1.
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
2.
Provinces of Belgium
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The country of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, the Flemish Region or Flanders, and Walloon Region, the third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, is not divided into provinces, as it was originally only a small part of a province itself. Many of the provinces evolved from earlier duchies and counties of the name and similar location. At the time of the creation of Belgium in 1830, only nine provinces existed, including the province of Brabant and these divisions reflected political tensions between the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish, the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual. The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution, the provinces are subdivided into 43 administrative arrondissements, and further into 589 municipalities. These each had their own identities and governments, though in the modern period almost all the Belgian states became part of larger entities. Each of the provinces of Belgium takes its name from one of these predecessors. At the time of the independence of Belgium from the Netherlands in 1830, the first article of the Belgian Constitution said, Belgium is divided into provinces. These provinces are Antwerp, Brabant, West Flanders, East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, in 1839 half of the province of Limburg became part of the Netherlands, which consequently has its own province of Limburg. In 1920, following the First World War, Belgium annexed the Eupen-Malmedy territory, during the second half of the 20th century, Belgium transitioned from a unitary state to a federal state with three Communities and three Regions. As part of the reforms, the province of Brabant was split in 1995 three ways, into two provinces and into the Brussels-Capital Region. The two new Brabant provinces became part of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region respectively, the remaining eight provinces became part of these regions as well, so the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region each contain five provinces. The Provincial Councils are the bodies of the population of the provinces. This is the equivalent of the States-Provincial in the Netherlands, the numbers of seats in the Provincial Councils are proportional to the population of the province, the numbers were reduced in both Flanders and Wallonia, starting 2013. They are directly elected each six years, at the time of the municipal elections. Before 1994, the elections instead coincided with the national elections. Until then, the provincial councils also appointed Provincial Senators to the Belgian Senate, the executive branch was previously called the Permanent Deputation. In the Flemish Region it is now called the Deputation and it consists of the Governor
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
5.
Wallonia
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Wallonia is a region of Belgium. Wallonia is primarily French-speaking, and accounts for 55% of the territory of Belgium, unlike Flanders, the Walloon Region was not merged with the French Community of Belgium which is the political entity that is responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education. The German-speaking minority in the east forms the German-speaking Community of Belgium, during the industrial revolution, Wallonia was second only to the United Kingdom in industrialization, capitalizing on its extensive deposits of coal and iron. This brought the wealth, and, from the beginning of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century. Since World War II the importance of industry has greatly diminished. Wallonia now suffers high unemployment and has a significantly lower GDP per capita than Flanders. The economic inequalities and linguistic divide between the two are major sources of conflict in Belgium and is a major factor in Flemish separatism. The capital of Wallonia is Namur but the city with the greatest population is Charleroi, most of Wallonias major cities and two-thirds of its population lie along the Sambre and Meuse valley, the former industrial backbone of Belgium. To the north lies the Central Belgian Plateau, which, like Flanders, is relatively flat, in the south-east lie the Ardennes, hilly and sparsely populated. Wallonia borders Flanders and the Netherlands in the north, France to the south and west, Wallonia has been a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie since 1980. The term Wallonia can mean different things in different contexts. One of the three regions of Belgium is still constitutionally defined as the Walloon Region, but the regions government has renamed it Wallonia. In practice, the difference between the two terms is small and what is meant is usually clear, based on context, the root of the word Wallonia, like the words Wales, Cornwall and Wallachia, is the Germanic word Walha, meaning the strangers. Wallonia is named after the Walloons, the population of the Burgundian Netherlands speaking Romance languages, in Middle Dutch, the term Walloons also included the French-speaking population of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège or the whole population of the Romanic sprachraum within the medieval Low Countries. Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in 57 BC, the Low Countries became part of the larger Gallia Belgica province which originally stretched from southwestern Germany to Normandy and the southern part of the Netherlands. The population of territory was Celtic with a Germanic influence which was stronger in the north than in the south of the province. The ancestors of the Walloons became Gallo-Romans and were called the Walha by their Germanic neighbours, the Walha abandoned their Celtic dialects and started to speak Vulgar Latin. The Merovingian Franks gradually gained control of the region during the 5th century, the language border began to crystallize between 700 under the reign of the Merovingians and Carolingians and around 1000 after the Ottonian Renaissance
6.
Arlon
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Arlon is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in and capital of the province of Luxembourg. With a population of just over 28,000, it is the smallest provincial capital in Belgium, Arlon is also the capital of its cultural region, the Arelerland. The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Arlon proper, Autelbas-Barnich, Bonnert, Guirsch, Heinsch, the local population adapted relatively easily to Roman culture. The Germanic invasions of the 3rd century destroyed most of these early advances, during most of the Middle Ages, the population still used the earlier buildings such as the thermae. In 1060, Waleran I of Limburg, Count of Arlon, in the 13th century, the only womens Cistercian abbey known to date was built in Clairefontaine. The Duchy of Luxembourg itself, of which Arlon was dependent, after Charles Vs abdication of his empire to his son Philip II of Spain in 1556, a troubled period started for the whole region as continuous wars opposed France, Spain, and the Southern Netherlands. In 1558, nearly half of the city, including its castle, was destroyed by the French troops of Duke François of Guise. In the 17th century, Capuchin monks built a convent on the ruins of the castle, an accidental fire destroyed a large part of the city again in 1785. On 9 June 1793 the French Revolutionary troops opposed the Austrians just outside Arlon, the French emerged victorious and occupied the city. They expelled the Capuchin monks and used their convent as a hospital, after the Battle of Waterloo, Arlons history is entwined with that of Belgium. Arlon was one of the first victims of the German invasion in 1914 as 121 inhabitants were executed on 26 August and its territory was again among the first to be invaded at the onset of World War II. During the war, the mayor of Arlon, Paul Reuter collaborated with the occupying Germans, one of the largest industrial employers is the Ferrero Rocher chocolate factory. All International express trains make a stop in Arlon, as it is the last station on the main Brussels—Luxembourg City railway line, Arlon is best known for holding one of the richest archeological museums in Belgium. It houses numerous examples of Roman sculpture and Merovingian funerary art, a fragment of the Gallo-Roman defensive wall that was built in the 3rd century still stands in Arlon. The Gaspar Museum is well known for its furniture, paintings, ceramics, saint Donats church now stands on the Knipchen hill, where Waleran I of Limburg once built his castle and the Capuchin monks built their convent. Arlon cemetery has the largest Jewish section of all Walloon cemeteries, the carnival of Arlon takes place at mid-Lent. It includes the traditional handing of the city keys to the carnival prince, the Maitrank is the citys most popular refreshment. It is made of wine in which a local flower
7.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
8.
