Charles de Gaulle Bridge - Dinant

During the First World War , on 15 August 1914, Lieutenant Charles de Gaulle's regiment stormed the citadel of Dinant to capture it from the German occupiers. According to tradition, the lieutenant was hit in the leg while crossing the bridge (other sources speak of his hand). More than ten years later, in 1925, the bridge was rebuilt.

During World War II, the bridge was blown up by the Belgian Army on May 12, 1940 to stop the advance of German troops.

The current Charles de Gaulle Bridge in Dinant was inaugurated in June 1953 and, as the name suggests, dedicated to Charles de Gaulle. The Charles de Gaulle Bridge is 54 meters long and 15 meters wide , with pedestrian walkways that are 3 meters wide on either side.

Since 2010, Dinant has dedicated the Art on Sax exhibition in honor of Adolphe Sax (inventor of the saxophone), with 28 giant saxophones over 3 meters high distributed throughout the city . Some of these can also be found on the Charles de Gaulle Bridge. There are also colorful flags of different countries.

There has always been a bridge here since the 9th century . In total there were about seven different bridges over the Meuse.

It is quite possible that there was already a bridge in Dinant in Roman times. A bridge is mentioned at least in the 9th century.

The construction of the bridge was accompanied by many controversies, mainly caused by the owners of the lands along the river. Bitter discussions ensued between the church and royal power. For example, there was the question of whether residents who wanted to go to the other bank would have to pay a toll. FYI: A man and his wife would not pay the same price as a farmer with his ten sheep. After all, the price was per capita.

The first wooden structure was soon washed away by the water. By the way, if you visit the citadel, you can see some of the remains of the bridge that were later found.

Until 1080 only a small boat belonging to the Abbot of Waulsort was used. That was of course not optimal (flooding, falling). So a new stone bridge had to be built, this time with six arches. Said and done. Around 1360 a new bridge with a movable deck was built and protected by two mighty towers on the left bank.

It was on this bridge that the drama that struck Dinant in 1466 took place: that was when 800 inhabitants were thrown into the river, tied up in pairs . According to tradition, this is where the nickname of the inhabitants originated: 'copère' , which would come from the corruption of the Walloon expression "cô one paire" (a few more) as pronounced by Charles the Bold's passing soldiers for the prisoners. The same tradition describes how the inhabitants of Bouvignes , settled on the two banks downstream , pushed into the water those trying to save themselves. Bouvignes, the town that borders Dinant in the valley, was in fact linked to the territories of the Duke of Burgundy and its inhabitants were copper workers, just like the Dinantes (who depended on the Prince-Bishop of Liège). This economic rivalry may have led to the two cities being bitter rivals for centuries .

In 1573 the Maas was flooded again. Even now the bridge gives way. Only after the conquest of Dinant by Louis XIV (1675) was a new bridge built. It is already 1683. The irony of fate is that the Treaty of Rijswijk stipulates that the French must withdraw and that the city must be restored to the same condition it was in before the conquest . To enforce this, the French blow up both bridge arches.

Even later, when the military troops marched in, an archway collapsed . The men fell into the water at the mercy of the waves.

The Dinant Bridge clearly had a turbulent history. From 1868 to 1870 important works were carried out. That was the heyday of the metal industry. In addition to two stone arches, three steel arches were built.

Willem Vandenameele