Borgloon

The County of Loon (Dutch: Graafschap Loon [ˈɣraːfsxɑp ˈloːn], Limburgish: Graafsjap Loeën [ˈɣʀaːfʃɑp ˈluən], French: Comté de Looz) was a county in the Holy Roman Empire, which corresponded approximately with the modern Belgian province of Limburg. It was named after the original seat of its count, Loon, which is today called Borgloon. During the middle ages the counts moved their court to a more central position in Kuringen, which today forms part of Hasselt, capital of the province. From its beginnings, Loon was associated with the nearby Prince-bishop of Liège, and by 1190 the count had come under the bishop's overlordship. In the fourteenth century the male line ended for a second time, at which point the prince-bishops themselves took over the county directly. Loon approximately represented the Dutch-speaking (archaic French: thiois) part of the princedom. All of the Dutch-speaking towns in the Prince-Bishopric, with the status of being so-called "Good Cities" (French: bonnes villes), were in Loon, and are in Belgian Limburg today. These were Beringen, Bilzen, Borgloon, Bree, Hamont, Hasselt, Herk-de-Stad, Maaseik, Peer and Stokkem. Like other areas which eventually came under the power of the Prince Bishop of Liège, Loon never formally became part of the unified lordship of the "Low Countries" which united almost all of the Benelux in the late Middle Ages, and continued to unite almost all of today's Belgium under the ancien regime. Loon and other Liège lordships only joined their neighbours when they all became part of France during the French Revolution. After the Battle of Waterloo, they remained connected in the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1839, the old territory of Loon became the approximate basis of a new province, Limburg, within the new Kingdom of Belgium.

Rullingen Castle (Dutch: Kasteel van Rullingen) is a castle in Kuttekoven in the municipality of Borgloon, province of Limburg, Belgium. Its situation in the valley of the Herk is very scenic. The first recorded lord of Rullingen was Eggebert van Ruelingen, a vassal of Arnold II, Count of Loon (d 1138 or -39). The medieval castle was reconstructed, probably in the 1630s, as a typical moated castle of the Meuse valley, although the moat has been filled up in more recent times. A serious fire in 1920 destroyed part of the building, and reconstruction works lasted from 1921 to 1935. The castle was acquired by the government of the province of Belgian Limburg. It is now used as a hotel.

Gotem is a small town in the Limburg province of Belgium and is part of the municipality of Borgloon.

Heks Castle (Dutch: Kasteel van Heks) is a château in the village of Heks in the municipality of Heers, province of Limburg, Belgium.

Wellen (Dutch pronunciation: ['ʋɛlə(n)] ; Limburgish: Wille) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On 1 January 2018, Wellen had a total population of 7,402. The total area is 26.72 km² with a population density of 266 inhabitants per km2. The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Wellen, Berlingen, Herten and Ulbeek. Other population centres and hamlets include: Bos, Beurs, Kukkelberg, Langenakker, Oetersloven, Overbroek, Russelt, and Vrolingen.

Heers Castle (Dutch: Kasteel van Heers) is a castle in Heers, Province of Limburg, Belgium. It was built in the 13th century. Of its many owners, among the most notorious was Raes van Heers (1418–77), who was defeated and driven into exile by Charles the Bold at the Battle of Brustem in 1467. The castle, and the town of Heers, were laid waste by Charles's troops, although the castle was eventually repaired after Raes' death by his widow. The family de Rivière d'Arschot lived here until the 18th century, when Barbara, daughter and heiress of the last Count, Henri de Rivière d'Arschot, became abbess of Herkenrode Abbey; on her death in 1744, the family became extinct. The castle has now (2010) again fallen into a derelict state.

The Hesbaye (French, French pronunciation: [ɛsbɛ]), or Haspengouw (Dutch and Limburgish, Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦɑspə(ŋ)ˌɣʌu]), is a traditional cultural and geophysical region in eastern Belgium. It is a loamy plateau region which forms a watershed between the Meuse and Scheldt drainage basins. It has been one of the main agricultural regions in what is now Belgium since before Roman times, and specifically named in records since the Middle Ages, when it was an important Frankish pagus or gau, called Hasbania in medieval Latin.

Onzelievehereboom was the name of a 1200-year-old oak tree in Kortessem, Belgium, dedicated by popular piety to Onze Lieve Here, "Our Dear Lord". It was believed to be the oldest tree in Belgium when it was overthrown by a storm 18 July 2009.

Gors Castle (Dutch: Kasteel van Gors) is a 19th-century country house, in Gors-Opleeuw in the municipality of Borgloon, province of Limburg, Belgium. The original structure was a house of the 17th century, which was almost entirely rebuilt in the 1820s in a Neo-Classical style. The farm that was originally attached to the house was demolished in 1865 and rebuilt further away. Both house and farm have been protected monuments since 1986.

Heers (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦeːrs] , Limburgish: Hiër [ˈɦiəʀ]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg.

Oreye (French pronunciation: [ɔʁɛj]; Dutch: Oerle, Dutch pronunciation: [ˈuːrlə] ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Oreye had a total population of 3,912. The total area is 19.64 km² which gives a population density of 199 inhabitants per km². The municipality consists of the following districts: Bergilers, Grandville, Lens-sur-Geer, Oreye, and Otrange.

Donnea Castle (Dutch: Kasteel de Donnea) is a castle in the village Guigoven, municipality of Kortessem, eastern Belgium. The main building was built in 1801–1802.