Dutch language
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It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after English and German. Dutch is one of the closest relatives of both German and English and is said to be roughly in between them, Dutch vocabulary is mostly Germanic and incorporates more Romance loans than German but far fewer than English. In both Belgium and the Netherlands, the official name for Dutch is Nederlands, and its dialects have their own names, e. g. Hollands, West-Vlaams. The use of the word Vlaams to describe Standard Dutch for the variations prevalent in Flanders and used there, however, is common in the Netherlands, the Dutch language has been known under a variety of names. It derived from the Old Germanic word theudisk, one of the first names used for the non-Romance languages of Western Europe. It literarily means the language of the people, that is. The term was used as opposed to Latin, the language of writing. In the first text in which it is found, dating from 784, later, theudisca appeared also in the Oaths of Strasbourg to refer to the Germanic portion of the oath. This led inevitably to confusion since similar terms referred to different languages, owing to Dutch commercial and colonial rivalry in the 16th and 17th centuries, the English term came to refer exclusively to the Dutch. A notable exception is Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a West Central German variety called Deitsch by its speakers, Jersey Dutch, on the other hand, as spoken until the 1950s in New Jersey, is a Dutch-based creole. In Dutch itself, Diets went out of common use - although Platdiets is still used for the transitional Limburgish-Ripuarian Low Dietsch dialects in northeast Belgium, Nederlands, the official Dutch word for Dutch, did not become firmly established until the 19th century. This designation had been in use as far back as the end of the 15th century, one of them was it reflected a distinction with Hoogduits, High Dutch, meaning the language spoken in Germany. The Hoog was later dropped, and thus, Duits narrowed down in meaning to refer to the German language. g, in English, too, Netherlandic is regarded as a more accurate term for the Dutch language, but is hardly ever used. Old Dutch branched off more or less around the same time Old English, Old High German, Old Frisian and Old Saxon did. During that period, it forced Old Frisian back from the western coast to the north of the Low Countries, on the other hand, Dutch has been replaced in adjacent lands in nowadays France and Germany. The division in Old, Middle and Modern Dutch is mostly conventional, one of the few moments linguists can detect somewhat of a revolution is when the Dutch standard language emerged and quickly established itself. This is assumed to have taken place in approximately the mid-first millennium BCE in the pre-Roman Northern European Iron Age, the Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups, East, West, and North Germanic. They remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration Period, Dutch is part of the West Germanic group, which also includes English, Scots, Frisian, Low German and High German
9.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
10.
Luxembourgish
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Luxembourgish, Luxemburgish or Letzeburgesch is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. Worldwide, about 390,000 people speak Luxembourgish. To communicate, all luxembourgees have to learn 4 different languages in the school, Luxembourgish, german, french. Since the migration of 70% of the luxembourgees to the US, despite the lack of a sharp boundary between Luxembourgish and the neighboring German dialects, this has led several linguists to regard it as a separate, yet closely related language. Luxembourgish belongs to the West Central German group of High German languages and is the example of a Moselle Franconian language. Luxembourgish is the language of Luxembourg and one of three administrative languages, alongside French and German. Luxembourgish is also spoken in the Arelerland region of Belgium and in parts of Lorraine in France. In the German Eifel and Hunsrück regions, and in Lorraine, Moselle Franconian dialects outside the Luxembourg state border tend to have far fewer French loan words, and these mostly remain from the French Revolution. There are several distinct forms of Luxembourgish including Areler, Eechternoacher, Kliärrwer, Miseler, Stater, Veiner, Minetter and Weelzer. Further small vocabulary differences may be even between small villages. There is no distinct boundary between the use of Luxembourgish and the use of other closely related High German dialects, it instead forms a dialect continuum of gradual change. Spoken Luxembourgish is relatively hard to understand for speakers of German who are not familiar with Moselle Franconian dialects. However, they can read the language to some degree. For those Germans familiar with Moselle Franconian dialects, it is easy to understand. However, the number of French loanwords in Luxembourgish may hamper communication about certain topics. There is no intelligibility between Luxembourgish and French or any of the Romance dialects spoken in the adjacent parts of Belgium, erna Hennicot-Schoepges, President of the Christian Social Peoples Party of Luxembourg 1995–2003, was active in promoting the language beyond Luxembourgs borders. A number of proposals for standardising the orthography of Luxembourgish can be documented, there was no officially recognised system, however, until the adoption of the OLO on 5 June 1946. The rules explicitly rejected certain elements of German orthography, similarly, new principles were adopted for the spelling of French loanwords. A more successful standard eventually emerged from the work of the committee of specialists charged with the task of creating the Luxemburger Wörterbuch, published in 5 volumes between 1950 and 1977
11.
