Early history The town began as an important trading settlement in
Celtic times, straddling east–west and north–south trade routes across the
Ardennes. The
Romans established a presence after
Julius Caesar defeated the local
Aduatuci tribe. Namur came to prominence during the early
Middle Ages when the
Merovingians built a
castle or citadel on the rocky spur overlooking the town at the confluence of the two rivers. In the 10th century, it became a
county in its own right. The town developed somewhat unevenly, as the counts of Namur could only build on the north bank of the Meuse - the south bank was owned by the bishops of
Liège and developed more slowly into the town of Jambes (now effectively a suburb of Namur). The medieval rulers of Namur were often also rulers of other counties in the region, including
Flanders,
Hainaut, and
Luxembourg. It was purchased by Duke
Philip the Good of
Duke Burgundy and Count of Flanders in 1421, joining it into a larger state.
17th–19th centuries In the 1640s, long after Namur became part of the
Spanish Netherlands, its citadel was considerably strengthened.
Louis XIV of France invaded in 1692, capturing the town and annexing it to France. His renowned military engineer
Vauban rebuilt the citadel. French control was short-lived, as
William III of Orange-Nassau captured Namur only three years later in 1695 during the
War of the Grand Alliance. Under the
Barrier Treaty of 1709, the Dutch gained the right to garrison Namur, although the subsequent
Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 gave control of the formerly
Spanish Netherlands to the Austrian
House of Habsburg. Thus, although the Austrians ruled the town, the citadel was controlled by the Dutch. It was rebuilt again under their tenure. General
Jean-Baptiste Cyrus de Valence's column laid siege to the city on 19 November 1792 during the
War of the First Coalition and, after 12 days, the city surrendered on 1 December and its whole garrison of 3,000 men was taken prisoner. France invaded the region again in 1794, annexing Namur and imposing a repressive regime. After the defeat of
Napoleon in 1815, the
Congress of Vienna incorporated what is now Belgium into the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Belgium broke away from the Netherlands in 1830 following the
Belgian Revolution, and Namur continued to be a major garrison town under the new government. The citadel was rebuilt yet again in 1887.
20th and 21st centuries In
World War I, Namur was a major target of the
German invasion of Belgium in 1914, which sought to use the Meuse valley as a route into France. On August 21, 1914,
the Germans bombarded the town of Namur without warning. Several people were killed. Despite being billed as virtually impregnable, the citadel fell after only three days' fighting Its position as regional capital was confirmed by the Parliament of Wallonia in 2010. ==Climate==