Andenne is a
BelgianBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
municipalityA municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located in the
Walloon province of
NamurNamur is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and on France. Its capital is the city of Namur...
. On January 1, 2006 Andenne had a total population of 25,240. The total area is 86.17 km² which gives a
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 292 inhabitants per km². The city extends on both sides of the river
MeuseMeuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
. The villages around Andenne are : Bonneville - Coutisse - Landenne - Maizeret - Namêche - Sclayn - Seilles - Thon-Samson - Vezin. The Bear, originating from the legend that saw
Charles MartelCharles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...
, still a child, kill a bear that terrorized the inhabitants, with a hammer, symbolizes the city.
Andenne is associated with the
Rape of BelgiumThe Rape of Belgium is a wartime propaganda term describing the 1914 German invasion of Belgium. The term initially had a figurative meaning, referring to the violation of Belgian neutrality, but embellished reports of German atrocities soon gave it a literal significance...
in 1914, during which reportedly 211 townspeople were
massacreA massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
d.
Famous inhabitants
- Saint Begga
Saint Begga was the daughter of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, and his wife Itta. On the death of her husband, she took the veil, founded seven churches, and built a convent at Andenne on the Meuse River where she spent the rest of her days as abbess...
, daughter of Pepin of Landen and mother of Pepin of Heristal, founded a convent in Andenne of which she was the first abbess. She was buried in Saint Begga's Collegiate Church in Andenne.
- Fats Sadi, jazz musician
External links