0-euro notes : 1 f. Belgium : Dinant Citadelle

For the next 0-euro note, I take you to the south of Belgium.

Along the Meuse (Maas) river  serveral cities have fortified sites overlooking the city.
These fortifications are called 'citadels'. The word is derived from the diminutive of the italian word for city : 'citta'. This 'cittadella' is a smal city in the city, strongly fortified to protect the city often from a higher point.

Dinant in Belgium (French speaking part)

Along the Meuse river alone, Huy, Namur, Liège and Dinant have similar citadels.

Citadel of Dinant, seen from the river bank

The first time the citadel is mentioned, is in 1051, when Dinant is ruled by the prince-bishop of Liège, within the Holy Roman Empire.

Later on, when the region came under French and later Dutch influence, the citadel was modernised and its current structure dates from 1815.

In 2016, a 0-euro note was issued, depicting the citadel together with the church in front.
Also a soldier refers to the role Dinant has played in both first as second world war.
 

Charles de Gaulle, lieutenant in the French army in 1914, attempts to liberate the city of Dinant on August 15. He gets injured while crossing the bridge with his troops.
One week later, on August 23, 1914, German troups execute 674 people in various places in the city, and by the end of the day, fire was set to the buildings in the city, destroying 1100 houses and buildings

0-euro note 'Citadelle de Dinant'

The bridge connecting both sides of the city is named after Charles de Gaulle.