Historic Tournai, Belgium's Oldest City - Tournai, Belgium
Originally a Roman outpost, and later the capital of the Frankish empire until that was moved to Paris in 432AD, Tournai is the oldest city in Belgium. It was the birthplace of Clovis I, the first king of the Salian Franks, an important religious center before the Reformation, and remains a major Belgian cultural site. Its Cathedral de Notre Dame de Tournai and Belfry of Tournai are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
For visitors to Brussels, Tournai can be reached via train and explored as an easy day trip.
The Photos (in order)
E09A1986 - Grand Place, Tournai's main square, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame
E09A1991 - Another view of Grand Place
E09A1923 - The five Romanesque towers of the Cathedral of Notre Dame dominates Tournai's skyline
E09A1974 - Inside the Cathedral of Notre Dame; much of the cathedral date back to the 12th and 13th centuries
E09A1979 - The Belfry of Tournai is a free-standing medieval bell tower about 240 feet tall; construction began in 1188AD, making it the oldest surviving belfry in Belgium
E09A1930 - Pont des Trous, a bridge over the Scheldt (Escaut) River, was built in 1290AD, and was once part of the city's fortifications
E09A2025 - Le Fort Rouge, named for its red roof, was built as a defensive tower in the 12th century
E09A1919 - Tournai was captured by England's Henry VIII in 1513, becoming the only Belgian city to have been ruled by England; the Tower of Henry VIII, unfortunately surrounded by scaffolding while I was there; was built during that period as a defensive post
Discovering the Belgian city of Tournai
Opening with a three person rendition of 'Heart and Soul' on the organ in Tournai’s centuries old cathedral we move to the military bridge, meet an American tourist on a boat-cycling holiday which began in Paris before jumping on a couple of e-bikes ourselves.
We then step into Notre-Dame discovering the Roman and Gothic architecture, and the treasure rooms. Inside the Natural History museum we discover all manner of animals, climb the Belfry then recharge at a cafe for ‘Elevensies.’
In-line with War Commemorations we discover two British graves, boats on a lake, one of the lime kilns and even a 13th century castle!
A short intro on local beer is followed by discovering some gorgeous hot chocolate as neither Shagufta nor I drink alcohol. We also discover some French bakers who migrated to Tournai, then give a glimpse of a famous bread named Clovis.
Discovering a Monet and a Manet in the fine arts museum we are then shocked with some fantastic objects in the puppet museum while encountering another American tourist.
We close with Henry VIII’s tower, the red fort, the grand place at night, then some photos from our favourite restaurant in the city - so good we returned twice! - Les Enfants Terribles, yummy!
7th September 1497: Perkin Warbeck claims he is English King Richard IV
The significance of Warbeck is that he soon declared himself King Richard IV as he had convinced his followers that he was Richard, Duke of York, the younger of the two Princes in the Tower.
After surrendering to Henry VII’s forces in Hampshire, Warbeck was held by the King in relative luxury even though he confessed to being an imposter. His admission that he was actually the son of a prosperous family in Tournai, in what is now Belgium, was subsequently proven by the nineteenth century historian James Gairdner who had access to the town archives.
Warbeck’s career as a pretender to the throne began shortly after he arrived in the Irish city of Cork where he was soon identified as a member of the York dynasty. He quickly adopted his new identity, and travelled around the royal courts of Europe securing support for his claim. The French King Charles VIII lent him support, as did Margaret of York – the aunt of the Princes in the Tower.
Warbeck led an invasion of England from France in 1495, but this went disastrously wrong. After finding little support in Ireland, he instead headed to Scotland where he stayed for two years and married the Scottish King’s cousin. After another failed invasion of England he was invited by Cornish rebels to join with them in what was to be his final failed assault.
Two years after his capture, Warbeck was hanged at Tyburn on November 23rd, 1499.
Tournai Belgium
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Battle of France | Wikipedia audio article
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Battle of France
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries during the Second World War. In the six weeks from 10 May 1940, German forces defeated Allied forces by mobile operations and conquered France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, bringing land operations on the Western Front to an end until 6 June 1944. Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 and invaded France over the Alps.
The German plan for the invasion consisted of two main operations. In Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes and then along the Somme valley, cutting off and surrounding the Allied units that had advanced into Belgium, to meet the expected German invasion. When British, Belgian and French forces were pushed back to the sea by the mobile and well-organised German operation, the British evacuated the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and several French divisions from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo.
