Givet

Givet, a town of northern France, in the department of Ardennes, 40 m. N. by E. of Mézières 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 Étienne Méhul 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.