0-euro notes : 1 g. Dinant : Adolphe Sax

Where in my previous post, I talked about the most famous building in Dinant (Belgium), today I present its most famous inhabitant, Adolphe Sax (1814-1894).
Sax already appeared on a 200 belgian franc note in 1994 :
http://rainbowstampsandcoins.blogspot.com/2021/01/belgian-notes-pre-euro-01b-series-1994.html

Adolphe Sax and the saxophone (2019)

 

To honour Adolphe Sax, a 0-euro note with his image, and of course a saxophone, was issued in 2019.
Entering the city from train station, will lead to the Charles de Gaulle bridge.
The bridge was destroyed on 12 May 1940, to prevent field marshal Rommel taking the city.
The city was eventually liberated by the American forces on September 7, 1944.
Now, you can find several saxophones along both sides of the bridge.

Ch. de Gaulle bridge with saxophones

Each saxophone is representing an allied country . Some saxophones are not on the bridge but can be found in the city.

My dog overlooking Dinant city

0-euro notes with Adolphe Sax, can be bought in the souvenir shop nex to the main church.
There you also find the longest stairways of Belgium, 408 steps bring you to the citadel, 150 m higher.
You can take the cable car next to it too, or another option is to walk through the woods, starting at the open air theater in Dinant.

Open air theater, Dinant

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.