Gaume () is a region in the extreme southeast of

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 ...

. At a lower altitude than the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

, it borders the French region of

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

to the south (although some consider the bordering parts of Lorraine to be Gaume française), the Land of Arlon (Luxembourgish: Arelerland) to the east the Belgian part of the

to the north. In cultural terms, Gaume is the Romance-speaking part of what is now called Belgian Lorraine, Arelerland being its Luxembourgish-speaking part. Gaume was part of the

Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

till 1839, when 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 Musson (; wa, grand Mson; lb, Ëmsong) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 the municipality, which covers 34.81 km², had 4,508 inhabitants, giving a population density of 129 ...

, Rouvroy, Tintigny and

Virton Virton (; Gaumais: ''Viertån''; wa, Vierton) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. It is also the administrative centre of the district (''arrondissement'') of the same name, as well as the pr ...

, but some villages in the northern districts are not in Gaume (as

Suxy Chiny (; wa, Tchini) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 the municipality, which covers , had 5,175 inhabitants, giving a population density of 46 inhabitants per km2. The ...

or Hachy). Historically, the area around

Montmédy Montmédy (, german: Mittelberg) is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Citadel of Montmédy In 1221 the first castle of Montmédy was built on top of a hill by the Count of Chiny. Montmédy soon became th ...

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterr ...

and

Charency-Vezin Charency-Vezin () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department of France. ...

, that was ceded to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

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 called French Luxembourg. It consists of the canton of

, almost all of the canton of

and parts of the cantons of Damvillers and

Longuyon Longuyon () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The inhabitants are called ''Longuyonnais''. Geography Longuyon is located at the confluence of the Chiers and Crusnes rivers and ...

. It largely corresponds with the now French part of the county of Chiny. The unofficial capital of the Gaume region is

. Temperatures in this region are often 1 °C to 3 °C higher than in other parts of 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 ...

because of a distinctive

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...

. Gaume is a popular destination for

tourism in Belgium Tourism in Belgium is one of Belgium's industries. Its accessibility from elsewhere in Europe makes it a popular tourist destination. The tourist industry generates 2.8% of Belgium's gross domestic product and employs 3.3% of the working populati ...

. The

Lorrain language Lorrain is a language (often referred to as patois) spoken by now a minority of people in Lorraine in France, small parts of Alsace and in Gaume in Belgium. It is a langue d'oïl. It is classified as a regional language of France and has th ...

, a langue d'oïl that is distinct from the

Walloon language Walloon (; natively ; french: wallon) is a Romance language that is spoken in much of Wallonia and (to a very small extent) in Brussels, Belgium; some villages near Givet, northern France; and a clutch of communities in northeastern Wisconsin, ...

, 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 regional language of Wallonia.

Gallery

Image:Tintigny JPG01.jpg, The Church of Tintigny Image:Florenville_050422_(4).JPG, The

Semois The Semois (; ''Simwès'' in Walloon, often under elided form ''Smwès''; ''Semoy'', ''Sesbach'' in German, ''Setzbaach'' in Luxemburgish of Arlon; and known as the ''Semoy'' in France) is a river flowing from the Ardennes uplands of Belgium an ...

river near Florenville Forest in Gaume.jpg, Forest in Gaume

External links

Gaumais museum - official websiteParc Naturel de Gaume - official website
Geography of Luxembourg (Belgium) Regions of Wallonia Areas of Belgium Virton {{LuxembourgBE-geo-stub