Tournai JPG02a.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the
province of Hainaut Hainaut (, also , , ; nl, Henegouwen ; wa, Hinnot; pcd, Hénau), historically also known as Heynowes in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clock ...
, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of
Eurometropolis Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai Eurometropolis Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai is a transborder agglomeration in Europe around the French city of Lille, and the Belgian cities Kortrijk and Tournai. It covers the local regions Lille Métropole, south-eastern West Flanders ) , sett ...
, which had 2,155,161 residents in 2008. Tournai is one of the oldest cities in Belgium and has played an important role in the country's cultural history. It was the first capital of the Frankish Empire, with
Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...
being born here.


Geography

Tournai is located in the
Picardy Wallonia Picardy Wallonia (french: Wallonie-Picarde; Picard: ') or Western Hainaut (french: Hainaut-Occidental; Picard: ') is the North-West part of the province of Hainaut in Wallonia, where the Picard language is used. Geography The most importa ...
and Romance Flanders region of Belgium, at the southern limit of the Flemish plain, in the basin of the
River Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...
(''Escaut'' in French, ''Schelde'' in Dutch). Administratively, the town is part of the Province of Hainaut, itself part of Wallonia. It is also a municipality that is part of the
French-speaking Community In Belgium, the French Community (french: Communauté française; ) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (french: Fédé ...
of Belgium. Tournai has its own
arrondissements An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'', ...
, both administrative and judicial. Its area of makes it the largest municipality in size in Belgium; it is also the largest in population in Western Hainaut. The municipality consists of the following districts:
Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
, Beclers, Blandain, Chercq, Ere, Esplechin, Froidmont,
Froyennes Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Eurome ...
,
Gaurain-Ramecroix Gaurain-Ramecroix is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Tournai, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northw ...
, Havinnes, Hertain, Kain,
Lamain Lamain ( pcd, Laman) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Tournai, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in N ...
, Marquain,
Maulde Maulde () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in the ...
,
Melles Melles (; oc, Mèles) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. Population Sights * Jardin botanique pyrénéen de Melles See also *Communes of the Haute-Garonne department The following is a list of the 586 co ...
,
Mont-Saint-Aubert Mont-Saint-Aubert is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Tournai, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in North ...
, Mourcourt, Orcq, Quartes, Ramegnies-Chin,
Rumillies Rumillies ( pcd, Rumilie) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Tournai, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country ...
, Saint-Maur, Templeuve, Thimougies, Tournai, Vaulx, Vezon, Warchin, and Willemeau.


Geology

Rocks from the Tournai area date from the
Carboniferous Period The Carboniferous ( ) is a Period (geology), geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago (Myr, Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, ...
and have been used to define the Tournaisian Age, a subdivision of the Carboniferous lasting from 359 to 345 million years ago. Tournai stone is a dark limestone which takes a polish and was used particularly in the Romanesque period for sculpted items such as Tournai fonts. It is also hard enough to have been used locally for pavements and kerb-stones. It is sometimes called Tournai marble, though this is geologically inaccurate.


