The Marquessate of Franchimont was a lordship forming the western frontier of the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as ...

. Its base was

Franchimont Castle Franchimont Castle () is a medieval castle in the municipality of Theux, Liège Province, Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions ...

. It was made up of the bans of

Theux Theux (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 11,571 inhabitants. The total area is 83.36 km2, giving a population density of 139 inhabitants per km2. The mun ...

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

Sart Sart is a name for the settled inhabitants of Central Asia which has had shifting meanings over the centuries. According to Great Soviet Encyclopedia, before the October Revolution of 1917, the name “Sart” was used in ...

Jalhay Jalhay (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Jalhay had a total population of 7,953. The total area is 107.75 km2 which gives a population density of 74 inhabitants per km2. The m ...

and later

Verviers Verviers (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also the cent ...

. The prince-bishops of Liège first took the title of marquis of Franchimont at the start of the 16th century, adding an outer wall to the castle.Arsène de Noüe, « Une promenade au pays de Franchimont », dans ''Bulletin de l'institut archéologique liégeois'', volume 8, 1866, p. 465. Before the 1789

Liège Revolution The Liège Revolution, sometimes known as the Happy Revolution (; ), against the reigning prince-bishop of Liège, started on 18 August 1789 and lasted until the destruction of the Republic of Liège and re-establishment of the Prince-Bishopri ...

, the Marquessate of Franchimont formed a small province within the Prince-Bishopric. This small province, six leagues long by four leagues wide, was bounded in by the

Duchy of Limburg The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the area of the duchy is today located within Liège Province of Belgium, with a small portion in the municipality of Voeren, an Enclave and exclave, excla ...

(to the east), the

Duchy of Luxemburg The Duchy of Luxembourg (; ; ; ) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg. The House of Luxembourg became one of the most important political forces in the 14th century, competing against th ...

(fragmented, to the south and the west) and the

Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy The Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, also Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy, sometimes known with its German name Stablo, was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Princely power was exercised by the Order of Sai ...

(fragmented, to the south and the northwest). The Marquessate was divided into five bans, whose capitals or burghs were: *The ban of

(head-ban) with

Oneux Oneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Oneux is situated on the D941 road, some northeast of Abbeville. Places of interest ONEUX (5).JPG, Saint Martin's Church in Oneux Le Festel, Oneu ...

, La Reid, Polleur, Jehanster and Franchimont *The ban of

with Stembert,

Ensival Ensival () is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Verviers, located in the province of Liège, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland regi ...

and Andrimont *The ban of

*The ban of

In all, it comprised around fifty villages and hamlets.

Notes

References

External links

www.chateau-franchimont.be

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marquessate Of Franchimont Prince-Bishopric of Liège Theux