After the withdrawal of the BEF, the German forces began Fall Rot (Case Red) on 5 June. The sixty remaining French divisions made a determined resistance but were unable to overcome the German air superiority and armoured mobility. German tanks outflanked the Maginot Line and pushed deep into France. German forces occupied Paris unopposed on 14 June, after the flight of the French government and the collapse of the French army. German commanders met with French officials on 18 June to negotiate an end to hostilities.
On 22 June, the Second Armistice at Compiègne was signed by France and Germany. The neutral Vichy government led by Marshal Philippe Pétain superseded the Third Republic and Germany occupied the north and west coasts of France and their hinterlands. Italy took control of a small occupation zone in the south-east and the Vichy regime retained the unoccupied territory in the south, known as the zone libre. The Germans occupied the zone under Fall Anton in November 1942, until the Allied liberation in the summer of 1944.
Canterbury
Canterbury /ˈkæntərb(ə)ri, -bɛr-/ is an historic English cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a local government district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour.
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Lille | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:00:49 1 History
00:00:58 1.1 Origin of the city
00:02:45 1.2 Middle Ages
00:06:39 1.3 Early modern era
00:10:00 1.4 Post-French Revolution
00:12:42 1.5 First World War
00:14:21 1.6 iAnnées Folles/i, Great Depression, the Popular Front
00:15:19 1.7 Second World War
00:16:33 1.8 Post-war to the present
00:18:34 2 Climate
00:19:09 3 Environment
00:19:34 4 Economy
00:20:12 4.1 Revenues and taxes
00:20:50 4.2 Employment
00:21:32 4.3 Enterprises
00:21:53 5 Main sights
00:23:03 5.1 La Braderie
00:23:41 6 Gallery
00:23:50 7 Transport
00:24:00 7.1 Public transport
00:24:30 7.2 Railways
00:25:06 7.3 Highways
00:25:16 7.4 Air traffic
00:26:03 7.5 Waterways
00:26:57 8 Education
00:27:38 9 Notable people from Lille
00:28:17 9.1 Writers
00:33:00 9.2 Scientists and mathematicians
00:33:11 9.3 Artists
00:33:36 9.4 Politicians, professionals and military
00:33:46 9.5 Sportspeople
00:33:55 10 Media and sports
00:34:06 11 International relations
00:34:15 11.1 Twin towns – sister cities
00:35:17 12 See also
00:35:27 13 Notes
00:35:40 14 References
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.910696065526093
Voice name: en-GB-Wavenet-D
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Lille (French pronunciation: [lil] (listen); Dutch: Rijsel [ˈrɛisəl]; West Flemish: Rysel) is a city at the northern tip of France, in French Flanders. On the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord department, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille.
As of 2015, Lille had a population of 232,741 within its administrative limits,. Lille is the first city of the Métropole Européenne de Lille with a population of 1,182,127, making it the fourth largest urban area in France after Paris, Lyon and Marseille.
Lille | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Lille
00:00:40 1 History
00:00:48 1.1 Origin of the city
00:02:21 1.2 Middle Ages
00:05:45 1.3 Early modern era
00:08:41 1.4 Post-French Revolution
00:11:03 1.5 First World War
00:12:29 1.6 iAnnées Folles/i, Great Depression, the Popular Front
00:13:20 1.7 Second World War
00:14:24 1.8 Post-war to the present
00:16:08 2 Climate
00:16:40 3 Economy
00:17:09 3.1 Revenues and taxes
00:17:41 3.2 Employment
00:18:18 3.3 Enterprises
00:18:37 4 Main sights
00:19:39 4.1 La Braderie
00:20:12 5 Gallery
00:20:21 6 Transport
00:20:30 6.1 Public transport
00:20:57 6.2 Railways
00:21:28 6.3 Highways
00:21:37 6.4 Air traffic
00:22:18 6.5 Waterways
00:23:04 7 Education
00:23:41 8 Notable people from Lille
00:24:14 8.1 Writers
00:28:36 8.2 Scientists and mathematicians
00:28:45 8.3 Artists
00:29:09 8.4 Politicians, professionals and military
00:29:18 8.5 Sportspeople
00:29:27 9 Media and sports
00:29:37 10 International relations
00:29:46 10.1 Twin towns – sister cities
00:30:41 11 See also
00:30:51 12 Notes
00:31:02 13 References
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Lille (French pronunciation: [lil] (listen); Dutch: Rijsel [ˈrɛisəl]; West Flemish: Rysel) is a city at the northern tip of France, in French Flanders. On the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord department, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille.
As of 2015, Lille had a population of 232,741 within its administrative limits, and an urban population of 1,182,127, making it the fourth largest urban area in France after Paris, Lyon and Marseille.