Page 211 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

CENTR AL W ALL ONIA  209

Saison Régal and Blanche de
Namur. Guided tours take in the
old copper brewing vessels and
the various stages of production,
and end with a tasting. Nearby,
Spontin, also in the Bocq valley,
is famous for its mineral water as
well as a fairytale medieval
château, but this is no longer
open to the public.

e Dinant
23 km (14 miles) S of Namur. A river cruise boat passing beneath a bridge on the River Meuse at Dinant
Road Map D3. * 13,900. £ @ 4
n Avenue Cadoux, 8; (082) 222870. the most westerly point reached bank, 500 m (547 yards) west
∑ dinant-tourisme.com by German troops in the Ardennes of the bridge, is the Grotte la
Offensive (see p235). The name, Merveilleuse, one of Belgium’s
The small town of Dinant has however, comes from the best caves for stalactites.
one of the most beguiling and legend of the rock’s creation,
distinctive settings in Belgium. supposedly by the hoof of the P Citadelle
Standing on the east bank of the mighty steed Bayard (see p143). Place Reine Astrid 3–5 (cable car and
River Meuse, it clusters around Dinant is famous for its ticket office). Tel (082) 223670. Open
the black onion dome of a Gothic hard, sculptured honey-based Apr–mid-Nov: daily; mid-Nov-Mar:
church and under the shadow biscuits called couques de Dinant, Sat–Thu (Jan: open only Sat, Sun &
of a fortress on an escarpment which are used as much for school hols). & 8 summer only. -
above. Dinant was occupied by decoration as eating. The town ∑ citadellededinant.be
the Romans and valued for its is also the home of the famous E Musée de la Leffe
commanding position on the abbey beer Leffe. Opposite Charreau des Capucins 23. Tel (082)
navigable River Meuse. It became the old Abbaye de Leffe, located 229191. Open Easter–mid-Nov: 11am–
prosperous in the Middle Ages as inside Hotel La Merveilleuse, is 6pm Tue–Sun; winter: 11am–6pm Fri–
a centre for metal-working, its brewery museum called the Sun. & = ∑ breweryvisits.com
earning an international Musée de la Leffe.
reputation for ornately decorated Quays beside the Avenue T Grotte la Merveilleuse
copperware and brassware Winston Churchill are the Route de Philippeville 142. Tel (082)
known as dinanderie. departure point for cruises on 222210. Open Apr–Oct daily; Nov–
Dominating the town is the the River Meuse. On its west Mar: school holidays. & 8
church Collégiale Notre-Dame
whose interior contains two
paintings by the Dinant-born, Adolphe Sax
macabre-Romantic painter Dinant was the birthplace of one of the
Antoine Wiertz (1806–65). The most successful and innovative inventors
Place Reine Astrid, just to the of musical instruments of all time, Adolphe
south of the church, is the Sax (1814–94). He followed his father’s
departure station for the profession as an instrument maker and
téléphérique (cable car) to musician, moving permanently to Paris
the Citadelle, which is also in 1841. He is said to have been
accessible to walkers via 408 working on a kind of keyed bugle
steps. In 1466, Charles the Bold, Adolphe Sax, famed called the ophicleide when he hit
Duke of Burgundy, sacked the Belgian innovator upon the idea of combining this
town, after which the Citadelle with the single-reed mouthpiece
was rebuilt and reinforced in an of a clarinet. The saxophone was born, and in 1846, it
was patented in seven registers, from contrabass to
effort to prevent such invasions.
More changes were made over sopranino. With its conical metal bore and set of
keys to operate the valves, it could produce just
the centuries and the Citadelle the kind of volume and expression demanded by
is now primarily 19th-century, opera orchestras, military bands and music halls.
and offers glorious views over It later turned out to be a perfect instrument
the Meuse. Its military museum for jazz. Adolphe Sax did not stop there – he also
recalls the conflicts that took a invented the saxhorn (a family of valved bugles)
heavy toll on Dinant, notably in and a number of other, less successful,
the two World Wars. About 1 km instruments, including the saxtuba and
(half a mile) to the south of the saxotromba, and a trombone with seven The saxophone, Sax’s
town is the Rocher Bayard, a tubes and bells. best-known creation
pinnacle of rock, which marks

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