Known as the "Gateway to the Ardennes", NAMUR is a logical first
stop if you're heading into the region from the north or west, though
without a car the dark forests and hills are still a long way off. That
said, the town feels refreshingly free of the industrial belt of Hainaut,
and its elegant, mansion-filled centre is the backdrop of a night scene
lent vigour by the university.
Cutting through the centre of town, rue de l'Ange is Namur's main
shopping street, running north into the rue de Fer, where the Musée des
Arts Anciens du Namurois (Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; ¬1.20) has displays of the
work of Mosan goldsmiths and silversmiths of the eleventh to thirteenth
centuries. Leaving the mus e um, it's a short stroll southwest to the
finest of Namur's churches, the Église Saint Loup , a Baroque
extravagance that overshadows a narrow pedestrianized street, rue du
Collège. Built for the Jesuits between 1621 and 1645, the church boasts
a breezy, flowing facade and a sumptuous interior of marble walls and
sandstone vaulting. At the west end of rue du Collège, on place St-Aubain,
the Cathédrale St-Aubain might well be the ugliest church in Belgium, a
monstrous Neoclassical pile remarkably devoid of any charm. The interior
isn't much better, acres of creamy white paint and a choir decorated
with melodramatic paintings by Jacques Nicolai, one of Rubens' less
talented pupils.
Heading south from the cathedral towards the river, turn left along rue
des Brasseurs and then first left for the Musée Félicien Rops , rue
Fumal 12 (daily 10am-6pm, closed Mon except during July & Aug; ¬2.50;
www.ciger.be/rops/ ), devoted to the life and work of the eponymous
painter, graphic artist and illustrator, who is best-known for his
erotic drawings, which reveal an obsession with the macabre and perverse
- characteristically skeletons, nuns and priests depicted in
compromising poses. The museum possesses a large collection of his works
and is currently being extended to provide enough space to display it
all. East of here, the Trésor d'Oignies , rue Julie Billiart 17 (Tues-Sat
10am-noon & 2-5pm, Sun 2-5pm; ring for entry; ¬1.20), is Namur's best
museum, located in a nunnery and holding a unique collection of the
beautiful gold and silver reliquaries and devotional pieces created by
local craftsman Hugo d'Oignies in the first half of the thirteenth
century; the nuns give the guided tour in English.
Across the Sambre River Bridge, Namur's Citadel (June-Sept & Easter
daily 11am-5pm; April-May, except Easter, Sat & Sun only 11am-5pm; ¬6)
is inevitably the city's major attraction, and deservedly so. Originally
constructed in medieval times to defend Namur's strategic position at
the junction of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, it was later turned into
one of the most impregnable fortresses in Europe by Vauban and the
Dutchman Coheoorn. It's a huge, sprawling place, and the entrance fee
includes an audiovisual display, a miniature train ride around the
grounds, and a guided tour of the deepest underground passages, as well
as access to the fortress's wildlife and armaments museums. |
from $123.14
USD