The Sambre (; nl, Samber, ) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and in

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—al ...

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 ...

. It is a left-bank tributary of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...

, which it joins in the Wallonian capital Namur. The source of the Sambre is near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, in the Aisne ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

''. It passes through the Franco-Belgian coal basin, formerly an important industrial district. The navigable course begins in Landrecies at the junction with the Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise, which links with the central French waterway network (or did, until navigation was interrupted in 2006 following structural failures). It runs 54 km and 9 locks 38.50m long and 5.20m wide down to the Belgian border at Jeumont. From the border the river is canalised in two distinct section over a distance of 88 km with 17 locks. The Haute-Sambre is 39 km long and includes 10 locks of the same dimensions as in France, down to the industrial town of

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

. The rest of the Belgian Sambre was upgraded to European Class IV dimensions (1350-tonne barges) in the immediate post-World War II period. It lies at the western end of the sillon industriel, which is still

's industrial backbone, despite the cessation of all coal-mining and decline in the steel industry. The river flows into the

at Namur, Belgium. The navigable waterway is managed in France by Voies Navigables de France and in Belgium by the Service Public Wallon - ''Direction générale opérationnelle de la Mobilité et des Voies hydrauliques'' (Operational Directorate of Mobility and Inland Waterways)

Course

The Sambre flows through the following départements of France, provinces of Belgium and towns: * Aisne (F): Barzy-en-Thiérache *

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

(F): Landrecies, Aulnoye-Aymeries, Hautmont,

Maubeuge Maubeuge (; historical nl, Mabuse or nl, Malbode; pcd, Maubeuche) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and about from the Belgian bord ...

* Hainaut (B):

Thuin Thuin ( or ; wa, Twin) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Biercée, Biesme-sous-Thuin, Donstiennes, Gozée, Leers-et-Fosteau, Ragnies ...

, Montigny-le-Tilleul,

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

* Namur (B): Floreffe, Namur File:AulneRv1bJPG.jpg, The Sambre at Aulne Abbey in Belgium File:Flawinne Riv1a.jpg, The Sambre at Flawinne (Namur) File:Ham-sur-Sambre Vi1a JPG.jpg, The Sambre at Ham-sur-Sambre File:Moustier-sur-Sambre U1a.jpg, The Sambre at Moustier-sur-Sambre File:Vami péniche on the Sambre river in Namur (DSCF5450).jpg, A barge on the Sambre in Namur File:La Sambre in Namur viewed from Quai de l'Abbaye (DSCF5606).jpg, The Sambre in Namur File:Charleroi - Sambre - péniche "Atlantic" - 02.jpg, alt=, The canalised Sambre running through the centre of

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

Main tributaries

Events

* On 24 February 1912, Regina Magritte, the mother of the famous surrealist painter Réné Magritte, drowned herself in this river at Châtelet.

Battles

The 19th-century theory that the Sambre was the location of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

's battle against a Belgic

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical iss ...

(57 BC), was discarded a long time ago,Pierre Turquin ("La Bataille de la Selle (du Sabis) en l' An 57 avant J.-C." in Les Études Classiques 23/2 (1955), 113-156) has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the battle was fought at the

River Selle The Selle (; also spelt Celle in the Oise) is a river of Hauts-de-France, France. It is long. Rising at Catheux, just north of Crèvecœur-le-Grand, Oise, it flows past Conty, Saleux, Salouël and Pont-de-Metz before joining the Somme at Ami ...

, west of modern

Saulzoir Saulzoir () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated on the river Selle and has about 1700 inhabitants (2019). The town was the site of Julius Caesar's battle against the Nervians.Pierre Turquin ("La Bataille de la ...

. but is still repeated. Three important battles were fought in Fleurus, a suburb of Charleroi on the north bank of the Sambre: the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

Battle of Fleurus (1622), the Nine Years' War Battle of Fleurus (1690), and the crucial 26 June 1794 Battle of Fleurus (1794), the most significant battle of the

Flanders Campaign The Flanders Campaign (or Campaign in the Low Countries) was conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. A coalition of states representing the Ancien Régime in Western Europe – Au ...

in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

. The last was fought on both banks of the river, culminating a campaign that had involved multiple crossings and re-crossings of the river. Heavy fighting occurred along the river during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, especially at the siege of Namur in 1914 (

Battle of Charleroi The Battle of Charleroi (french: Bataille de Charleroi) or the Battle of the Sambre, was fought on 21 August 1914, by the French Fifth Army and the German 2nd and 3rd armies, during the Battle of the Frontiers. The French were planning an attack a ...

) and in the last month of the war Battle of the Sambre (1918).

References

External links

River Sambre and Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise
with maps and details of places, moorings and facilities for boats, by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', Imray
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{Authority control Rivers of Belgium Rivers of France International rivers of Europe Rivers of Aisne Rivers of Nord (French department) Rivers of Wallonia Rivers of Hauts-de-France Rivers of Namur (province) Rivers of Hainaut (province) Geography of Namur (city)