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Dinant

Dinant
Municipality
The citadel, the collegiate church and the Meuse
The citadel, the collegiate church and the Meuse
Flag of Dinant
Flag
Coat of arms of Dinant
Coat of arms
Dinant is located in Belgium
Dinant
Dinant
Location in Belgium
Coordinates: 50°16′N 04°55′E / 50.267°N 4.917°E / 50.267; 4.917Coordinates: 50°16′N 04°55′E / 50.267°N 4.917°E / 50.267; 4.917
Country Belgium
Community French Community
Region Wallonia
Province Namur
Arrondissement Dinant
Government
 • Mayor Richard Fournaux (LDB)
 • Governing party/ies LDB
Area
 • Total 99.80 km2 (38.53 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)
 • Total 13,494
 • Density 140/km2 (350/sq mi)
Postal codes 5500, 5501, 5502, 5503, 5504
Area codes 082
Website www.dinant.be

Dinant (French pronunciation: ​[di.nɑ̃]) is a Walloon city and municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur. It is around 90 kilometres (56 mi) south-east of Brussels, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south-east of Charleroi, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Namur and 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Givet (France).

The municipality includes the old communes of Anseremme, Bouvignes-sur-Meuse, Dréhance, Falmagne, Falmignoul, Foy-Notre-Dame, Furfooz, Lisogne, Sorinnes, and Thynes.

Dinant is positioned in the Upper Meuse valley at a point where the river cuts deeply into the western Condroz plateau. Sited in a steep sided valley between the rock face and the river, the original settlement had little space to grow away from the river, and it therefore grew, into a long thin town on a north-south axis along the river shore. During the 19th century the former Île des Batteurs (Drummers' Island) to the south was attached directly to the town when a branch of the river was filled in.

Dinant has been enriched by the agricultural opportunities presented by the fertility of the land on the plateau that overlooks it. Within the town, brassware production is a traditional craft that has benefited from the presence of the broad and, at this point, easily navigable river which has provided for easy delivery of the raw materials and ready distribution of the resulting products emerging from the artisans' workshops. Another traditional source of wealth is provided by the limestone cliffs overlooking the town, which supported a high-end quarrying industry, producing black marble and bluestone, with the proximity of a relatively wide and deep navigable river facilitating distribution.


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