History

Tournai, known as ''Tornacum'', was a place of minor importance in Roman times, a stopping place where the
Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
from Cologne on the Rhine to
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
on the coast crossed the
river Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...
. It was fortified under
Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...
in the 3rd century AD, when the Roman '' limes'' was withdrawn to the string of outposts along the road. It came into the possession of the Salian Franks in 432. Under king Childeric I, whose tomb was discovered there in 1653, Tournai was the capital of the Frankish empire. In 486,
Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...
moved the center of power to Paris. In turn, a native son of Tournai, Eleutherius, became bishop of the newly created
bishopric of Tournai The Diocese of Tournai is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. The diocese was formed in 1146, upon the dissolution of the Diocese of Noyon & Tournai, which had existed since the 7th Century. It is ...
, extending over most of the area west of the Scheldt. In 862 Charles the Bald, first king of Western Francia and still to become
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
, would make Tournai the seat of the County of Flanders. After the partition of the Frankish empire by the Treaties of Verdun (843) and of Meerssen (870), Tournai remained in the western part of the empire, which in 987 became France. The city participated in 11th-century rise of towns in the Low Countries, with a woollen cloth industry based on English wool, which soon made it attractive to wealthy merchants. An ambitious rebuilding of the cathedral was initiated in 1030. The commune's drive for independence from the local counts succeeded in 1187, and the city was henceforth directly subordinated to the French Crown, as the '' seigneurie de Tournaisis'', as the city's environs are called. The stone over the Scheldt, with defensive towers at either end, was built in 1290, replacing an earlier wooden structure. During the 15th century, the city's textile trade boomed and it became an important supplier of tapestry. The art of painting flourished too: Jacques Daret, Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden all came from Tournai. It was captured in 1513 by Henry VIII of England, making it the only Belgian city ever to have been ruled by England. It was also represented in the 1515 Parliament of England. The city was handed back to French rule in 1519, following the Treaty of London (1518). In 1521, Emperor Charles V added the city to his possessions in the Low Countries, leading to a period of religious strife and economic decline. 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 The Duke of Parma and Piacenza () was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a historical state of Northern Italy, which existed between 1545 and 1802, and again from 1814 to 1859. The Duke of Parma was also Duke of Piacenza, except ...
, 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 relatively 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 Aix-la-Chapelle. After the end of the War of Spanish Succession in 1713, under terms of the Treaty of Utrecht the former Spanish Netherlands, including Tournai, came into possession of the
Austrian Habsburgs The term Habsburg Austria may refer to the lands ruled by the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs, or the historical Austria. Depending on the context, it may be defined as: * The Duchy of Austria, after 1453 the Archduchy of Austria * The ''Erbland ...
. In 1794, France annexed the Austrian Netherlands during the French Revolutionary Wars and Tournai became part of the
department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of Jemmape. From 1815 on, following the Napoleonic Wars, Tournai formed part of the United Netherlands and after 1830 of newly independent Belgium. Badly damaged in 1940, Tournai has since been carefully restored.


Main sights

Tournai is considered to be one of the most important cultural sites in Belgium. The mixed Romanesque- and
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
-style cathedral of '' Notre Dame de Tournai'' and the belfry, considered the oldest in Belgium, have been designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. Inside the cathedral, the ''Châsse de Notre-Dame flamande'', a beautifully ornate 12th-century
reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...
, gives witness to Tournai's wealth in the Middle Ages. Other places of interest are the 13th-century Scheldt bridge (''Pont des Trous'') and the main square (''Grand Place''), as well as several old city gates, historic warehouses, and a variety of museums. On rue Barre-St-Brice are two of the oldest private houses in Europe, dating from between 1175 and 1200 and built in the Romanesque style, while the rue des Jésuites includes a Gothic house from the 13th century. As in many Belgian cities, there are a number of cafés and pubs in the ''Grand Place''. In the middle of the ''Grand Place'' there are a series of water fountains while the circular staircase to the top of the belfry can be climbed. There are several buildings in the
art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
style.


