Durbuy

Durbuy is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium, on the river Ourthe. The municipality covers 156.61 square kilometres and is made up of the districts of Barvaux, Bende, Bomal, Borlon, Durbuy, Grandhan, Heyd, Izier, Septon, Tohogne, Villers-Sainte-Gertrude and Weris. On 1 January 2018 it had 11,374 inhabitants, and the most populous town in the municipality is Barvaux rather than Durbuy itself. In medieval times it was an important centre of commerce and industry, and in 1331 it was raised to the rank of city by John I, Count of Luxemburg and King of Bohemia. The Schetz family obtained the lordship in 1628, and the current castle, built in 1880, is the residence of the House of Ursel. Today tourism and recreation are its main activities, and the town is often promoted, for commercial reasons, as the smallest city in the world, although Belgium officially gives that title to Mesen.