The Sambre river is 190 kilometers long. It has
its source in a little French town called Le Nouvion
and then flows into Namur in Belgium. This river has always crossed
Landrecies, but its course was modified in the 19th century : it was canalized
in order to make it more straight and more adapted to modern boats, and also in
order to make a connection with the Oise river southwards. This big work was
made from 1826 to 1839, both upstream and downstream from Landrecies. Nowadays
it is still possible to see some remains of the former course of the river,
thanks to the little "Old Sambre river".