Culture


A French-speaking Walloon town

Tournai is a French-speaking town of Belgium. The local language is ''tournaisien'', a Picard dialect similar to that of other communes of Hainaut and Northern France. Tournai belongs to Romance Flanders, like Lille, Douai, Tourcoing, and Mouscron. The city of Tournai was one of the greatest cultural and economic centers of the County of Flanders. Some traces can still be seen today: *The gothic choir of Our Lady's Cathedral is a precursory element of the Scaldian (meaning from the Scheldt area), typically Flemish,
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
art. *The bishopric of Tournai was the religious capital of Flanders during more than a millennium (from 496 to 1559). *The tapestries and draperies of Tournai belong to the great Flemish school of tapestry and Tournai was part of the Flemish
Hansa Hansa may refer to: Places *Hanseatic League, a 13th–17th century alliance of European trading cities *Hansa (shopping centre), in Turku, Finland *Hansa-Park, a German attraction park *480 Hansa, a main-belt asteroid, a minor planet orbiting th ...
of London, which also included the draper towns of Flanders. *The Saint-Brice church of Tournai, dedicated to
Saint Britius Saint Brice of Tours ( la, Brictius; 370 444 AD) was a 5th-century Frankish bishop, the fourth Bishop of Tours, succeeding Martin of Tours in 397. Background Brice was a contemporary of Augustine of Hippo and lived in the time of the Council ...
, is one of the first examples of the ''hallekerk'' style, so typical of the Flemish countryside. *The Church of Saint Quentin is a Romanesque church with Gothic elements, containing important sculptures by
Jean Delemer Jean Delemer (1410 – 1440), was a Flemish sculptor. Biography He was active in Tournai from 1428 to 1440 and was possibly from Valenciennes.Flemish Primitives Early Netherlandish painting, traditionally known as the Flemish Primitives, refers to the work of artists active in the Burgundian Netherlands, Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period. ...
are from Tournai: Robert Campin, Rogier van der Weyden, Jacques Daret. Although Tournai is in the Flemish cultural area (of the Scheldt), it also possesses some treasures of the
Mosan style Mosan art is a regional style of art from the valley of the Meuse in present-day Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Although in a broader sense the term applies to art from this region from all periods, it generally refers to Romanesque ar ...
. Indeed, the two most beautiful shrines of the cathedral, commissioned by the Bishop of Tournai, were made in the region of
Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
by the artist Nicholas of Verdun: the shrines of ''Saint-Eleutherius'' and of ''Our Lady of Flanders'' (13th century). Those shrines testify to the opulence of the towns of Tournai and Liège during the Middle-Ages. The shrine of ''Our Lady of Flanders'' has been called one of the seven wonders of Belgium.


Festivities

*The "Great Procession" (in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
: ''Grande Procession'') is a procession initiated by the bishop Radbot II during a plague epidemic. It has taken place every year since 1092, with the single exception of the year 1566, when the
iconoclasts An iconoclast is one who professes iconoclasm (the belief in the importance of the destroying physical religious images); one who objects to the use of sacred images in religion, or who opposes orthodoxy and religion. Iconoclast(s) may also refer t ...
considerably damaged the religious symbols of the city. This historic procession unfolds in the streets every second Sunday of September. *The first Monday after January 6 is known as "Lost Monday" (in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
: ''Lundi perdu'') or "Perjury Monday" (''Lundi parjuré''). This tradition dates from more than 700 years ago. The wealthier city inhabitants used to prepare fastidious family dinners and elect a king. Today, the family dinners have expanded to wider groups and a rabbit dish is often served.


Education

The Faculty of architecture, architectural engineering and urban planning of the French-speaking
University of Louvain A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
(UCLouvain) is located in Tournai.


