron mines; and glass and cutlery factories. The province, which is mainly French-speaking (see Walloons), includes the former county of Namur, part of the former prince-bishopric of Liège, and part of Hainaut. A resort industry is developing along the southern stretches of the Meuse.

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Namur

1. a province of S Belgium. Capital: Namur. Pop.: 452 856 (2004 est.). Area: 3660 sq. km (1413 sq. miles)

2. a town in S Belgium, capital of Namur province: strategically situated on a promontory between the Sambre and Meuse Rivers, besieged and captured many times. Pop.: 106 213 (2004 est.)