Houffalize (; german: Hohenfels; wa, Oufalijhe) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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 ...

located in the

province of Luxembourg Luxembourg (french: Luxembourg ; nl, Luxemburg ; german: Luxemburg ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; wa, Lussimbork), also called Belgian Luxembourg, is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on the country of Luxembourg to the ea ...

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 ...

.Sven Vrielinck: De territoriale indeling van België 1795-1963 Volume 1. Universitaire Pers Leuven 2000. page 48. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers , had 4,802 inhabitants, giving a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 28.8 inhabitants per km². The municipality consists of the following

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

: Houffalize,

Mabompré Mabompré ( wa, Måbompré) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Houffalize, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. It was a municipality until 1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explod ...

, Mont,

Nadrin Nadrin ( wa, Nådrin) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Houffalize, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. The village is situated in the valley of the river Ourthe. It contains several archaeological sites; ...

, Tailles,

Tavigny Tavigny is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Houffalize, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. Remains of a Roman temple from the second century AD have been discovered in Tavigny, as well as remains of Roman v ...

, and Wibrin. Other population centers include

Achouffe Achouffe is a small village of Wallonia in the municipality of Houffalize, district of Wibrin, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country i ...

, Alboumont, Bœur, Bonnerue, Buret, Cetturu, Chabrehez, Cowan, Dinez, Engreux, Filly, Fontenaille, Mormont, Ollomont, Pisserotte, Sommerain, Taverneux, Vellereux, Vissoûle, Wandebourcy, and Wilogne.

History

Houffalize was a strategic location 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 ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Specifically, Generals Montgomery and

Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in Franc ...

met up here, Montgomery coming from the north and Patton from the south, in their counter-attack against the German forces remaining in the area. The town was flattened on the night of 5–6 January 1945 by ninety RAF Lancasters of Bomber Command to block the key crossroads for German supply columns and the escape route for German forces. Patton wrote a poem in his diary about the bombing.

International relations

Twin towns - Sister cities

Houffalize is a founding member of the

Douzelage The Douzelage is a town twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. The name is a portmanteau of the French words "douze" for twelve and "jumelage" for twinning and stands for the twelve founder member ...

, a unique

town twinning A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

association of 24 towns across the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals. Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three further towns ( Agros in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Škofja Loka Škofja Loka (; german: Bischoflack) is a town in Slovenia. It is the economic, cultural, educational, and administrative center of the Municipality of Škofja Loka in Upper Carniola. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Geography Škofja Loka lies a ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, and

Tryavna Tryavna ( bg, Трявна ) is a town in central Bulgaria, situated in the northern slopes of the Balkan range, on the Tryavna river valley, near Gabrovo. It is famous for its textile industry and typical National Revival architecture, featuring ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

References

External links

Official website
(in French and Dutch) Cities in Wallonia Municipalities of Luxembourg (Belgium) {{LuxembourgBE-geo-stub

History

International relations

Twin towns - Sister cities

See also

References

External links