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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{For|the French football player|Gaël Givet}}

{{Infobox French commune
|name               = Givet
|native name = {{nativename|wa|Djivet}}
|commune status     = [[Communes of France|Commune]]
|image coat of arms = Armoiries de Givet.svg
|image              = 0 Givet - Meuse, pont des Américains, ville et fort Charlemont.JPG
|caption            = The river Meuse, the American Bridge, the Quai des Remparts, the Saint-Hilaire quarter and the Charlemont fort 
|arrondissement     = Charleville-Mézières
|canton             = Givet
|INSEE              = 08190
|postal code        = 08600
|mayor              = Robert Itucci<ref>{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|publisher=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=13 September 2022|language=fr}}</ref>
|term               = 2020&ndash;2026
|intercommunality   = Ardenne Rives de Meuse
|coordinates        = {{coord|50.1389|4.825|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m        = 124
|elevation min m    = 103
|elevation max m    = 124
|area km2           = 18.41
|population         = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date    = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes   = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
|website            = {{URL|https://givet.fr}}
}}

'''Givet''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒi.vɛ}}) ({{langx|de|Gibet}}; {{langx|wa|Djivet}}) is a [[Communes of France|commune]] in the [[Ardennes (département)|Ardennes]] [[Departments of France|department]] in northern [[France]] surrounded on three sides by the [[Belgium|Belgian]] border. 
It lies on the river [[Meuse]] where Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] built the [[fortress of Charlemont]]. It borders the French municipalities of [[Fromelennes]] to the east and [[Rancennes]] to the south and [[Foisches]] to the southeast.

The [[Pointe de Givet National Nature Reserve]] is partly located on the commune.

== History ==
The town's history claims that [[Hubertus|Saint Hubert]] lived there in 720 and performed a miracle. The town has changed hands several times since the Roman era before becoming part of France in 1678, and was later invaded by Russians and Germans.

During the [[Nine Years' War]] in 1696 Givet functioned as a supply depot for the French army and was [[Bombardment of Givet|bombarded by and Anglo-Dutch force]] under [[Menno van Coehoorn]].

During the Napoleonic Wars, the French maintained a camp here for British naval prisoners of war from 1804 to 1814. One of the officer prisoners, Captain [[Jahleel Brenton]], Royal Navy, who had been captured when his ship, H.M. frigate ''[[French frigate Minerve (1794)|Minerve]]'' ran aground off Cherbourg, and Naval Chaplain the Reverend Robert B. Wolfe, also a prisoner, established a school of navigation for the imprisoned British sailors.  This was a successful unofficial initiative for teaching navigation that also provided a center for the growth of religious piety in the Royal Navy.<ref>Mark J. Gabrielson, "Enlightenment in the Darkness: The British Prisoner of War School of Navigation. Givet, France. 1805–1814," Northern Mariner, vol. 25 (2015), pp. 7-41.    https://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol25/tnm_25_7-41.pdf</ref>  An example of student work in the navigation school is
preserved in the notebook by British seaman William Carter.<ref>William Carter Navigation Journal, MSC-364- File MSI 21, Naval Historical Collection, Naval War College, Newport, RI.  The document is online at [https://usnwcarchives.org/repositories/2/archival_objects/39992]</ref> British seaman, John Wetherell, a survivor of the British 38-gun frigate {{HMS|Hussar}} that had wrecked near Brest and was burnt by her crew to prevent her capture, was imprisoned at Givet from 1804 to 1814 and left an account of his experiences.<ref>C.S. Forester, ed., ''The Adventures of John Wetherell'' (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1953), pp. 146-246.</ref>

In [[World War II]], Givet was occupied by the Germans on May 12, 1940 and liberated by the [[allies (World War II)|allies]] on September 7, 1944. By December 1944, 11,000 American soldiers were billeted in the ancient [[Charlemont fortress]]. The German [[Ardennes Offensive]] targeted Givet and its crossing of the Meuse.  The British, under [[General Montgomery]], organized a last-ditch defense, and on 24 December, the German drive was stopped about {{convert|10|km|0}} from Givet.

Givet is also the birthplace of writer [[Henry Bidou]] (1873 – 1943), pianist [[Jeanne-Marie Darré]] (1905-1999) and oboist [[Gilles Silvestrini]] (born 1961).

==Population==

{{Historical populations
|align = none
|cols = 2
|percentages = pagr
|source = EHESS<ref name=ehess>{{Cassini-Ehess|15577|Givet }}</ref> and INSEE (1968-2017)<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-08190#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE</ref>
|1793 |4100
|1800 |3643
|1806 |3879
|1821 |4068
|1831 |4220
|1836 |4293
|1841 |5689
|1846 |5855
|1851 |5639
|1866 |5801
|1872 |5104
|1876 |5575
|1881 |6972
|1886 |7820
|1891 |7083
|1896 |7100
|1901 |6947
|1906 |7468
|1911 |7759
|1921 |5519
|1926 |6803
|1931 |6826
|1936 |6923
|1946 |5524
|1954 |6656
|1962 |7444
|1968 |7865
|1975 |7804
|1982 |7587
|1990 |7775
|1999 |7372
|2007 |6777
|2012 |6574
|2017 |6749
}}

