| 122nd | Top forts |
| Bouillon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
|
|||
 |
|||
  Bouillon
Location in Belgium
|
|||
| Sovereign state |  Belgium |
||
| Region |  Wallonia |
||
| Community | French Community |
||
| Province |  Luxembourg |
||
| Arrondissement | Neufchâteau | ||
| Coordinates | 49°47′0″N 05°04′0″E / 49.783333°N 5.066667°ECoordinates: 49°47′0″N 05°04′0″E / 49.783333°N 5.066667°E | ||
| Area | 149.09 km² | ||
| Population – Males – Females – Density |
5,455 (2006-01-01) 48.95% 51.05% 37 inhab./km² |
||
| Age distribution 0–19 years 20–64 years 65+ years |
(01/01/2006) 22.20% 56.28% 21.52% |
||
| Foreigners | 5.94% (01/07/2005) | ||
| Unemployment rate | 15.14% (1 January 2006) | ||
| Mean annual income | €10,594/pers. (2003) | ||
| Mayor | André Defat (ACTION) | ||
| Governing parties | DEES, UNION, ACTION | ||
| Postal codes | 6830, 6831, 6832, 6833, 6834, 6836, 6838 |
||
| Area codes | 061 | ||
| Website | www.bouillon.be | ||
Bouillon is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's 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.
Contents |
In the Middle Ages Bouillon was a lordship within the Duchy of Lower Lorraine and the principal seat of the Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty in the 10th and 11th century. 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 ducal mint and the dominant urban concentration in the dukes' possession.[1]
There is a common misconception that Bouillon was a County. While the lords of Bouillon often were counts and dukes, Bouillon itself was not a county. The fortification of Bouillon Castle was, along with the County of Verdun, the core of the possessions of the Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty, and their combined territory was a complex mixture of fiefs, allodial land and other hereditary rights throughout the area. An example of the latter is the Advocacy of the monastery of Saint-Hubert en Ardennes, which was granted to Godfrey II by the Bishop of Liège.[2]
The most famous of the Lords of Bouillon was Godfrey of Bouillon, who sold Bouillon Castle to the Bishopric of Liege. The bishops started to call themselves dukes of Bouillon, and the town emerged as the capital of a sovereign duchy by 1678, when it was captured from the bishopric by the French army and given to the La Tour d'Auvergne family. The duchy was prized for its strategic location as "the key to the Ardennes" (as Vauban called it) and hence to France itself. It remained a quasi-independent protectorate, like Orange and Monaco, until 1795, when the Republican Army finally annexed it to France.
Bouillon has a few schools, a lycée (middle school) and a gymnasium (high school), banks and a square place.
The town sits in a sharp bend of the river Semois (German: Sesbach, Walloon: Simwès, in France : Semoy) whose total length is 210 km. The surrounding area is largely forested.
Bouillon Castle still sits above the town centre, and is a popular tourist attraction.
