Lasne, In the shadow of the Lion

June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. Located in the Southern Netherlands, now Belgium, a bloody battle took place between France on one side and the 7th coalition on the other. The 7th coalition, a collaboration of British, Dutch, Hanoverian & Prussian units, aimed to defeat Napoleon once and for all. Today, 205 years later, we start our walk at the edge of this battlefield in Lasne and linger in the woods where the Prussian army, with 3,530 men, positioned itself to surprise Napoleon's army in the east. In history books also referred to as 'Vallée du Smohain'

Lasne in 2020, located in the triangle of Brussels - Nivelles - Wavre. Once the richest municipality in Belgium (2004), still the richest in Wallonia... A municipality of 14,000 inhabitants named after the river of the same name, 'Lasne'. Originally from the Dutch 'Ter Lanen' and pronounced as 'Lann' and not 'Lasne', which you might sometimes hear in traffic updates...