Walloon language
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It belongs to the langue doïl language family, whose most prominent member is the French language. The historical background of its formation was the extension since 980 of the Principality of Liège to the south. Despite its rich literature, beginning anonymously in the 16th century and with well-known authors since 1756 and this period definitively established French as the language of social promotion, far more than it was before. Subsequently, since the middle of the 20th century, generational transmission of the language has decreased, today it is scarcely spoken among younger people. In 1996, the number of people with knowledge of the language was estimated at between 1 and 1.3 million, numerous associations, especially theatre companies, are working to keep the language alive. Formally recognized as a langue régionale endogène of Belgium since 1990, the Feller system regularized transcription of the different accents. Since the 1990s, a common orthography was established, which allowed large-scale publications, in 2004, a Walloon translation of a Tintin comic was released under the name Lèmerôde dal Castafiore, in 2007 an album consisting of Gaston Lagaffe comic strips was published in Walloon. Walloon is more distinct as a language than Belgian French, which differs from the French spoken in France only in minor points of vocabulary. Linguists had long classified Walloon as a dialect of French, which in turn is a langue doïl, like French, it descended from Vulgar Latin. The phonological divisions of regional languages of southern Belgium were studied by the contemporary linguist E. B and he defined the precise geographical repartition of the four chief dialects of Walloon. In addition, he defined them against the dialects of Picard, Lorrain, since then, most linguists, and gradually also Walloon politicians, regard Walloon as a regional language, the first in importance in Wallonia. It is the one to have originated from that part of Belgium. The eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica identified Walloon as the northern-most Romance language, Walloon is spoken in the Wallonia Region in Belgium. Although Walloon was widely spoken until the mid-20th century, today only a proportion of the inhabitants of the region are fluent in the language. Most younger people know more than a few idiomatic expressions. The Walloon language is part of the Walloon heritage, it is one component of Walloon identity. Despite local phonetic differences, there is a movement towards the adoption of a common spelling. This orthography is diasystemic, reflecting different pronunciations for different readers, the written forms attempt to reconcile current phonetic uses with ancient traditions and the languages own phonological logic
12.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
13.
Namur (province)
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Namur is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium and its capital is the city of Namur. It has an area of 3,664 square kilometres and is divided into three administrative districts containing a total of 38 municipalities, list of rulers of Namur Province de Namurs official website Namur, one of the nine provinces of Belgium
14.
Ardennes
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The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges formed by the geological features of the Ardennes mountain range and the Moselle and Meuse River basins. Geologically, the range is a extension of the Eifel. The eastern part of the Ardennes forms the northernmost third of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, also called Oesling, the greater region maintained an industrial eminence into the 20th century after coal replaced charcoal in metallurgy. The region is typified by steep-sided valleys carved by swift-flowing rivers and its most populous cities are Verviers in Belgium and Charleville-Mézières in France, both exceeding 50,000 inhabitants. The Ardennes is otherwise relatively sparsely populated, with few of the cities exceeding 10,000 inhabitants with a few exceptions like Eupen or Bastogne. The Eifel range in Germany adjoins the Ardennes and is part of the geological formation. N. B. the Belgian Province of Luxembourg in the above list is not to be confused with the known as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Ardennes is an old mountain formed during the Hercynian orogeny, in France similar formations are the Armorican Massif, the Massif Central, the low interior of such old mountains often contain coal, plus iron, zinc and other metals in the sub-soil. This geologic fact explains the greatest part of the geography of Wallonia, the region was uplifted by a mantle plume during the last few hundred thousand years, as measured from the present elevation of old river terraces. This geological region is important in the history of Wallonia because this old mountain is at the origin of the economy, the history, Wallonia presents a wide range of rocks of various ages. Some geological stages internationally recognized were defined from rock sites located in Wallonia, except for the Tournaisian, all these rocks are within the Ardennes geological area. Before the 19th century industrialization, the first furnaces in the four Walloon provinces and in the French Ardennes used charcoal for fuel and this industry was also in the extreme south of the present-day Belgian province of Luxembourg, in the region called Gaume. Wallonia became the industrial power area of the world in proportion to its territory. The rugged terrain of the Ardennes limits the scope for agriculture, arable, the region is rich in timber and minerals, and Liège and Namur are both major industrial centres. The extensive forests have an abundant population of wild game, the scenic beauty of the region and its wide variety of outdoor activities, including hunting, cycling, walking and canoeing, make it a popular tourist destination. The region took its name from the ancient Silva, a vast forest in Roman times called Arduenna Silva, the modern Ardennes covers a much smaller area. The Song of Roland describes Charlemagne as having a nightmare the night before the Battle of Roncevaux Pass of 778 and this nightmare took place in the Ardennes forest, where his most important battles occurred. Another song about Charlemagne, the Old French 12th-century chanson de geste Quatre Fils Aymon, mentions many of Wallonias rivers, villages and other places
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Gaume