| Year | Population | Area | Density |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 5,393 (2,649 males and 2,744 females) | 148.94 km² | 36.21/km² |
|
|||||||||||||||||||
BOUILLON, formerly the seat of a dukedom in the Ardennes, now a small town in the Belgian province of Luxemburg. Pop. (1904) 2721. It is most picturesquely situated in the valley under the rocky ridge on which are still the very well preserved remains of the castle of Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the first crusade. The town, 690 ft. above the sea, but lying in a basin, skirts both banks of the river Semois which is crossed by two bridges. The stream forms a loop round and almost encircles the castle, from which there are beautiful views of the sinuous valley and the opposite well-wooded heights. The whole effect of the grim castle, the silvery stream and the verdant woods makes one of the most striking scenes in Belgium. In the 8th and 9th centuries Bouillon was one of the castles of the counts of Ardenne and Bouillon. In the 10th and 11th centuries. the family took the higher titles of dukes of Lower Lorraine and Bouillon. These dukes all bore the name of Godfrey (Godefroy) and the fifth of them was the great crusader. He was the son of Eustace, count of Boulogne, which has led many commentators into the error of saying that Godfrey of Bouillon was, born at the French port, whereas he was really born in the castle of Baisy near Genappe and Waterloo. His mother was Ida d'Ardenne, sister of the fourth Godfrey ("the Hunchback"),. and the successful defence of the castle when a mere youth of seventeen on her behalf was the first feat of arms of the future conqueror of Jerusalem. This medieval fortress, strong by art as well as position before the invention of modern artillery, has since undergone numerous sieges. In order to undertake the crusade Godfrey sold the castle of Bouillon to the prince bishop of Liege, and the title of duke of Bouillon remained the appendage of the bishopric till 1678, or for 580 years. The bishops appointed "chatelains," one of whom was the celebrated "Wild Boar of the Ardennes," William de la Marck. His descendants made themselves quasi-independent and called themselves princes of Sedan and dukes of Bouillon, and they were even recognized by the king of France. The possession of Bouillon thenceforward became a constant cause of strife until in 1678 Louis XIV. garrisoned it under the treaty of Nijmwegen. From 1594 to 1641 the duchy remained vested in the French family of La Tour d'Auvergne, one of whom (Henry, viscount of Turenne and marshal of France) had married in 1591 Charlotte de la Marck, the last of her race. In 1676 the duke of Crequy seized it in the name of Louis XIV., who in 1678 gave it to Godefroy Marie de La Tour d'Auvergne, whose descendants continued in possession till 1795. Bouillon remained French till 1814, and Vauban called it "the key of the Ardennes." In 1760 the elder Rousseau established here the famous press of the Encyclopaedists. In 1814-1815, before the decrees of the Vienna Congress were known, an extraordinary attempt was made by Philippe d'Auvergne of the British navy, the cousin and adopted son of the last duke, to revive the ancient duchy of Bouillon. The people of Bouillon freely recognized him, and Louis XVIII. was well pleased with the arrangement, but the congress assigned Bouillon to the Netherlands. Napoleon III. on his way to Germany after Sedan slept one night in the little town, which is a convenient centre for visiting that battlefield.
|
Bouillotte >> |
Contents |
Wikipedia de
Bouillon f. (genitive Bouillon, plural Bouillons)
Bouillon is an ancient town on the Semois River in the Ardennes. It was long known for the ducal title connected with it. In current administrative terms, it is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Luxembourg Province.
Bouillon in the 11th century was held by the Counts of Ardennes, whom German kings invested with the Dukedom of Lower Lorraine. Because Bouillon was their chief stronghold. Bouillon was not yet a duchy. In 1096 the Bishopic of Leige received the town, and the bishops thereafter often styled themselves Dukes of Bouillon. One Guillaume de La Marck received Bouillon in 1482; and, although Liege took it back twice in the following century, Bouillon — now formally a dukedom — eventually descended, by marriage, to Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne in 1591. The duchy remained in this line until 1794, when Bouillon declared itself a republic (it was annexed by France the next year). On the defeat of Napoleonic France, the victorious powers in November 1815 gave the sovereignty, with Luxembourg, to the Netherlands. The Ducal title was adjudged in 1816 to Charles-Alain Gabriel de Rohan, duc de Montbazon (a descendant of Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne), in whose family it remains. On the partition of Luxembourg in 1831, Bouillon became Belgian.
The town, a popular summer resort, is noted for its well-preserved medieval castle, which is located in the Ardennes Hills above the town.
Template:Municipalities in Luxembourg
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |  |
   | Webpage about the fortifications - Fortified Places > Fortresses > Bouillon |
| | Map of Luxembourg and Bouillon in 1789 - Map of the Duchy of Luxembourg 1789 |
| | Tourist attractions in Bouillon - Bouillon Attractions - Belgium - A Belgium Attraction |
|
|
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
Map
Misc
Search
