Page 197 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

WESTERN W ALL ONIA  195

Sambre. It is said to have been
founded in AD 657 by St Landelin
in an act of contrition for his
former life as a notorious brigand.
It rose in wealth and prominence
as a Cistercian monastery until it
was set ablaze by the French
Revolutionary Army in 1794.
Dominating the ruins is the
13th-century Gothic abbey
church and its contrasting
18th-century Neo-Classical
west front. The complex now
also includes a brewery, the
Brasserie du Val de Sambre.
a Lacs de l’Eau The opulently furnished theatre at the Château des Princes de Chimay
d’Heure main attraction is the Château d Vallée de la Sambre
des Princes de Chimay, a medieval
22 km (14 miles) S of Thuin. Road Road Map C3. @ n Maison du
Map C3. @ n Centre d’Acceuil de la castle that has been the home of Tourisme Val de Sambre, Place Albert 1;
Plate Taille; (071) 509292. Open daily the de Croy family and the princes (071) 595454. ∑ valdesambre-
(Barrage de la Plate Taille); Mar–Sep: de Chimay since the 15th century. thudinie.be
daily (Relais de Falemprise). & It contains memorabilia of the
∑ lacsdeleaudheure.be family, including those of the The River Sambre is a major
lively and beautiful Spanish-born thoroughfare in Hainaut’s old
In the 1970s, the River l’Eau Madame Tallien (1773–1835), industrial centre, but it has a
d’Heure was dammed twice Princess of Chimay, who escaped very pretty, countrified stretch
to regulate the flow of water in the guillotine during the French to the west of Charleroi. This
Charleroi canal. The main dams, Revolution and helped engineer makes an attractive excursion.
Barrage de la Plate Taille and the down fall of Robespierre. The The river passes the Abbaye
Barrage de l’Eau d’Heure, and castle also has an elaborate d’Aulne and Thuin as well as
a series of subsidiary dams 19th-century Rococo theatre. Lobbes, which is noted for its
form a set of five lakes – the Chimay’s 13th–16th-century fine Romanesque collegiale
Lacs de l’Eau d’Heure. These Collégiale des Sts-Pierre-et-Paul church, dating in part to about
are now a major resort area contains tombs of the castle’s AD 825 and dedicated to
focussing on water sports. lords and ladies and a memorial St Ursmer (c.644–713). St
There are also signposted paths to the medieval chronicler Ursmer was the influential
for walkers and barbecue sites Froissart, who was a canon here. abbot of the monastery of
for picnickers. Chimay is also the name of a Lobbes, said to have been
Barrage de la Plate Taille, the Trappist beer, brewed under the founded by his predecessor
largest dam in Belgium, has a auspices of monks of the Abbaye St Landelin. It was destroyed
visitors’ centre and a viewing Notre-Dame-de-Scourmont, by the French Revolutionary
tower 107 m (351 ft) high. Tours 10 km (6 miles) to the south. Army in 1794.
in the Crocodile Rouge, an
extraordinary bus that also goes Environs
on water, begin here. Just 2 km L’Aquascope Virelles, 3 km
(1 mile) to the east is the Relais (2 miles) to the northeast, is
de Falemprise, a recreational a nature reserve focussing on
centre that offers a sand beach, Belgium’s largest natural lake.
pedalos, restaurants, mini-golf, A popular park and adventure
tennis courts, and facilities for playground, it is linked to
beach volleyball and pétanque. Chimay by a train in summer.
P Château des Princes de
s Chimay Chimay
Tel (060) 214531. Open late-Mar–mid-
38 km (24 miles) S of Thuin. Nov: Tue–Sun. & 8 tours depart
Road Map C4. * 10,000. @ n 2:30pm & 3:45pm daily (11am Thu–Sat
(060) 211846. ∑ ville-de-chimay.be as well). ∑ chateaudechimay.be
The pretty town of Chimay is the  L’Aquascope Virelles
main centre of the Botte du Rue du Lac 42. Tel (060) 211363.
Hainaut, the boot-shaped southern Open varies, check website. & 7 The River Sambre winding through the
part of the province. The town’s 0 = ∑ aquascope.be pretty countryside

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