GIVET

givet, a town of northern france, in the department of ardennes, 40 m. n. by e. of mezieres 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 etienne mehul 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.