Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Tournai
Tournai (/tʊərˈneɪ/ toor-NAY, French: [tuʁnɛ] ⓘ; Picard: Tornai; Walloon: Tornè [tɔʀnɛ] ⓘ; Dutch: Doornik [ˈdoːrnɪk] ⓘ, sometimes anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies 89 km (55 mi) by road southwest of the centre of Brussels on the river Scheldt, and is part of Eurometropolis Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai, In 2022, the municipality of Tournai had an estimated population of 68,518 people.
Tournai is one of the oldest cities in Belgium and has played an important role in the country's cultural history. It was the first capital of the Frankish Empire, with Clovis I being born here.
Tournai lies 89 km (55 mi) by road southwest of the centre of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Administratively, the town and municipality is part of the Province of Hainaut, in the Wallonia region of southwest Belgium. The municipality has an area of 213.75 km2 (82.53 sq mi).
Tournai has its own arrondissements, both administrative and judicial. The municipality consists of the following: Barry, Beclers, Blandain, Chercq, Ere, Esplechin, Froidmont, Froyennes, Gaurain-Ramecroix, Havinnes, Hertain, Kain, Lamain, Marquain, Maulde, Melles Mont-Saint-Aubert, Mourcourt, Orcq, Quartes, Ramegnies-Chin, Rumillies, Saint-Maur, Templeuve, Thimougies, Tournai, Vaulx, Vezon, Warchin, and Willemeau.
Tournai, known as Tornacum, was a place of minor importance in Roman times, a stopping place where the Roman road from Cologne on the Rhine to Boulogne on the coast crossed the river Scheldt. It was fortified under Emperor Maximian in the 3rd century AD, when the Roman limes was withdrawn to the string of outposts along the road. It came into the possession of the Salian Franks in 432. Under King Childeric I, whose tomb was discovered there in 1653, Tournai was the capital of the Frankish Empire. In 486, Clovis moved the center of power to Paris. In turn, a native son of Tournai, Eleutherius, became bishop of the newly created bishopric of Tournai, extending over most of the area west of the Scheldt. In 862, Charles the Bald, first king of Western Francia and still to become Holy Roman Emperor, would make Tournai the seat of the County of Flanders.
After the partition of the Frankish Empire by the Treaties of Verdun (843) and of Meerssen (870), Tournai remained in the western part of the empire, which in 987 became France. The city participated in 11th-century rise of towns in the Low Countries, with a woollen cloth industry based on English wool, which soon made it attractive to wealthy merchants. An ambitious rebuilding of the cathedral was initiated in 1030. Odo of Orléans was appointed at the cathedral school of Tournai in 1087. Under Odo's leadership, Saint-Martin Abbey flourished and by 1105 had 70 monks. The commune's drive for independence from the local counts succeeded in 1187, and the city was henceforth directly subordinated to the French Crown, as the seigneurie de Tournaisis, as the city's environs are called. The stone Bridge of the Holes over the Scheldt, with defensive towers at either end, was built in 1290, replacing an earlier wooden structure.
In 1340, as a part of the Hundred Years' War, Edward III of England gathered a large army and besieged Tournai for a month. The operation was unsuccessful, bankrupting Edward and forcing him to sign the Truce of Espléchin.
During the 15th century, the city's textile trade boomed and it became an important supplier of tapestry. The art of painting flourished too: Jacques Daret, Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden all came from Tournai. It was captured in 1513 by Henry VIII of England, making it the only Belgian city ever to have been ruled by England. It was also represented in the 1515 Parliament of England. The city was handed back to French rule in 1519, following the Treaty of London (1518).
Hub AI
Tournai AI simulator
(@Tournai_simulator)
Tournai
Tournai (/tʊərˈneɪ/ toor-NAY, French: [tuʁnɛ] ⓘ; Picard: Tornai; Walloon: Tornè [tɔʀnɛ] ⓘ; Dutch: Doornik [ˈdoːrnɪk] ⓘ, sometimes anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies 89 km (55 mi) by road southwest of the centre of Brussels on the river Scheldt, and is part of Eurometropolis Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai, In 2022, the municipality of Tournai had an estimated population of 68,518 people.
Tournai is one of the oldest cities in Belgium and has played an important role in the country's cultural history. It was the first capital of the Frankish Empire, with Clovis I being born here.
Tournai lies 89 km (55 mi) by road southwest of the centre of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Administratively, the town and municipality is part of the Province of Hainaut, in the Wallonia region of southwest Belgium. The municipality has an area of 213.75 km2 (82.53 sq mi).
Tournai has its own arrondissements, both administrative and judicial. The municipality consists of the following: Barry, Beclers, Blandain, Chercq, Ere, Esplechin, Froidmont, Froyennes, Gaurain-Ramecroix, Havinnes, Hertain, Kain, Lamain, Marquain, Maulde, Melles Mont-Saint-Aubert, Mourcourt, Orcq, Quartes, Ramegnies-Chin, Rumillies, Saint-Maur, Templeuve, Thimougies, Tournai, Vaulx, Vezon, Warchin, and Willemeau.
Tournai, known as Tornacum, was a place of minor importance in Roman times, a stopping place where the Roman road from Cologne on the Rhine to Boulogne on the coast crossed the river Scheldt. It was fortified under Emperor Maximian in the 3rd century AD, when the Roman limes was withdrawn to the string of outposts along the road. It came into the possession of the Salian Franks in 432. Under King Childeric I, whose tomb was discovered there in 1653, Tournai was the capital of the Frankish Empire. In 486, Clovis moved the center of power to Paris. In turn, a native son of Tournai, Eleutherius, became bishop of the newly created bishopric of Tournai, extending over most of the area west of the Scheldt. In 862, Charles the Bald, first king of Western Francia and still to become Holy Roman Emperor, would make Tournai the seat of the County of Flanders.
After the partition of the Frankish Empire by the Treaties of Verdun (843) and of Meerssen (870), Tournai remained in the western part of the empire, which in 987 became France. The city participated in 11th-century rise of towns in the Low Countries, with a woollen cloth industry based on English wool, which soon made it attractive to wealthy merchants. An ambitious rebuilding of the cathedral was initiated in 1030. Odo of Orléans was appointed at the cathedral school of Tournai in 1087. Under Odo's leadership, Saint-Martin Abbey flourished and by 1105 had 70 monks. The commune's drive for independence from the local counts succeeded in 1187, and the city was henceforth directly subordinated to the French Crown, as the seigneurie de Tournaisis, as the city's environs are called. The stone Bridge of the Holes over the Scheldt, with defensive towers at either end, was built in 1290, replacing an earlier wooden structure.
In 1340, as a part of the Hundred Years' War, Edward III of England gathered a large army and besieged Tournai for a month. The operation was unsuccessful, bankrupting Edward and forcing him to sign the Truce of Espléchin.
During the 15th century, the city's textile trade boomed and it became an important supplier of tapestry. The art of painting flourished too: Jacques Daret, Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden all came from Tournai. It was captured in 1513 by Henry VIII of England, making it the only Belgian city ever to have been ruled by England. It was also represented in the 1515 Parliament of England. The city was handed back to French rule in 1519, following the Treaty of London (1518).