Step back in time in Namur
Between the end of the 17th century and the mid-18th century, the city of Namur moved back and forth between the Netherlands and France several times during various conflicts. Vauban commissioned a new plan-relief (the term used at the time for what is in fact a model) of the city and its fortifications for military purposes.
The work would be assigned to Jean-Baptiste-Claude Larcher d'Aubancourt. His plan, stored at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille, is distinctive for its impressive size; nearly 50m² extending over more than 7 metres by 6. It also presents the city's topography with its rocky outcrop on which the citadel was built. This was one of the largest strongholds of the 18th century. The plan was completed in 1750, after some two and a half years of work, then transported to the Gallery at Versailles, where Louis XV came to admire it.
This is the plan that will be used to create a virtual walk through the Walloon capital in order to discover it as it was in the mid-18th century. Once digitised, you will be able to stroll through the city from a screen. The digitised model is set to be available on the digital pavilion site in late winter or early spring. Other tourist applications, such as a development with 3D glasses or walks through present-day Namur with a tablet, in order to see a street how it was three centuries ago, could be developed over the coming years.