Bohan-sur-Semois ( wa, Bôhan) is a village of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

and a district of

Vresse-sur-Semois Vresse-sur-Semois (, literally ''Vresse on Semois''; wa, Vresse) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Alle, Bagimont, Bohan, Chairière, Laforêt, M ...

, located in the province of Namur,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Most of the buildings in the village date from the 18th & 19th centuries. Bohan is located in the Belgian Ardennes mountains on the banks of the

Semois The Semois (; ''Simwès'' in Walloon, often under elided form ''Smwès''; ''Semoy'', ''Sesbach'' in German, ''Setzbaach'' in Luxemburgish of Arlon; and known as the ''Semoy'' in France) is a river flowing from the Ardennes uplands of Belgium an ...

river. Bohan is only 2 km from the French border (just across from the town of

Charleville Charleville can refer to: Australia * Charleville, Queensland, a town in Australia **Charleville railway station, Queensland France * Charleville, Marne, a commune in Marne, France *Charleville-Mézières, a commune in Ardennes, France ** ...

) and is surrounded by splendid walks and nature, as well as being close to important second world war sites in the Ardennes. The micro-climatic conditions in Bohan are very mild. Bohan is the former centre of the forgotten

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

agriculture in Belgium, evidence of which can still be seen in the village today. Today Bohan is famous for its specialties like tobacco,

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

fishing and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

. The population of Bohan during the year is very small (in the village itself this is around 100) and mainly agricultural; however during the summer the population of the area swells to be several thousand due to this being one of the centres of holidays in Belgium. Destroyed Semois bridge near Bohan 2

The village is made up of a main square (on which there is a church from the 17th century, plus a number of different bars and restaurants, as well as two butchers and a patisserie) and then a couple of side roads. Due to the Semois river on one side and the hills all around, there is not much room for the village to grow any further. In the area are a large number of camping and holiday parks, thanks to the walking, cycling, horse-riding and kayaking opportunities on offer in the area. The whole surrounding area is a nature lovers paradise. The village also has an important

Delhaize Delhaize Group SA (, ) was a Belgian multinational retail company headquartered in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Brussels, Belgium, and operated in seven countries and on three continents. The principal activity of Delhaize Group was the operation of ...

grocery and general store, as well as a post office, so is very well catered for given its small size. Bohan has two bridges across the Semois river. The first is built in stone and is missing two arches. This bridge was originally started in 1930 and was opened in 1935, formed to carry the tram that went through the village to Membre (another village 3 km up the road). On May 11, 1940 two arches were blown up by the French army, to stop the German advance through the Ardennes. The bridge was repaired in 1941, only to be destroyed again in 1944 by the German army as it retreated from Belgium. The bridge remains today with its missing arches, although the tram tracks themselves have long disappeared. The second bridge was built in the 1950s and today is festooned with European and USA flags to show peace and harmony between the various countries. Bohan is part of the Commune of Vresse sur Semois.

External links

* *
Official website Vresse sur Semois
* Vresse sur Semois Wikipedia {{coord , 49.86412, N, 4.8853, E, region:BE_type:city, display=title Former municipalities of Namur (province)