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Gaume is a region in the extreme southeast of Belgium. Situated at a lower altitude than the Ardennes, it borders to the south the French region of Lorraine, to the east the Land of Arlon and to the north the Belgian part of the Ardennes. In cultural terms, Gaume is the Romance-speaking part of the nowadays so-called Belgian Lorraine region, Gaume was part of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg till 1839, the year it was integrated in the newly created Belgian province of Luxembourg. It is composed of the districts of Chiny, Étalle, Florenville, Habay, Meix-devant-Virton, Musson, Rouvroy, Tintigny and Virton, historically, the area around Montmédy, Carignan and Charency-Vezin, that was ceded to France by Spain in 1659, is also part of Gaume. Therefore, strictly speaking the southern border of the region is not the border with France, the French part of the Gaume, named Gaume Française by some, is part of a greater cluster of former Luxembourgish territories known as French Luxembourg. It consists of the canton of Montmédy, almost all of the canton of Carignan and parts of the cantons of Damvillers and it largely corresponds with the now French part of the county of Chiny. The unofficial capital of the Gaume region is Virton, temperatures in this region are often 1°C to 3°C higher than in other parts of the province of Luxembourg thanks to a distinctive microclimate. Gaume is a destination for tourism in Belgium. The Lorrain language, a langue doïl distinct from the Walloon language, is a minority language in Gaume where it is known as Gaumais, although it is in decline, several local authors are trying to revive its usage. Lorrain is recognised as a language of Wallonia. Font-de-Gaume, a cave in Dordogne, France Gaumais museum - official web site
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Belgian Lorraine
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Belgian Lorraine is the part of Lorraine that lies in the south of the Belgian province of Luxembourg, part of Wallonia. The term is used solely in a context, as the region is bordering the geologically distinct Ardennes in the north. Culturally and linguistically, it is made up of two sub-regions, The Romance-speaking part called Gaume, with Virton as main cultural city, the Luxembourgish-speaking part called Land of Arlon, with Arlon as main cultural city and capital of the province of Luxembourg. Both have Standard French as official administrative language
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Arelerland
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The Land of Arlon is the traditionally Luxembourgish-speaking part of Belgian Lorraine, which is now predominantly French-speaking. Arlon is the city of this region. The area has borders with the Gaume to the west and with the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg to the east and it lies to the south of the Ardennes. It coincides largely with the arrondissement of Arlon, part of the province of Luxembourg, in the Land of Arlon, the traditional language is Luxembourgish, which is also spoken in the adjacent Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. In 1990, the French Community of Belgium recognised the regional languages on its territory, of which Luxembourgish is one, the following data are the linguistic results of the census as they appeared in the Belgian Official Journal. Here the language shift from Luxembourgish to French is clearly visible, NL, Dutch FR, French DE, German Language that is mostly or exclusively spoken Known languages These are the municipalities, with their sections and villages, in the Land of Arlon
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Partitions of Luxembourg
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There have been three Partitions of Luxembourg between 1659 and 1839. Together, the three partitions reduced the territory of Luxembourg from 10,700 km2 to the area of 2,586 km2 over a period of 240 years. The remainder forms parts of modern day Belgium, France, all three countries bordering Luxembourg have, at one point or another, sought the complete annexation of Luxembourg, but all such attempts have failed. Conversely, there have been movements to reverse Luxembourgs loss of territory, but none of these came to fruition. The first partition of Luxembourg occurred in 1659, when the Duchy of Luxembourg was in union with the Kingdom of Spain. During the Franco-Spanish War, France and England had captured much of the Spanish Netherlands, under the Treaty of the Pyrenees, France received from Luxembourg the fortresses of Stenay, Thionville, and Montmédy, and the surrounding territory. The area taken by France from the Duchy of Luxembourg totalled 1,060 km2 and this area accounted for approximately one-tenth of area of the Duchy of Luxembourg at the time. In 1795, during the French Revolutionary Wars, Luxembourg was annexed into France as part of the département of Forêts. Upon the defeat of Napoleon, under the 1814 Treaty of Paris, Luxembourg was liberated from French rule, there, it was agreed that Luxembourg would be elevated to a Grand Duchy, and that the House of Orange would receive all of the Low Countries, including Luxembourg. As the rest of Luxembourg was changing hands anyway, the Dutch did not attempt to argue this point, the Second Partition reduced Luxembourgs territory by 2,280 km2, or 24% of Luxembourgs contemporary area. Along with Bitburg, Prussia gained the towns of Neuerburg, Sankt Vith, Schleiden, all together, the lands had a population of 50,000. Today, these belong to both Germany and Belgium, the district of Eupen-Malmedy was ceded by Germany to Belgium in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles. The largest loss of land occurred under the 1839 Treaty of London, the London Conference of 1838–39 held prior to the signing of the treaty considered a number of proposals which had evolved over the previous decade. The first proposal was that the whole of Luxembourg would remain in personal union with the Netherlands, Leopold agreed, and the treaty was signed on the 15 November 1831. Although the Dutch King William I rejected this suggestion at first, after the stand-off had dragged on for years, he gave way. In the Third Partition, Luxembourg lost all of its territories, including the towns of Arlon, Aubange, Bastogne, Durbuy, Marche-en-Famenne, Neufchâteau. They later formed the Belgian Luxembourg province, which is now a Walloon province, the territory ceded to Belgium was 4,730 km2, or 65% of the territory of the Grand Duchy at the time. The population of territory was 175,000, half of Luxembourgs total population
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Belgian Revolution
