Namur (French: [namyʁ] ⓘ;[a] Walloon: Nameur; Dutch: Namen [ˈnaːmə(n)] ⓘ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium.
Namur stands at the confluence of the rivers Sambre and Meuse and straddles three different regions – Hesbaye to the north, Condroz to the south-east, and Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse to the south-west.
The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Beez, Belgrade, Boninne, Bouge, Champion, Cognelée, Daussoulx, Dave, Erpent, Flawinne, Gelbressée, Jambes, Lives-sur-Meuse, Loyers, Malonne, Marche-les-Dames, Namur proper, Naninne, Saint-Servais, Saint-Marc, Suarlée, Temploux, Vedrin, Wépion, and Wierde.
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.
[2] 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.
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.
Despite being billed as virtually impregnable, the citadel fell after only three days' fighting[2] and the town was occupied by the Germans for the rest of the war.
The annual Combat de l'Échasse d'Or (Fight for the Golden Stilt), held on the third Sunday in September, is the most important joust of the year.
Two teams, the Mélans and the Avresses, dress in medieval clothes while standing on stilts and do battle in one of the town's principal squares.
[8] Since 2021, Namur stilt jousts are registered on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Between 20,000 and 50,000 spectators gathered to support the Belgian motocross stars such as; Joël Robert, Roger De Coster, Eric Geboers & Stefan Everts.
The Namur circuit achieved iconic status and was known as the Monaco of the Motocross World Championships in reference to the prestigious Formula One automobile race.