Limbourg

During the revolt against Spain, the city was a small Protestant republic.
The city was occupied by the French in 1675. King Louis XIV had the castle and fortifications demolished before it was returned to the Spaniards three years later.
After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, it came in 1815 to the Dutch and much later to the Belgian province of Liège.

A large number of buildings disappeared in a fire in 1834. The buildings that are still standing today – 12 of them and the pavement of the main square are protected as monuments – date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The Gothic Saint George’s Church dates from the 15th century. Little has changed in the cityscape in the last 200 years.
The town has been recognized by the Walloon Region as a “patrimoine majeur” (exceptional cultural heritage).