MAUBEUGE

maubeuge, a town of northern france, in the department of nord, situated on both banks of the sambre, here canalized, 231⁄2 m. by rail e. by s. of valenciennes, and about 2 m. from the belgian frontier. pop. (1906), town 13,569, commune 21,520. as a fortress maubeuge has an old enceinte of bastion trace which serves as the centre of an important entrenched camp of 18 m. perimeter, constructed for the most part after the war of 1870, but since modernized and augmented. the town has a board of trade arbitration, a communal college, a commercial and industrial school; and there are important foundries, forges and blast-furnaces, together with manufactures of machine-tools, porcelain, &c. it is united by electric tramway with hautmont (pop. 12,473), also an important metallurgical centre. maubeuge (_malbodium_) owes its origin to a double monastery, for men and women, founded in the 7th century by st aldegonde relics of whom are preserved in the church. it subsequently belonged to the territory of hainault. it was burnt by louis xi., by francis i., and by henry ii., and was finally assigned to france by the treaty of nijmwegen. it was fortified at vauban by the command of louis xiv., who under turenne first saw military service there. besieged in 1793 by prince josias of coburg, it was relieved by the victory of wattignies, which is commemorated by a monument in the town. it was unsuccessfully besieged in 1814, but was compelled to capitulate, after a vigorous resistance, in the hundred days.