Durbuy

Belgium, April 2005

The smallest 'town' in the world, that's Durbuy's claim to fame and there are no ifs or buts about it thank you very much! This teensy-weensy village (opps!) town flanks the Ourthe River, some 30 kilometres south-west of La Roche-en-Ardenne. It's been around since at least the 11th century when a local count built a castle here. By 1331 the village had a castle, a courthouse and police - all the prerequisites to be called a 'town' - and was granted town status.

800 years later, it's still a town and Belgians, Japanese and Polish (Anka) love it apparently. We stopped for a walkaround, lunch and a few Belgian beers.

Population BTW is about 460.