[[File:0 Givet - L'église Notre-Dame (2).JPG|thumb|right|Notre-Dame church]]

==Transport==
[[SNCF|SNCF's]] [[TER Grand Est#Rail|TER Grand Est]] trains run at about hourly intervals from [[Givet station]] to [[Charleville-Mézières station|Charleville-Mézières]], taking about an hour<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aller de Charleville-Mézières à Givet|url=https://www.sncf-connect.com/train/horaires/charleville-mezieres/givet|website=SNCF Connect}}</ref> for the {{Convert|64|km|abbr=on}} route. [[Chemins de fer de l'Est#History|Compagnie des chemins de fer des Ardennes]] opened the station in 1862.

[[Opérateur de transport de Wallonie|TEC]] bus 154A runs every hour or two from the station to [[Dinant railway station|Dinant]], taking about 42 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Trouver votre itinéraire|url=https://www.letec.be/#/Itinerary/Search/OriginStopId=N301ajb&JourneyFrom=GIVET%20Gare&OriginLatitude=50.1403074&OriginLongitude=4.8182521&DestinationStopID=N232aqb&JourneyTo=DINANT%20Gare&DestinationLatitude=50.2617458&DestinationLongitude=4.9076987&Type=Time&How=bus&How=tram&How=train&How=delijn&How=stib&How=sncb&DateForm=09.03.2022%20%C3%A0%2006:50&WhenForm=go&ArriveDate=09.03.2022%20%C3%A0%2006:46&RequestTimePreference=Respect&IncludeEarliers=No&When=go&LeaveDate=09.03.2022%20%C3%A0%2007:44|access-date=2022-02-20|website=www.letec.be}}</ref> It replaces railway line 154A, which took about 30 minutes<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 May 1982|title=154 Givet - Dinant - Namur|url=https://timetableworld.com/ttw-viewer.php?token=c436a981-0179-4efb-bfd7-6b83188ea516|access-date=2022-02-20|website=timetableworld.com}}</ref> for the {{Convert|22|km|abbr=on}} route<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 May 1931|title=Chemin de Fer Belges, Horaires des Trains|url=https://www.tassignon.be/trains/PDF/IO-OR-19310515-19311003.pdf}}</ref> and closed in 1988. In 2021 a study began into reopening a single track, with a cycleway alongside.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-01-25|title=Des études en 2022 pour rouvrir la ligne de chemin de fer Givet-Dinant|url=https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/transports/des-etudes-en-2022-pour-rouvrir-la-ligne-de-chemin-de-fer-givet-dinant-1643094023|access-date=2022-02-20|website=France Bleu|language=fr}}</ref>

The [[:fr:Ligne 138A (Infrabel)|former Line 138A]] to [[:fr:Gare de Florennes-Central|Florennes]] and  [[:fr:Gare de Châtelet|Châtelet]] has been converted to a [[RAVeL network|RAVeL]] cycleway.<ref>{{Cite web|title=De Mariembourg (Couvin) à Hastière * Ligne 156|url=https://ravel.wallonie.be/home/itineraires/local/ligne-156/de-mariembourg-couvin-a-hastiere.html|access-date=2022-02-21|website=ravel.wallonie.be}}</ref>

The River Meuse is navigable from the [[North Sea]] to Givet. The [[Canal de la Meuse]] links to the rest of the French canal network. The port declined after the canal was enlarged to allow 1,350 ton barges in the 1960s,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-05-11|title=Port Givet: a true multimodal platform close to the big North Sea ports|url=https://blog.ardennes-developpement.com/en/news/port-givet-true-multimodal-platform-close-to-the-big-north-sea-ports|access-date=2022-02-21|website=blog.ardennes-developpement.com|language=en}}</ref> but, when it was reconnected to the railway in 2013, it was still handling about 760,000 tonnes of freight a year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SNCF : Le renouveau de la ligne Charleville-Givet|url=https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/grand-est/2013/07/11/sncf-le-renouveau-de-la-ligne-charleville-givet-286199.html|access-date=2022-02-20|website=France 3 Grand Est|language=fr-FR}}</ref>

Givet is served by several main roads, including D8051 to [[Rocroi]], formerly [[:fr:Route nationale 51 (France)|N51]], and [[:fr:Route nationale 40 (Belgique)|D949]], which is the French section of Belgium's [[List of National Roads in Belgium#Second network|N40]], linking [[Arlon]] and [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]].

== In literature ==
Georges Simenon set his Maigret novel ''The Flemish House'' in Givet. Published first in 1932, it evokes the nature of the town at that time.

==See also==
*[[Communes of the Ardennes department]]
*[[Aimée Lallement]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[https://givet.fr/ Official Web site] (in French)
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Givet}}

{{Ardennes communes}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Communes of Ardennes (department)]]
[[Category:Ardennes communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Prisoner-of-war camps]]
[[Category:Prisoner-of-war camps in France]]
[[Category:Defunct prisons in France]]