Background

Did you know that a similar transport system, comprising 47 small, two-seater cars, already allowed access to the Citadel from the banks of the Meuse river, from the former square at the foot of the Château to the Belvédère site? Built in 1956, it was the highlight of tourism in Namur for 40 years. In 1997, the cable car was decommissioned, having been threatened by the fall of a 53-ton boulder. The final blow came in 2002, when an arsonist destroyed the lower station. The Belvédère station can still be seen today. If we dive further into history, back to 1898, a funicular railway – the first to be built in Wallonia – was already operating in Namur, connecting the city to the upper plateau of the Citadel at the so-called Grand Hotel. Despite the services that it offered, the funicular railway became very expensive very quickly and ceased its operations in 1907.