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The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The people of the south were mainly Dutch-speaking Flemings and French-speaking Walloons, both peoples were traditionally Roman Catholic as contrasted with Dutch Protestants in the north. Many outspoken liberals regarded King William Is rule as despotic, there were high levels of unemployment and industrial unrest among the working classes. On 25 August 1830 riots erupted in Brussels and shops were looted, theatre goers who had just watched a nationalistic romanticist opera joined the mob. Uprisings followed elsewhere in the country, factories were occupied and machinery destroyed. Order was restored briefly after William committed troops to the Southern Provinces but rioting continued and leadership was taken up by radicals, Dutch units saw the mass desertion of recruits from the southern provinces, and pulled out. The States-General in Brussels voted in favour of secession and declared independence, in the aftermath, a National Congress was assembled. King William refrained from future military action and appealed to the Great Powers, the resulting 1830 London Conference of major European powers recognized Belgian independence. Following the installation of Leopold I as King of the Belgians in 1831, King William made a military attempt to reconquer Belgium. This Ten Days Campaign failed because of French military intervention, not until 1839 did the Dutch accept the decision of the London conference and Belgian independence by signing the Treaty of London. The Dutch overthrew Napoleonic rule in 1813 and, after the British-Dutch Treaty of 1814, symptomatic of the tenor of diplomatic bargaining at Vienna was the early proposal to reward Prussia for its staunch fight against Napoleon with the former Habsburg territory. When the British insisted on retaining the former Dutch Ceylon and the Cape Colony the new kingdom of the Netherlands was compensated with these southern provinces. The union of two areas reverted to the original cultural area of the Netherlands before the 16th century and were called the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Belgian Revolution had many causes and consequences, the causes were the domination of the Dutch over the economic, political. Catholic bishops in the south viewed the Protestant-majority north with suspicion and this rule, originated in 1815 by Maurice-Jean de Broglie, the French nobleman who was bishop of Ghent, caused an under-representation of Southerners in government apparatus and the army. The traditional economy of trade and an incipient Industrial Revolution were also centred in the present day Netherlands, furthermore, although 62% of the population lived in the South, they were assigned the same number of representatives in the States General. At the most basic level, the North was for free trade, King William I was from the North, lived in the present day Netherlands, and largely ignored the demands for greater autonomy. A linguistic reform in 1823 was intended to make Dutch the official language in the Flemish provinces and this reform met with strong opposition from the upper and middle classes who at the time were mostly French-speaking
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Arrondissements of Belgium
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Arrondissements of Belgium are subdivisions below the provinces of Belgium. There are administrative, judicial and electoral arrondissements and these may or may not relate to identical geographical areas. The 43 administrative arrondissements are a level between the municipalities and the provinces. Brussels-Capital forms a single arrondissement for all 19 municipalities in the region by that name, Belgium had 27 judicial arrondissements until April 1,2014. Until 1999 the electoral districts for the election of the parliaments were electoral arrondissements, the arrondissement of Brussels-Capital is not part of any province and consequently forms its own electoral district
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Municipalities of Belgium
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As such, only Antwerp, having over 500,000 inhabitants, became subdivided into nine districts. The Belgian arrondissements, a level between province and municipality, or the lowest judicial level, are in English sometimes called districts as well. The municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants were grouped in so-called canton municipalities, in 1800, these canton municipalities were abolished again and the number of autonomous municipalities became 2,776. Not much changed during the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, only a number of municipalities were merged. In 1831, Belgium was divided into 2,739 municipalities, New municipalities were created until 1928. There were 2,528 municipalities in 1850,2,572 in 1875,2,617 in 1900 and this also includes the municipalities of the East Cantons that were added to Belgium following the First World War. In 1961, the so-called Unitary Law, of which the chapter was dedicated to the territorial organisation of the municipalities, was adopted. The authority to abolish municipalities was entrusted to the branch for a period of 10 years. Municipalities could be merged on financial grounds or on grounds of a geographical, linguistic, economic, in 1964 and in 1969 and 1970, roughly 300 municipalities ceased to exist and were subsumed into other municipalities. The number of municipalities was reduced from 2,663 in 1961 to 2,586 in 1965, article 4 of the constitution states that each municipality must belong to only one of the four official language areas that were established in 1962–63. In the three officially unilingual language areas, a couple of municipalities in the vicinity of another language area must provide limited facilities for speakers of that other language. Lucien Harmegnies, Minister of the Interior in the government of Gaston Eyskens decided to continue the process of reorganization of Belgium. In 1971, the provisions of the Unity Law were extended and modified to apply to large agglomerations and it was another Minister of the Interior, Joseph Michel, who managed the process. On December 30,1975, the law regarding the merger of the municipalities was adopted, the merger became effective on January 1,1977. The merger of 1977 further reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium from 2,359 to 596, because of the specific nature of the reorganization in Antwerp, the law of December 30,1975 didnt enter into force for Antwerp until January 1,1983. The formerly independent municipalities were called districts and were given an advisory function, however, on January 1,2001 they were given an administrative function again. The Mayor is not only the head of the municipality, he or she is also the representative of the Regional, in that capacity, he or she is responsible for the execution of laws, decrees, ordinances and orders. The Mayor is also responsible for the maintenance of order in his or her municipality
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Aubange
