The Ourthe in Somme-Leuze

The Ourthe almost ends at the Somme-Leuze before it flows into the Amel at Comblain au pont and into the Meuse at Liège.

But did you know that Ourthe was a department of the First French Republic and First French Empire? Its territory roughly corresponded to that of today's Belgian province of Liège and a small neighboring region in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia. It came into being on October 1, 1795, when the Austrian Netherlands, the Principality of Liège and the area on the left bank of the Rhine were officially annexed by the French Republic.

After Napoleon's defeat in 1814, most of the department was incorporated into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands as the Province of Liège.

Willem Vandenameele