Ourthe (department)
Former French department (1795–1814)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ourthe (French pronunciation: [uʁt] ⓘ; Dutch: Ourte; German: Urt) was a department of the French First Republic and French First Empire in present-day Belgium and Germany. It was named after the river Ourthe (Oûte). Its territory corresponded more or less with that of the present-day Belgian province of Liège and a small adjacent region in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It was created on 1 October 1795, when the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège were officially annexed by the French Republic.[4] Before this annexation, the territory included in the department had lain partly in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, the Abbacy of Stavelot-Malmedy, the Duchies of Limburg and Luxembourg, and the County of Namur.
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Department of Ourthe | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1795–1814 | |||||||||||||
Location of Ourthe in France (1812) | |||||||||||||
| Status | Department of the French First Republic and the French First Empire | ||||||||||||
| Chef-lieu | Liège 50°27′N 3°57′E | ||||||||||||
| Official languages | French | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | Dutch, German | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
• Creation | 1 October 1795 | ||||||||||||
• Treaty of Paris, disestablished | 30 May 1814 | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
• 1796[1] | 325,278 | ||||||||||||
• 1800[2] | 327,121 | ||||||||||||
• 1812[3] | 352,264 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Today part of | |||||||||||||
After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, most of the department became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands as the province of Liège. The easternmost part (Eupen, Malmedy, Sankt Vith, Kronenburg, Schleiden) became part of the Prussian Rhine Province; part of this (Eupen, Malmedy and Sankt Vith) was taken back into Liège province after the First World War, under the Treaty of Versailles.
Administration
The Chef-lieu of the department was Liège. The department was subdivided into the following three arrondissements and cantons:
- Liège: Dalhem, Fléron, Glons, Herve, Hollogne-aux-Pierres, Liège (4 cantons), Louveigné, Seraing and Waremme.
- Huy: Avennes, Bodegnée, Ferrières, Héron, Huy, Landen and Nandrin.
- Malmedy: Aubel, Néau, Kronenbourg, Limbourg, Malmedy, Saint Vith, Schleiden, Spa, Stavelot, Verviers and Vielsalm.
Prefects
The Prefect was the highest state representative in the department.
Secretaries-General
The Secretary-General was the deputy to the Prefect.
| Term start | Term end | Office holder |
|---|---|---|
| 2 March 1800 | ?? ?? 1806 | Rémy Victor Gaillard |
| ?? ?? 1806 | ?? ?? 1809 | Aubert |
| ?? ?? 1809 | ?? ?? 1811 | Caselli |
| ?? ?? 1811 | 30 May 1814 | Georges Bénigne Liegeard |
Subprefects of Huy
Subprefects of Liège
The office of Subprefect of Liège was held by the Prefect until 1811.
| Term start | Term end | Office holder |
|---|---|---|
| 11 January 1811[7] | 30 May 1814 | Charles Bouziès de Rouvroy |