Durbuy

Durbuy

*Derbu* (Walloon)
Durbuy Derbu (Walloon)
Municipality
	Coat of arms
	Location of Durbuy
	Durbuy Location in Belgium Location of Durbuy in Luxembourg province
	Coordinates: 50°21.13′N 05°27.38′E / 50.35217°N 5.45633°E
Country	Belgium
Community	French Community
Region	Wallonia
Province	Luxembourg
Arrondissement	Marche-en-Famenne
Government
• Mayor	Philippe Bontemps (cdH, Liste du bourgmestre)
• Governing party/ies	Liste du bourgmestre
Area
• Total	157.08 km2 (60.65 sq mi)
Population (2021-12-01)
• Total	11,637
• Density	74/km2 (190/sq mi)
Postal codes	6940, 6941
NIS code	83012
Area codes	086
Website	www.durbuy.be

Durbuy (French pronunciation: [dyʁ.bɥi] ^ⓘ; Walloon: Derbu) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium.

The total area is 156.61 km², consisting of the following districts: Barvaux, Bende, Bomal, Borlon, Durbuy, Grandhan, Heyd, Izier, Septon, Tohogne, Villers-Sainte-Gertrude, and Wéris.

On 1 January 2018 the municipality had 11,374 inhabitants^[2] with the most populous town of the municipality being Barvaux. Durbuy, for commercial reasons, often calls itself the world's smallest city, although Belgium's official smallest city, since 2006, is Mesen.

History

In medieval times, Durbuy was an important centre of commerce and industry. In 1331, the town was elevated to the rank of city by John I, Count of Luxemburg, and King of Bohemia.

In 1628 Anthonie II Schetz obtains the Seigneurie of Durbuy, by permission of Felipe IV of Spain. One of the people connected to the city was the son of Lancelot II: Charles Hubert Augustin Schetz, (1662-1726), Count of Durbuy. In 1756 the descendants of the House of Schetz obtain the Castle. Since then the House of Ursel resides in the Castle. The current castle was built in 1880.^[3]

The Ourthe river flows through the municipality.

Tourism and recreation are its main activities nowadays. Durbuy is often represented, by itself and by tourism promoters, as 'the smallest city of the world'.