Faymonville ( wa, Faimonveye, german: Außenborn) is a village of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

and a district of the municipality of

Waimes Waimes (; german: Weismes, ; wa, Waime) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Waimes had a total population of 6,728. The total area is 96.93 km2 which gives a population density of 6 ...

, located in the province of Liège,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Its inhabitants are nicknamed the "Turks" by the neighbouring towns and villages. It is believed that the inhabitants refused to join the crusades against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in the 16th century, and were called as Turks consequently. Another (more likely) reason could be that the inhabitants did not have to pay the taxes collected by the monks of the

Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy The Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, also Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy, sometimes known with its German name Stablo, was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Princely power was exercised by the Benedictine abbot of th ...

for the war against the Turkish empire, since Faymonville was part of the Duchy of Luxembourg, contrary to the other Walloon villages of the area. The inhabitants of these villages therefore would have called the inhabitants of Faymonville the "Turks". To protest, the latter adopted crescent and star as their symbols wearing them and dressing their building. This later became a tradition. It was even once told that when the villagers were to gather in the church, they did not use the bells but a call to church like the call to prayer in Turkey. This has however never been really assessed and should be viewed more as a legend. Every year the town celebrates their connection to Turks and the inhabitants now call themselves Turks. The town was part of the

Eupen-Malmedy Eupen-Malmedy is a small, predominantly German-speaking region in eastern Belgium. It consists of three administrative cantons around the towns of Eupen, Malmedy, and Sankt Vith which encompass some . Elsewhere in Belgium, the region is commonly ...

area transferred from Germany to Belgium in 1919. It was annexed to Germany occupation 1940–1945. During the

battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

, the town was heavily shelled. More than 50% of the buildings were completely destroyed, and most of the remaining ones severely damaged. Today Faymonville forms part of the predominantly francophone Belgian district of

Malmedy Malmedy (; german: Malmünd, ; wa, Måmdiy) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a populati ...

External links

* (fr
On the nickname given to the inhabitants of the town
{{coord , 50.40469, N, 6.13917, E, region:BE_type:city, display=title Waimes Former municipalities of Liège Province