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Aubange is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the Province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2012 the municipality, which covers 45.6 km², had 16,042 inhabitants and it is the third municipality of the Province of Luxembourg regarding the number of inhabitants but it is also among the smallest ones in terms of area. Aubange was a municipality itself before the reorganization of the Belgian municipalities in 1977, at that time, it was amalgamated with Athus, Halanzy and Rachecourt to become what exists today. Aubange is located in the Lorraine region in the south of Belgium just next to France, the municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Aubange proper, Athus, Halanzy, and Rachecourt. Other population centers include, Aix-sur-Cloie, Battincourt, and Guerlange, the following graph represents the growing of the population in the municipality since 1990. The village of Aubange itself contains about 4,000 inhabitants, for a long time, Aubange has been linked with siderurgy. There were two big factories in Athus and in Halanzy and also a mine, but because of the concurrence of the foreign markets, siderurgy as not profitable anymore and all the factories closed one after another in the whole area. Now the politics have tried to found new ways to develop the economy, there are three railway stations in the municipality, in Athus, in and in Halanzy. The municipality is located nearby the highway E411 which links Brussels to Luxemburg City and it is situated at 30 kilometers from the capital of the Grand-Duchy and from its international airport. List of protected sites in Aubange Media related to Aubange at Wikimedia Commons
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Bastogne
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Bastogne is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, the town is situated on a ridge in the Ardennes at an elevation of 510 metres. At the time of the Roman conquest the region of Bastogne was inhabited by the Treveri, a form of the name Bastogne was first mentioned only much later, in 634, when the local lord ceded these territories to the St Maximins Abbey, near Trier. A century later, the Bastogne area went to the nearby Prüm Abbey, the town of Bastogne and its marketplace are again mentioned in an 887 document. By the 13th century, Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1332, John the Blind, his son, granted the city its charter and had it encircled by defensive walls, part of which, the current Porte de Trèves, still exists. The city’s walls were quite effective at protecting it during the times that followed. The city’s economy actually flourished thanks to the renown of its agricultural, the walls repelled a Dutch attack successfully in 1602. In 1688, they were dismantled by order of King Louis XIV when the town was occupied by French forces during the Nine Years War, the 19th century and Belgiums independence were favourable to Bastogne, as its forest products and cattle fairs became better known abroad. Several railway lines were built to link it to the neighbouring towns and this all came to an end with the German occupation during World War I. Liberated by the Allies in September 1944, Bastogne was attacked by German forces a few months later. Hitlers idea was to control of the Ardennes, splitting British from American forces, then advance to and reoccupy the strategic port of Antwerp. On December 16, taking advantage of cold and fog, German artillery initiated the Battle of the Bulge attacking the American divisions deployed sparsely around Bastogne. On December 22, German emissaries asked for the American surrender, to which the General answered tersely, “Nuts. ”The next day the skies cleared, allowing Allied air forces to retaliate and to much needed food, medicine. On December 26, the Third U. S. Army under the command of General Patton arrived, the official end of the Battle of Bastogne occurred three weeks later, when all fighting in the area ceased. Bastogne is the terminus of the Liberty Road, the way that marks the path of liberating Allied forces. The municipality of Bastogne comprises five sections which were separate municipalities before a merger in 1977, each contains a number of villages. The 101st Airborne Museum includes dioramas and more about the experiences of soldiers, the Bastogne Barracks museum is free and operated by the Belgian Army. It is located in the used as the headquarters of the U. S
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Bertrix
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Bertrix is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 137.7 km², had 8,164 inhabitants, Bertrix is home to the NATO reserve Jehonville Air Base. The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Bertrix proper, Auby-sur-Semois, Cugnon, Jehonville, other population centers include, Bertrix railway station, in the east of the town, has regular train services to Libramont, Dinant and Virton. On week-days trains run via Virton and Aubange to Arlon, Bertrix is twinned with, Charmes France Rusca Montana Church Point, Louisiana List of protected heritage sites in Bertrix Media related to Bertrix at Wikimedia Commons
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Bouillon
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Bouillon a is a municipality in Belgium. It lies in the countrys Walloon Region and Luxembourg Province, the municipality, which covers 149.09 km², had 5,477 inhabitants, giving a population density of 36.7 inhabitants per km². Bouillon has a few schools, a lycée and a gymnasium, banks, Bouillon Castle still sits above the town centre, and is a popular tourist attraction. In the Middle Ages Bouillon was a lordship within the Duchy of Lower Lorraine, in the 11th century they dominated the area, and held the ducal title along with many other titles in the region. Bouillon was the location of the mint and the dominant urban concentration in the dukes possession. There is a misconception that Bouillon was a County. While the lords of Bouillon often were counts and dukes, Bouillon itself was not a county, an example of the latter is the Advocacy of the monastery of Saint-Hubert en Ardennes, which was granted to Godfrey II by the prince-bishop of Liège. The most famous of the Lords of Bouillon was Godfrey of Bouillon, a leader of the First Crusade and he sold Bouillon Castle to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The duchy was prized for its location as the key to the Ardennes. It remained a quasi-independent protectorate, like Orange and Monaco, until 1795, after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, the city was given to the Netherlands in the 1815 Treaty of Paris. It has been part of Belgium since the Revolution of 1830,988 - First mention of the castle of Bouillon in a letter to Godfrey the Captive from his brother, Archbishop Adalberon of Reims. 