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Dinant, January 3rd 2014.

Unlike Huy two days earlier, I did visit Dinant. It's a rather small city, and outside the tourist season, it's possible to see just about everything in about an hour or two - unless you visit its museum or citadel.

But I digress. Like Huy, Dinant is one of four major Belgian cities on the Meuse river (the other three being Huy, Liège and Namur), all of which were heavily fortified for historical reasons. All four towns also have a Citadel - a star-shaped fortress - which overlooks and (in the case of Dinant, Huy and Namur, less so in the case of Liège) dominates the skyline of the town. Its most famous son is Adolph Sax, inventor of the Saxophone, who was born in the city in 1814 (his ancestral home nowadays houses a museum dedicated to him).

The current Citadel of Huy, which towers over the city, was built in 1821 under Dutch rule, at the spot where the ancient Citadel had stood from the 11th century until its destruction by the French Army in 1703. Built to control the Meuse river, the Citadel had lost its strategic purpose by the end of the 19th century. Nowadays it is a tourist attraction.

Standing below the Citadel, the Collégiale Notre-Dame de Dinant (Church of Our Lady of Dinant) was built to replace the old church of Dinant, which was destroyed in 1227 by a rockslide. While built during the thirteenth and fourteenth century, the church has been rebuilt several times since - its last rebuilt dates from 1919-1923 following its destruction - and that of the entire city of Dinant, as well as the summary execution of 621 civilians - by the German forces on August 23rd 1914 during the initial stages of the First World War.

Description

Dinant, January 3rd 2014.

Unlike Huy two days earlier, I did visit Dinant. It's a rather small city, and outside the tourist season, it's possible to see just about everything in about an hour or two - unless you visit its museum or citadel.

But I digress. Like Huy, Dinant is one of four major Belgian cities on the Meuse river (the other three being Huy, Liège and Namur), all of which were heavily fortified for historical reasons. All four towns also have a Citadel - a star-shaped fortress - which overlooks and (in the case of Dinant, Huy and Namur, less so in the case of Liège) dominates the skyline of the town. Its most famous son is Adolph Sax, inventor of the Saxophone, who was born in the city in 1814 (his ancestral home nowadays houses a museum dedicated to him).

The current Citadel of Huy, which towers over the city, was built in 1821 under Dutch rule, at the spot where the ancient Citadel had stood from the 11th century until its destruction by the French Army in 1703. Built to control the Meuse river, the Citadel had lost its strategic purpose by the end of the 19th century. Nowadays it is a tourist attraction.

Standing below the Citadel, the Collégiale Notre-Dame de Dinant (Church of Our Lady of Dinant) was built to replace the old church of Dinant, which was destroyed in 1227 by a rockslide. While built during the thirteenth and fourteenth century, the church has been rebuilt several times since - its last rebuilt dates from 1919-1923 following its destruction - and that of the entire city of Dinant, as well as the summary execution of 621 civilians - by the German forces on August 23rd 1914 during the initial stages of the First World War.