Geography
The state's territory was situated in the Low Countries between the river Meuse (Maas) in the west and the Imperial city of Aachen in the east. Its most important cities were Limbourg, the capital, and Eupen. The Limburg estates were commonly divided into five legal districts (Hochbänke):
- the original manor of Baelen in the southeast with the castle and city of Limburg, Eupen, and Welkenraedt;
- Herve in the southwest with Dison, Thimister and Clermont;
- Montzen (today part of Plombières) in the northwest with Kelmis, Moresnet, and Teuven;
- Walhorn in the northeast with Eynatten, Hauset, and Lontzen;
- the southwestern exclave of Sprimont, surrounded by the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.
In the west and south, Limburg bordered on the terrtory of the Liège Prince-Bishops, in the north and east on the Rhenish Duchy of Jülich. Linguistically Limburg was situated on the border of Germanic with Romance Europe. While in the northern and eastern districts Limburgish and Ripuarian dialects were spoken, the southwestern part around Herve was dominated by Walloon.
Read more about this topic: Duchy Of Limburg
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