War Memorial Bohan

War memorial in memory of the victims of the two world wars on the Place Henri de la Lindi.

Bohan has many attractions. There is the striking 'pont cassé', the wedding stone, the Lourdes cave (a perfect copy), the church, ...

Coming from France, this is the first village with an abundance of terraces, and therefore a well-known stop for the many motards that tour the area.

Bohan is the last village along the Semois before the French border. It was therefore an excellent base for smugglers in this tobacco region. The smugglers tried to smuggle tobacco and bread from Belgium to France, foodstuffs that were less taxed and cheaper. Real manhunts ensued. The customs officers, called 'gabelous', patrolled the forest, even spending the night there to hunt down those fraudsters who outsmarted them more than once…

The bear is a symbol in Bohan... the legend:

While being transported from the High Tatras (Slovakia) to the Royal Zoo in Paris in the spring of 1760, a brown bear (Ursus horribilis) escaped near Strasbourg. On its way through the French Jura, the bear killed twelve French soldiers, two hunters and a shepherd. It seemed invincible. Suddenly he appeared in the forests of the Semois. A pilgrim, who was carrying barrels of beer from Bouillon to Bohan for the dedication of the new church, was surprised by the terrible beast. He quickly opened two barrels and climbed into an ancient oak. The bear drank so much beer that he fell asleep on the cart... and was caught.
Many people in Bohan remember the Bohan Beer, the local beer of today, and it is a fond memory as the Bohan Beer is a delicious dark beer. Also other things in Bohan are souvenirs of this fearsome bear.

Willem Vandenameele