La Folie
(hamlet)
La Folie
hamlet is located in a swampy area on the right bank of
the Sambre river
. Since the
Middle-Ages
, a lot of trees have been planted in order to pump all of this water, especially birches and poplars. The sound of the wind in the leaves was nicknamed "
Foliée
" by the inhabitants of the hamlet, and eventually this name was used to refer to the hamlet itself. Later, "
Foliée
" was turned into "
Folie
", which means "craziness" !
The hamlet is crossed by a tiny tributary of the Sambre river, the
Rivièrette
("little river"). This river isn't really impressive, and yet... In 1670, a sudden rise in its water level compelled the French king Louis XIV to stop one of his travels for two days ! The king was forced to spend a night in a nearby farm which was renamed "
Le Louvre
" thereafter (!).