Bouillon
Encyclopedia
Bouillon is a municipality
in 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.
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.
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
.
The most famous of the Lords of Bouillon
was Godfrey of Bouillon
, a leader of the First Crusade
and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
. He sold Bouillon Castle to the Bishopric of Liège. 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.
Municipalities of Belgium
Belgium comprises 589 municipalities grouped into five provinces in each of two regions and into a third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, comprising 19 municipalities that do not belong to a province...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. 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
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 36.7 inhabitants per km².
History
In the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Bouillon was a lordship within the Duchy of Lower Lorraine and the principal seat of the Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty
Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty
The Ardennes-Verdun dynasty is used as a label on the dynasty centered on Verdun who dominated Lotharingia in the 11th century.The founder of the dynasty was Godfrey, known as the Captive. He was a son of Count Gozlin, brother of bishop Adalbero of Metz, and Uda, a daughter of Gerard, Count of...
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.
There is a common misconception that Bouillon was a County
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
. 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
Count of Verdun
The counts of Verdun, now in eastern France, were often during the Middle Ages rulers of Lorraine; the descendants of the early counts were also margraves in Tuscany and Latin rulers in the Latin East after the First Crusade....
, the core of the possessions of the Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty
Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty
The Ardennes-Verdun dynasty is used as a label on the dynasty centered on Verdun who dominated Lotharingia in the 11th century.The founder of the dynasty was Godfrey, known as the Captive. He was a son of Count Gozlin, brother of bishop Adalbero of Metz, and Uda, a daughter of Gerard, Count of...
, and their combined territory was a complex mixture of fiefs
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
, allodial land
Allodial title
Allodial title constitutes ownership of real property that is independent of any superior landlord, but it should not be confused with anarchy as the owner of allodial land is not independent of his sovereign...
and other hereditary rights throughout the area
Lower Lorraine
The Duchy of Lower Lorraine or Lower Lotharingia , established in 959 was a stem duchy of the medieval German kingdom, which encompassed part of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, the northern part of the German Rhineland and a part of northern France east of the Schelde river.It was created out...
. An example of the latter is the Advocacy
Advocatus
An advocatus, or advocate, was generally a medieval term meaning "lawyer". The term was also used in continental Europe as the title of the lay lord charged with the protection and representation in secular matters of an abbey, known more fully as an advocatus ecclesiae.-Middle Ages:The office is...
of the monastery of Saint-Hubert en Ardennes
Saint-Hubert, Belgium
Saint-Hubert is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg.On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 111.16 km², had 5,737 inhabitants, giving a population density of 51.6 inhabitants per square kilometre....
, which was granted to Godfrey II
Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Godfrey II , called the Childless, son of Godfrey I, Count of Verdun, was the count of Verdun from his father's death in 1002 and duke of Lower Lorraine after the death in 1012 of the Carolingian Otto, who left no sons....
by the Bishop of Liège
Bishopric of Liège
The Bishopric of Liège or Prince-Bishopric of Liège was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries in present Belgium. It acquired its status as a prince-bishopric between 980 and 985 when Bishop Notger, who had been the bishop of Liege since 972, acquired the status of Prince-Bishop...
.
The most famous of the Lords of Bouillon
Lords of Bouillon
The lordship of Bouillon was in the 10th and 11th century one of the core holdings of the Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty, and appears to have been their original patrimonial possession.Murray, p. 10....
was Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon was a medieval Frankish knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087...
, a leader of the First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
. He sold Bouillon Castle to the Bishopric of Liège. 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
La Tour d'Auvergne
La Tour d'Auvergne was a French noble family. Its senior branch, extinct in 1501, held the titles of count of Auvergne and count of Boulogne for about half a century. Its junior branch, extinct in 1802, held the title of duke of Bouillon since 1594 and the titles of duke of Albret and duke of...
family. The duchy was prized for its strategic location as "the key to the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
" (as Vauban
Vauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
called it) and hence to France itself. It remained a quasi-independent protectorate, like Orange
Orange, Vaucluse
Orange is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It has a primarily agricultural economy...
and Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, until 1795, when the Republican Army finally annexed it to France.
Modern town
The town sits in a sharp bend of the river Semois
Semois
The Semois is a river flowing from the Ardennes uplands of Belgium and France towards the River Meuse, of which it is a right tributary....
(German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Sesbach, Walloon
Walloon language
Walloon is a Romance language which was spoken as a primary language in large portions of the Walloon Region of Belgium and some villages of Northern France until the middle of the 20th century. It belongs to the langue d'oïl language family, whose most prominent member is the French language...
: Simwès, in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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.
Villages
- Bellevaux
- Corbion
- Dohan
- La CornetteLa CornetteLa Cornette is a hamlet belonging to the municipality of Bouillon in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. Located in the southern Ardennes.It is a centre for hiking, cycling and horse riding. There is a guesthouse.-External links:*...
- Les Hayons
- Poupehan
- Rochehaut
- Noirefontaine, Belgium
- Sensenruth
- Ucimont
Historical population
| Year | Population | Area | Density |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 5,393 (2,649 males and 2,744 females) | 148.94 km² | 36.21/km² |