| Full text |
82 Route 8. TOURNAI. History.
The next station, Herseauz, is connected by a branch-line with
Oudenaarde (p. 54), via Avelghem (p. | 3etween Néchin and
Templeuve the Belgian line quits the province of West Flanders for
that of Hainault (Ger. Hennegau). To the left rises Mont St. Aubert
(p. 86). Froyennes is also a station on the line to Lille (p. 6). —
The train crosses the Scheldt, and finally stops at —
48 M. Tournai.
Bie
8. Tournai.
Hotels. H6rTEL pE LIMPER cE (Pl. a; A, 3), Rue des Meaux 12,
R. 2/o, B. 4, pe re 2 fr.; Hor. ( TRAL (Pl. c; B, 2), Rue de Courtrai 8,
AOpsReee at pale 3/, fr. At the station, in the piace: uGEOMD EZ: Hor.
BELLEYvE (Pl. 5 0; 4) -16ER: from+2.4B déj. 2, D. 2'/2 fr.; Neur
PROVINCES ae SA):
Pree eae ne de Munich, Rue des Meaux §, near the Grand’
Place (Pl. B, 3); Taverne Francaise, Rue Royale, near the station, D. 41/.-
2/2 fr.; Bacelsior, Grand’ Place. — Cayé de ? Europe, Grand’ Place.
Post Office (P1. B, 3), Rue du Curé-Notre-Dame, at the corner of the
Place des Acacias. — Ezposition du Cercle Artistique (Pl. C, 3), Rue des
Clarisses, annually in September.
About 3-31/2 hrs. will suffice for a visit to the Cathedral, the Church
of St. Quentin, and the pictures in the Cloth Hall.
Tournai (95 ft.), Flem. Doornyk, with 37,500 inhab., situated on
both banks of the Scheldt or Escaut, and one of the most ancient towns
in Belgium, was the Civitas Nerviorum of Cesar, afterwards called
Turnacum. In the 5th century it was the seat of the Merovingian
kings (p. xxiii). At a later period the town belonged in turn to
Hainault, Flanders, and France, but in 1525 it was united with the
Spanish Netherlands in accordance with the Peace of Madrid. In
{581 Tournai was heroically defended against Alexander of Parma
by the Princess d’Epinoy in 1581. In 1667 the town was taken
after a protracted siege by Louis XIV., who caused it to be fortified
by Vauban, and in 1709 it was captured by the Imperial troops
under Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough. In 41745 Tournai
again fell into the hands of the French, and in 1748 it was assigned
to the Netherlands by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The town
presents a much cleaner a pleasanter appearance than the other
large industrial towns of Belgium. The quays, planted with trees,
contribute to this effect. The river is generally crowded with barges,
most of which are laden with coal from Le Borinage (p. 215). The
old walls have been converted into promenades. — The pretender,
Perkin Warbeck, was born here.
In the middle ages the staple manufactures of Tournai, as of
Dinant (p. 226), were copper and brass wares. A little later it
manufactured tapestry, fayence (1670-1815), and porcelain (factory
established by F. J. Peterinck in 1751). The making of so-called
‘Brussels carpets’, weaving, and embroidering are the chief modern
industries. There are few large factories, as the weavers work
mainly at home.
The handsome Railway Station (Pl. 0, 1) was built by H. Beyaert |