1045 - Godfrey the Bearded rebels against the emperor, who has the castle destroyed,1065 - Godfrey the Bearded comes to terms with the emperor and rebuilds the castle in Bouillon. Pursuant to the treaty, Godfrey and his three successors retain the right to repurchase the castle at the price but have no money to make good this privilege. 1129 - Godfreys indirect successor, Count Renaud of Bar, captures Bouillon Castle by force,1141 - The prince-bishop of Liège expels Count Renaud from Bouillon. 1155 - The Holy Roman Emperor confirms the rights to Bouillon. 1291 - The prince-bishops of Liège start to style themselves Dukes of Bouillon, 14th century - Bouillon Castle, as an exclave of the prince-bishopric of Liège, is governed by specially appointed castellans. 1415 - The office of castellan becomes a possession of the van der Marck family. 1482 - William de la Marck has Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège assassinated and succeeded by his own son John van der Marck, another part of the chapter elects John van der Horn as an anti-bishop, thus plunging the prince-bishopric into a civil war
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Chiny
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Chiny is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 113.69 km2, had 5,021 inhabitants, the name Chiny also refers historically to a former county, larger than the current municipality. Chiny is located on the boundary between the regions of the Gaume and the Ardennes. The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Chiny proper, Izel, Jamoigne, Les Bulles, Suxy, other population centers include, The French blazon reads, D’azur à trois poissons d’argent posés en fasce et surmontés d’une couronne d’or. The municipality’s arms might in English heraldic language be described thus, the first dynasty ruled from 980 to 1384. From 980, Arnoul of Burgundy-Granson, a descendant of Charlemagne and his son Othon of Warcq, left his small fortress on the Meuse to site the Château de Chiny on a rocky spur overlooking the river. In the eleventh century, the Château was a barrier in the region. The area that was ruled by the count was huge,246 towns,57 castles,1412 villages, the fourth Count, Louis II, loved hunting parties and held them in his huge game park starting in 1040. Louis II built a shrine to the springs healing powers. The shrine became famous, with pilgrims who came to implore the grace of Saint-Thibault. Later, monks from Calabria, Italy, founded a Monastery nearby at Orval, Arnoul, a successor, regularly confronted Count Godfrey of Bouillon, leader of the first Crusade and nephew of Queen Mathilde. They eventually became friends and Arnoul entrusted Godfrey both his sons, Otto and Louis, to part in the first Crusade. Returning from the Crusade, Otto, was in turn count of Chiny, the Calabrian monks left in 1108, and the Cistercians revived Orval. Louis IV was the last count of the first dynasty, having no son, he prepared Jeanne, his eldest daughter, as his successor. Louis IV marked his reign by the first postage stamp in the county, in marrying Jeanne, Arnulf of Looz became the first Count of the second dynasty. He was notable as the builder of the fortress of Montmedy and their son, Louis V held a tournament of chivalry in 1285 that was regarded as the finest in the Middle Ages, at the village de Chauvency-le-Château. Over 500 knights of Europe attended this tournament and were memorialized in song by the bard Jacques Bretel, Louis V enjoyed great notoriety as a result. His heart, per his last wishes, was embalmed and buried in a box in front of the altar at Saint-Thibault
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Durbuy
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Durbuy is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2007 the municipality had 10,633 inhabitants, the total area is 156.61 km², giving a population density of 67.9 inhabitants per km². The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Durbuy proper, Barvaux, Bende, Bomal, Borlon, Grandhan, Heyd, Izier, Septon, Tohogne, Villers-Sainte-Gertrude, in medieval times Durbuy was an important centre of commerce and industry. In 1331, the town was elevated to the rank of city by John I, Count of Luxemburg, in 1628 Anthonie II Schetz obtains the Seigneurie of Durbuy, by permision of Felipe IV of Spain. One of the connected to the city was the son of Lancelot II, Charles Hubert Augustin Schetz. In 1756 the decendants of the House of Schetz obtain the Castle, since then the House of Ursel resides in the Castle. The current castle was built in 1880, the Ourthe river flows through the municipality. Tourism and recreation are its main activities nowadays
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Florenville
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Florenville is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2016 the municipality had 5,639 inhabitants, the total area is 146.91 km², giving a population density of 38.38 inhabitants per km². It is located on the Semois River, facing the French border, the municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Florenville proper, Chassepierre, Fontenoille, Lacuisine, Muno, Sainte-Cécile, and Villers-devant-Orval. Other population centers include, Azy, Conques, Laiche, Martué, Lambermont, Le Menil, orval Abbey is located in Villers-devant-Orval. List of protected sites in Florenville Union des Villes et Communes Wallones SPF Economy Media related to Florenville at Wikimedia Commons Florenville official website
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Gouvy
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Gouvy is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 165.11 km², had 4,780 inhabitants, the municipality was created in 1977 from the amalgamation of the former municipalities of Beho, Bovigny, Cherain, Limerlé, and Montleban. The administrative headquarters are situated in Bovigny, the Ourthe Orientale river originates in the municipality of Gouvy, near the hamlet of Ourthe. It used to have a SNCB station linking it with Bastogne, train traffic is still active on the line between Liège and Luxembourg. List of protected sites in Gouvy Media related to Gouvy at Wikimedia Commons Website of the municipality of Gouvy Gouvy,23 villages
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Habay
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Habay is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 103.64 km², had 7,903 inhabitants, the municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Anlier, Habay-la-Neuve, Habay-la-Vieille, Hachy, Houdemont, and Rulles. Other population centers include, Harinsart, Marbehan, Nantimont, list of protected heritage sites in Habay Media related to Habay at Wikimedia Commons
31.
