Tournai
Tournai (in
Dutch:
Doornik) is located in
Wallonia, 85 kilometres southwest of
Brussels, on the river
Scheldt (in
French:
Escaut), in the
Belgian province of
Hainaut. It is the second oldest city in Belgium and has played an important role in the country's cultural history. As of
1 January 2006, the municipality counts 67,534 inhabitants.
Tournai existed already in
Roman times and came into the possession of the
Salian Franks in 432. Under kings
Childeric and
Clovis, Tournai was the capital of the Frankish empire. In the year 486, Clovis moved the center of power to
Paris, but in turn Tournai was made siege of a bishopric that extended over the entire region of
Flanders. Its first bishop was Eleutherius, himself a native son of Tournai.
After the partition of the Frankish empire during the early 9th century, Tournai remained in the western part, which would later become
France. First being part of the
County of Flanders, the city soon became attractive for wealthy merchants. Its drive for independence from the local rulers succeeded in 1187, and the city was henceforth directly subordinated to the French Crown.
During the 15th century, the city's textile trade boomed and it became an important supplier of wall carpets. It was conquered in 1513 by the English king
Henry VIII, making it the only Belgian city ever to have been ruled by England.
In 1521, Emperor
Charles V added the city to his possessions in the
Low Countries, leading to a period of religious strife and economic decay. During the 16th century, Tournai was a bulwark of
Calvinism, but eventually it was conquered by the Spanish governor of the Low Countries, the
Duke of Parma, following a prolonged siege in 1581. After the fall of the city, its protestant inhabitants were given one year to sell their possessions and emigrate, a policy that was at the time considered quite humane, since very often religious opponents were simply massacred.
One century later, in 1668, the city briefly returned to France under
Louis XIV in the
Treaty of Aachen. After the end of the
War of Spanish Succession in 1713, the former Spanish Low Countries, and Tournai as part of them, became Austrian through the
Treaty of Utrecht. From 1815 on, following the
Napoleonic Wars, Tournai formed part of the
United Netherlands and after 1830 of newly-independent Belgium.
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The "Pont des Trous" bridge over the Scheldt |
Tournai is considered to be one of the most important cultural sites in Belgium. The
Romanesque cathedral of
Notre Dame de Tournai and the
belfry, the oldest in Belgium, have been designated by
UNESCO as a
World Heritage Site. Other places of interest are the 13th-century Scheldt bridge (Pont-des-Trous) and the Great Market (Grand'Place), as well as several old city gates and historic warehouses.
*
UNESCO World Heritage Site Citation*
Official site — The city's site, available in
French,
English and
Dutch.
*
Tournai City.net — Online directory for this city.
*
Joan of Arc's letter to Tournai — English translation (by Allen Williamson) of this letter dictated by
Joan of Arc on
June 25,
1429.
*
Apis Tornacensis — database and bibliography about history.
*
Medieval Tournai An Academic Resource Center
