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Inaugurated in May 2021, Namur's brand-new cable car has taken off.
With its ideal location from Place Maurice Servais, it ensures better tourist access to the Citadel from the urban center.
An express journey between heaven and earth that leaves no one indifferent!
Assaulting the Citadelle for over a century
Accessing the Citadelle has always fueled passions. Trails, funiculars, cable cars... the means of transport linking it to the city of Namur have constantly evolved over time. But the cable car is not the first to reach the summits. Its big brother actually did the job between 1956 and 1997.
The Citadelle was originally a military site. As soon as it was demilitarized in 1891, trails were laid out to enable the people of Namur to reach the heights.
In 1898, the Grand Hôtel, which had elected its quarters on the current site of the Château de Namur, opened the way to tourist activity and transported its customers with a funicular railway from the Plante site.
The construction of the Route merveilleuse in 1904 made the site more accessible. A steam streetcar line was introduced, and the costly funicular was soon superseded.
A bus route then took the streetcar's place in the early '50s, but the tourist experience it offered, less original than that of the streetcar, made its success short-lived.
Finally, in 1956, the very first cable car was installed along the ramparts of the Citadel, on the Mosan flank, just opposite today's Walloon Parliament.
With its mythical egg-shaped cabins, it provided good, loyal service for 40 years, much to the delight of tourists and locals alike, before being forced to shut down. A 53-ton boulder threatened to collapse, the cabins no longer complied with safety standards and, as a final blow, an arson attack destroyed the lower station.
It will be another twenty years before the project for a new ropeway sees the light of day.
This time built on the Sambrian slope, the new ropeway starts directly from the historic heart of the city and carries passengers to the Citadel in less than 5 minutes.
Towards ever gentler, more sustainable mobility
With its new cable car, Namur continues to embrace sustainable development.
While preserving the landscape, the ropeway enhances the tourist appeal of the city and its Citadelle, and ensures, for weaker users, better accessibility to the heritage.
Once on the heights, young and old alike enjoy a breathtaking view of the city, the Meuse and the Sambre, and can quickly reach the historic Terra Nova site and the brand-new Pavillon numérique.
Sources
https://www.telepheriquedenamur.be/fr/le-telepherique/historique/
https://www.namurtourisme.be/fr/a-voir-a-faire/attractions/telepherique/
https://www.le-nid.be/les-projets/un-telepherique-pour-relier-namur-sa-citadelle
https://www.rtbf.be/article/les-trois-choses-a-retenir-sur-le-telepherique-de-namur-10719828