Herbeumont
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Herbeumont is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 58.81 km², had 1,536 inhabitants, the municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Herbeumont proper, Saint-Médard, and Straimont. Other population centers include, Gribomont, Martilly, and Menugoutte and this resulted in the resignation of minister of interior Johan Vande Lanotte, minister of justice Stefaan De Clerck and the former police chief. List of protected sites in Herbeumont Media related to Herbeumont at Wikimedia Commons
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Hotton
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Hotton is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg. The municipality lies 12 kilometers from Marche-en-Famenne in the Ardennes and has more than 5,400 inhabitants, the first history of Hotton dates from Roman times, when Hotton was an oppidum. Multiple Roman excavations have found at Ti-Château, a strengthened Roman encampment. The village of Hotton was first mentioned in documents as Hottine in 1187. Hotton was part of the county of La Roche till the 16th century. In 1791, Hotton became a free village, in the afternoon of 11 May 1940, Hotton was captured and occupied by the 5th Panzer Division during the Battle of Belgium. Allied forces tried in vain to blow up the bridge over the Ourthe in an attempt to slow down German forces. The current municipality was founded in 1977, when the municipalities of Hampteau, Fronville, the municipality of Hotton consists of three areas of settlement in addition to the village of Hotton itself, Hampteau, Marenne and Fronville. There are also several hamlets, Bourdon, Deulin, Ménil-Favay, Monville, Monteuville, Melreux, Ny, the municipality lies in the Arrondissement of Marche-en-Famenne, Luxembourg Province. In the west it borders Namur Province, Hotton is a very popular place with tourists and is known for its speleothem caves, known as the Caves of Hotton. A small Commonwealth war cemetery with 660 graves is also situated just outside Hotton, other tourist attractions are Deulin Castle, the Virgin of Werpin, the Faber Mill and St. Peters Church, Melreux. The well-known annual hot air balloon festival Hottolfiades is held in August, the annual fair claims to be the largest fair of the arrondissement. Former mayor Phillipe Courard, who was mayor between 1995 and 2012, was beaten at the 2012 Belgian local elections after being mayor for seventeen years and he was replaced by Jacques Chaplier of the Entente Communale. List of protected sites in Hotton Media related to Hotton at Wikimedia Commons
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Houffalize
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Houffalize is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 166.58 square kilometres, had 4,802 inhabitants, the municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Houffalize proper, Mabompré, Mont, Nadrin, Tailles, Tavigny, and Wibrin. Houffalize was a location during the Battle of the Bulge of World War II. Specifically, Generals Montgomery and Patton met up here, Montgomery coming from the north and Patton from the south, in their counter-attack against the German forces remaining in the area. The town was flattened on the night of 5–6 January 1945 by ninety RAF Lancasters of Bomber Command to block the key crossroads for German supply columns, Patton was driven to writing a poem in his diary about the bombing. Houffalize is a member of the Douzelage, a unique town twinning association of 24 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries. Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three further towns, list of protected heritage sites in Houffalize Brasserie dAchouffe Official website
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La Roche-en-Ardenne
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La Roche-en-Ardenne is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg and the arrondissement of Marche-en-Famenne. Lying beside a bend in the River Ourthe, the town of La Roche-en-Ardenne is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Ardennes. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 147.52 km², had 4,348 inhabitants, La Roche-en-Ardenne is located between the E25 Liège-Luxembourg and the N4 motorways. More than half of the area is covered in forests and 50 square kilometres is arable land. The division between deciduous and coniferous forests is more or less equal, the municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, La Roche-en-Ardenne proper, Beausaint, Halleux, Hives, Ortho, and Samrée. La Roche is believed to have first been settled in the Neolithic era, there is a Celtic archaeological site dating between 850 and 520 BC. The Romans built a fort there following their conquest of Gaul and the Ardennes. The towns medieval castle was in use between the 9th and 18th centuries and it provided protection to the many barges that plied their trade along the local river systems. In 1331, permission to build city walls was given by John the Blind, King of Bohemia and Poland, in World War II, the town suffered severe damage. Having been liberated by the Allies in September 1944, the town was recaptured by the Germans in December, the subsequent Allied bombing raids resulted in the town being liberated once more in January 1945, but left much of the town destroyed, and 116 residents dead. There is an American Sherman M4A1 tank and a British Achilles SP 17pdr displayed as monuments to the towns liberation. In town also is a memorial to the 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion In 1976 there was a merger of administrative districts in the area resulted in the municipality of La Roche-en-Ardennes. Beausaint, Halleux, Hives, Ortho and Samrée were joined by Marcourt, hiking, kayaking, and mountain biking are among the outdoor pursuits available here. The municipalitys other main activity is agriculture. A business park was established on the plateau Vecmont to diversify the local economy, the ceramic stoneware of La Roche is a local tradition known, initiated in 1836 by Henry Hoffman, a native of Ransbach in the Duchy of Nassau. The production was revived in 1878 by the family Kalb and continued until 2009 by several successors, a permanent exhibition on this tradition. Like other Belgian Municipalities, the town is governed by a Communal College, in 2012, that was the Mayor, Town Clerk and 3 Alderman. An elected City Council determined what local taxes are spent and on what, as of 2012, this had a membership of 9 councillors. Municipality website History of La Roche AP news report on the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge
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Libin
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Libin is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 139.72 km², had 4,655 inhabitants, the municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Libin proper, Anloy, Ochamps, Redu, Smuid, Transinne, and Villance. Other population centers include, Glaireuse, Hamaide, Lesse, Libin-Bas, Libin-Haut, Redu is famous for its bookshops, and for hosting a large European Space Agency ground station. Also in the municipality is the Euro Space Center tourist attraction, list of protected heritage sites in Libin Media related to Libin at Wikimedia Commons
Belgium
Wallonia
Luxemburg (help·info); German: Luxemburg; Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerg; Walloon: Lussimbork) is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the east) the country of Luxembourg, France, and the Belgian provinces of Namur and Liège. Its capital is Arlon (Luxembourgish: Arel, Dutch: Aarlen), in the south-east of the province.-fr.png)
