Dinant chairlift

The interesting thing is that the lift to the Citadel was often confused with the Mont-Fat lift , which was a chair lift.

After World War II, tourism in the Ardennes boomed. To make the Citadel more accessible to the general public (so that not everyone had to climb the 408 steps), the cable car opened in 1956. At the time , Dinant and the city of Huy were rivals in the tourism sector. Both cities simultaneously submitted plans for a cable car, a concept that was unique in Belgium at the time. The system was built by the German company Pohlig from Cologne. At the time, it was a technical feat : the cabins bridged a height difference of approximately 150 meters without a single intermediate pillar (pylon).

Although the lift is now closed (early 2026) for a major overhaul, it served as one of the city's most iconic attractions for nearly 70 years. For many years, the Dinant funicular was the only operating cable car in Belgium , until the Namur funicular reopened in 2021.
The ravages of time and stricter European regulations for cable transport have meant that a simple repair is no longer sufficient. A completely new concept (possibly a rail-based elevator or a state-of-the-art cable car) is now being considered, one that can last for the next 50 years.

The original 16th-century staircase (dating from 1577) still lies directly adjacent to the elevator's path. While riding in the elevator, you could see the people below sweating on the steps.

Willem Vandenameele