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- This article deals with the historical duchy of Limburg, for other meanings see Limburg.
The Duchy of Limburg was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of parts of the present Belgian provinces Liège (northeastern part) and Limburg (a.o. Voeren, Rekem), the Dutch province of Limburg (southern part), and a small part of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany (a.o. Herzogenrath).
In Roman times, Limburg was situated in the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and inhabited by Celtic tribes, until Germanic peoples replaced them and made an end to roman imperial rule.
Its most important cities were Limbourg and Eupen. Linguistically it belonged to the Low Dietsch dialect of the Dutch language.
Today the historic Duchy of Limburg is territorially divided up between Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
History
The Duchy of Limburg, situated in the Low Countries between the river Meuse and the city of Aachen, was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and the German Confederation. Its territory is presently divided between the Belgian provinces of Liège and Limburg (Voeren) and the Dutch province of Limburg.
The duchy was formed in the 11th century around the town of Limbourg in present-day Belgium. After Irmgard, last Duchess of Limburg, died childless in 1283, a war of succession broke out. The Duke of Brabant won the Battle of Worringen in 1288, thereby gaining control of the Duchy of Limburg. Limburg remained a separate entity both under the rule of Burgundy after 1430 and that of the Habsburgs after 1477. Combined with the Landen van Overmaas (the lands across the Meuse: Dalhem, Herzogenrath and Valkenburg), it was one of the Seventeen Provinces. Significant towns in Limburg proper were Herve, Montzen, Lontzen, Eupen, Baelen and Esneux.
At the Peace of Westphalia which ended the Eighty Years' War in 1648, an area known as Staats-Limburg and consisting of parts of Limburg and Overmaas was ceded to the United Provinces. In 1661, the Dutch and the Spanish agreed on the partition of the county of Dalhem. The remainder of the duchy (including Limburg proper) remained under Spanish rule as part of the Southern Netherlands, passing to Austrian rule under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.
When the region was occupied by the French in 1794, Staats-Limburg became part of the département of Meuse-Inférieure. The Austrian duchy of Limburg was disbanded and became part of the département of Ourte.
See also
External links
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