People born in Tournai

*
Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...
, first king of all Salian Franks (5th century) *
Gilles Li Muisis Gilles Li Muisis (or Le Muiset) (c. 1272 – 15 October 1352) was a French chronicler and poet. Li Muisis was probably born at Tournai, and in 1289 entered the Benedictine abbey of St Martin in his native city, becoming prior of this house in 13 ...
,
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
chronicler and poet (13th century) * Rogier van der Weyden,
Flemish painter Flemish painting flourished from the early 15th century until the 17th century, gradually becoming distinct from the painting of the rest of the Low Countries, especially the modern Netherlands. In the early period, up to about 1520, the painting ...
(15th century) * Jacques Daret,
Flemish painter Flemish painting flourished from the early 15th century until the 17th century, gradually becoming distinct from the painting of the rest of the Low Countries, especially the modern Netherlands. In the early period, up to about 1520, the painting ...
(15th century) * Pierre de La Rue, Franco-Flemish composer (15th century) *
Perkin Warbeck Perkin Warbeck ( 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, ...
, impostor and pretender to the throne of England (15th century) * Marbrianus de Orto, Franco-Flemish composer (15th-16th century) * Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy, courtier and patron of learning (16th century) * Isaac Le Maire, pioneering merchant of the VOC, the Dutch East India Company (16th century) * Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1673–1743) illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV of France and his most famous mistress Madame de Montespan. * Peter Minuit, generally credited with orchestrating the purchase of
Manhattan Island Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
for the Dutch from the
Lenape Native Americans The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
. * Donat Casterman, publisher (18th century) *Philippe de la Motte, 1556–1617, Pastor at Tournai (1582/3) and of Walloon Church, Southampton (1586). *
Piat Sauvage Piat Joseph Sauvage or Pieter Joseph Sauvage (19 January 1744 in Tournai – 11 June 1818 in Tournai) was a painter, sculptor, printmaker and academic lecturer from the Southern Netherlands. He was known for his decorative paintings of interiors, ...
, painter (19th century) * Louis Gallait, painter (19th century) *
Jean-Baptiste Moëns Jean-Baptiste Philippe Constant Moens (27 May 1833, Tournai – 28 April 1908) was a Belgian philatelist recognized as the first dealer in stamps for collectors. He was one of the original philatelic journalists. Youth Moens began collecti ...
, philatelist (19th century) * Jules Bara, statesman (19th century) *
Georges Rodenbach Georges Raymond Constantin Rodenbach (16 July 1855 – 25 December 1898) was a Belgian Symbolist poet and novelist. Biography Georges Rodenbach was born in Tournai to a French mother and a German father from the Rhineland (Andernach). He was ...
,
Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...
poet and novelist (19th century) * Hélène Dutrieu, cycle racer,
stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spec ...
driver and
aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
(19th and 20th centuries) *
Marc Quaghebeur Marc Quaghebeur (born Tournai, 1947) is a Belgian poet and essayist. He is director of the Archives and Museum of Literature in Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and ...
, writer (20th century) *
Xaveer De Geyter Xaveer De Geyter (born 1957) is a Belgian architect. De Geyter was born in Doornik, Belgium. He spent ten years at office for metropolitan architecture with Rem Koolhaas, where he worked on projects such as the Villa dall'ava in Paris, " urban ...
, architect (20th century) *
Gabrielle Petit Gabrielle Alina Eugenia Maria Petit (20 February 1893 – 1 April 1916) was a Belgian woman who spied for the British Secret Service during World War I. She was executed in 1916, and became a Belgian national heroine after the war's end.
, spy for the British Secret Service during the First World War, executed in 1916 by the Germans (20th century)


Image gallery

Belfry of Tournai during golden hour (DSCF8266).jpg,
Belfry of Tournai The Belfry of Tournai (french: Beffroi de Tournai) is a freestanding bell tower of medieval origin in Tournai, Belgium, in height with a 256-step stairway. This landmark building is one of a set of Belfries of Belgium and France registered on ...
File:Tournai JPG001.jpg, The cathedral of Notre Dame de Tournai File:Tournai Ha1JPG.jpg, Cloth hall File:01 Tournai AB1aJPG.jpg, Town hall and park File:070215 Tournai (46).JPG, Town hall File:DoornikLuchtfoto.jpg, Aerial view of Tournai


Twin towns

*
Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
, France *
Villeneuve-d'Ascq Villeneuve-d'Ascq (; pcd, Neuvile-Ask) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Métropole Européenne de Lille and the largest in area ( ...
, France * Bethlehem, Palestine * Tarija, Bolivia


References


External links


Internationale petitie tegen het bouwproject van een toren in de Unesco zone van de kathedraal van Doornik (België).Official site
— The city's site, available in French, English and Dutch.
Tournai City.net
— Online directory for this city.

— 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

an exhaustive list of references on the history of the Tournai region, in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
. {{Authority control Cities in Wallonia Municipalities of Hainaut (province) Romanesque architecture in Belgium World Heritage Sites in Belgium Menapii Gallia Belgica
Tournaisian The Tournaisian is in the ICS geologic timescale the lowest stage or oldest age of the Mississippian, the oldest subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Tournaisian age lasted from Ma to Ma. It is preceded by the Famennian (the uppermost stage ...
Francia Vauban fortifications in Belgium