The Sambre () is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and in

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. It is a left-bank tributary of the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas 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 total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

, which it joins in the Wallonian capital

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

. The source of the Sambre is near

Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache (, literally ''Le Nouvion in Thiérache''; ) is a commune in the Aisne department, region of Hauts-de-France (formerly Picardy), northern France. Population History World War I On 27 August 1914, 210 houses in ...

, in the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

department. 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 sections 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 (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

. 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 The ''Sillon industriel'' (, "industrial furrow") is the former industrial backbone of Belgium. It runs across the region of Wallonia, passing from Dour, the region of Borinage, in the west, to Verviers in the east, passing along the way throug ...

, which is still

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

, 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

departments of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the Regions of France, administrative regions a ...

provinces of Belgium The Kingdom of Belgium is divided into three Communities, regions, and language areas of Belgium, regions. Two of these regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, Brussels, does not belong to any p ...

and towns: *

(F):

Barzy-en-Thiérache Barzy-en-Thiérache (, literally ''Barzy in Thiérache'') is a commune in the department of Aisne in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. Geography Barzy-en-Thiérache is located some 40 km south by southeast of Cambrai and 40&n ...

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 Landrecies (; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. History In 1543, Landrecies was besieged by English and Imperial forces, who were repulsed by the French defenders. In 1794, it was besieged by Dutch forces, who capt ...

, Aulnoye-Aymeries,

Hautmont Hautmont () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is southwest of the centre of Maubeuge, and has 14,500 residents. On 3 August 2008 a narrow but strong F4 tornado swept through the town, as well as Maubeuge, Neuf-Mesn ...

Maubeuge Maubeuge (; historical or ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and ab ...

* Hainaut (B):

Thuin Thuin ( or ; ) 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, Thuilli ...

Montigny-le-Tilleul Montigny-le-Tilleul (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Montigny-le-Tilleul had a total population of 10,205. The total area is 15.10 km² which gives a population density of 6 ...

(B):

Floreffe Floreffe (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2012 the municipality had 7,883 inhabitants. The total area is 38.89 km2, giving a population density of 203 inhabitants per km2. The munic ...

File:AulneRv1bJPG.jpg, The Sambre at

Aulne Abbey Aulne Abbey () was a Cistercian monastery located between Thuin and Landelies on the river Sambre in the Bishopric of Liège, Belgium. It is now a Walloon Heritage Site. History Aulne Abbey was originally founded as a Benedictine monastery in 6 ...

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

File:La Sambre in Namur viewed from Quai de l'Abbaye (DSCF5606).jpg, The Sambre in

File:Charleroi - Sambre - péniche "Atlantic" - 02.jpg, alt=, The canalised Sambre running through the centre of

Main tributaries

Events

* On 24 February 1912, Regina Magritte, the mother of the famous

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

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 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

's battle against a Belgic

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

(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 Amiens ...

, 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 l ...

. but is still repeated. Three important battles were fought in

Fleurus Fleurus (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, Saint-Am ...

, a suburb of Charleroi on the north bank of the Sambre: the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Battle of Fleurus (1622) The Battle of Fleurus of August 29, 1622 was fought in the Spanish Netherlands between a Spanish army and the Protestant forces of Ernst von Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick during the Eighty Years' War and the Thirty Years' War. The blood ...

, the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

Battle of Fleurus (1690) The Battle of Fleurus, fought on 1 July 1690 near Fleurus, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, now in modern Belgium, was a major engagement of the Nine Years' War. A French army led by Marshall Luxembourg defeated an Allied force under ...

, and the crucial 26 June 1794

Battle of Fleurus (1794) The Battle of Fleurus was fought on 26 June 1794 during the War of the First Coalition between the French Revolutionary Army under Jean-Baptiste Jourdan and an Habsburg monarchy, Austro-Dutch Republic, Dutch army commanded by Prince Josias of ...

, the most significant battle of the Flanders Campaign in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

. 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, especially at the siege of Namur in 1914 (

Battle of Charleroi The Battle of 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 across the Sambre River, when ...

) and in the last month of the war

Battle of the Sambre (1918) The Second Battle of the Sambre (4 November 1918) (which included the Second Battle of Guise () and the Battle of Thiérache () was part of the final European Allied offensives of World War I. Background At the front, German resistance was fal ...

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)
Site of the Walloon regional archives. Flooding of the Sambre in January 1995.
{{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)