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Durbuy (; wa, Derbu) is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
of
Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...
located in the
province of Luxembourg Luxembourg (french: Luxembourg ; nl, Luxemburg ; german: Luxemburg ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; wa, Lussimbork), also called Belgian Luxembourg, is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on the country of Luxembourg to the e ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
. The total area is 156.61 km², consisting of the following
districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
: Barvaux, Bende,
Bomal Bomal ( wa, Boumål-so-Oûte) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Durbuy, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Ourthe and Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) ...
, Borlon, Durbuy, Grandhan, Heyd, Izier, Septon, Tohogne,
Villers-Sainte-Gertrude Villers-Sainte-Gertrude ( wa, Viyé-Sinte-Djetrou) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Durbuy, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium.A Gazetteer of the World', volume 2 (Edinburgh, London and Dublin, 1856), p. ...
, and
Wéris Wéris ( wa, Werisse) is a village of Wallonia and district of the municipality of Durbuy, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. The village of Oppagne is part of Wéris. Till 1977 Wéris was a municipality. The village is a member ...
. On 1 January 2018 the municipality had 11,374 inhabitants with the most populous town of the municipality being Barvaux. Durbuy, for commercial reasons, often calls itself the world's smallest city, although Belgium's official smallest town, since 2006, is Mesen.


History

In medieval times, Durbuy was an important centre of commerce and industry. In 1331, the town was elevated to the rank of
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
by John I, Count of Luxemburg, and King of Bohemia. In 1628
Anthonie II Schetz Anthonie Schetz (1564, Antwerp - 1640 or 1641, Brussels), was a military commander in Spanish service during the Eighty Years' War. He was baron (and from 1637 count) of Grobbendonk, lord of Tilburg and Goirle, Pulle and Pulderbos, and Weze ...
obtains the Seigneurie of Durbuy, by permission of Felipe IV of Spain. One of the people connected to the city was the son of Lancelot II: Charles Hubert Augustin Schetz, (1662-1726), Count of Durbuy. In 1756 the descendants of the House of Schetz obtain the Castle. Since then the House of
Ursel Ursel is a Flemish surname: Place Ursel, town in Flanders, part of Knesselare. Name * Noble house d'Ursel, Duke of Ursel, see too: D'Ursel Castle. ** Lancelot II of Ursel ** Charles-Joseph, 4th Duke d'Ursel ** Marie Joseph Charles, 6th Duke ...
resides in the Castle. The current castle was built in 1880.Histoire, contes, légendes du Pays de Durbuy The
Ourthe The Ourthe (; Walloon: ''Aiwe d' Oûte'') is a long river in the Ardennes in Wallonia (Belgium). It is a right tributary to the river Meuse. The Ourthe is formed at the confluence of the ''Ourthe Occidentale'' (Western Ourthe) and the ''Ourthe ...
river flows through the municipality. Tourism and recreation are its main activities nowadays. Durbuy is often represented, by itself and by tourism promoters, as 'the smallest city of the world'.


Gallery

File:20130413 durbuy12.JPG, Castle of the
Ursel family The House of Ursel is the name of an important old Belgian noble family of German origin. The Head of the House is styled the Duke of Ursel, while other members are styled as Count/Countess d'Ursel. History The Ursel family roots ar ...
. File:703durbuyLaPlusPetiteVilleDuMonde.jpg, City limit sign representing Durbuy as the smallest city in the world File:20090710 durbuy34.jpg, Rue des Récollets in Durbuy File:20091017-19 Durbuy (0076).jpg,
Topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...
park in Durbuy


See also

*
List of protected heritage sites in Durbuy This table shows an overview of the protected heritage sites in the Walloon town Durbuy. This list is part of Belgium's national heritage. See also * List of protected heritage ...


References


External links

*
Durbuy municipality, official site: tourism section available in English


{{Authority control Cities in Wallonia Sub-municipalities of Durbuy Municipalities of Luxembourg (Belgium)