Gaume () is a region in the extreme southeast of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. At a lower altitude than the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

, it borders the French region of

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

to the south (although some consider the bordering parts of Lorraine to be Gaume française), the Land of Arlon (Luxembourgish: Arelerland) to the east, and 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 till 1839, when it was integrated in the newly created Belgian province of Luxembourg. It is composed of the districts of Chiny, Étalle,

Florenville Florenville (; Gaumais: ''Floravile'') is a city and municipality in the province of Luxembourg, Wallonia, Belgium. It is located in the southwest part of the country bordering France, on the banks of the Semois river. Spread across an area of ...

Habay Habay (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 103.64 km2, had 7,903 inhabitants, giving a populati ...

, Meix-devant-Virton, Musson, Rouvroy,

Tintigny Tintigny (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2015 the municipality had 4,200 inhabitants. Its total area is 81.79 km2, giving it a ...

and Virton, but some villages in the northern districts are not in Gaume (as Suxy or Hachy). Historically, the area around Montmédy, Carignan and Charency-Vezin, that was ceded to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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 Montmédy, almost all of the canton of Carignan and parts of the cantons of Damvillers and Longuyon. 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 because of a distinctive

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

. Gaume is a popular destination for tourism in Belgium. The

Lorrain language Lorrain, also known as Lorrain roman, is a ''langue d'oïl'' spoken by a minority of people in the region of Lorraine (region), Lorraine in northeastern France, as well as in some parts of Alsace and Gaume in Belgium. It is often referred to as ...

, a langue d'oïl that is distinct from the

Walloon language Walloon (; natively ; ) 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, United States ...

, is a minority language in Gaume, where it is known as ''gaumais''. Although it is declining, several local authors are trying to revive its usage. Lorrain is recognized 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 Luxembourgish of Arlon; and known as the ''Semoy'' in France) is a river flowing from the Ardennes uplands of Belgium a ...

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

External links

Gaumais museum - official website

Parc Naturel de Gaume - official website
{{Authority control Geography of Luxembourg (Belgium) Regions of Wallonia Areas of Belgium Virton

Gallery

See also

External links