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Givet

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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a town of northern France, in the department of Ardennes, 40 m. N. by E. of Mezieres on the Eastern railway between the town and Namur. Pop. (1906) town, 5110; commune, 7468. Givet lies on the Meuse about 1 m. from the Belgian frontier, and was formerly a fortress of considerable importance. It is divided into three portions--the citadel called Charlemont and Grand Givet on the left bank of the river, and on the opposite bank Petit Givet, connected with Grand Givet by a stone bridge of five arches. The fortress of Charlemont, situated at the top of a precipitous rock 705 ft. high, was founded by the emperor Charles V. in the 16th century, and further fortified by Vauban at the end of the 17th century; it is the only survival of the fortifications of the town, the rest of which were destroyed in 1892. In Grand Givet there are a church and a town-hall built by Vauban, and a statue of the composer Etienne Mehul stands in the fine square named after him. Petit Givet, the industrial quarter, is traversed by a small tributary of the Meuse, the Houille, which is bordered by tanneries and glue factories. Pencils and tobacco-pipes are also manufactured. The town has considerable river traffic, consisting chiefly of coal, copper and stone. There is a chamber of arts and manufactures.