BOUILLON, originally a German duchy, now a large district in the province of Lux embourg, Belgium, 9 miles wide and 18 long, on the borders of Luxembourg and Liege. This woody and mountainous tract consists of the town of Bouillon with 2,800 inhabitants, and 25 villages with 20,000 inhabitants. The town was once the capital of the duchy of the same name. This ancient place lies in the midst of hills, on the left bank of the Sesnois, which abounds with fish, 40 miles from Liege and 8 from Sedan. It has a strong castle upon a rock, which, however, is commanded by the neighboring mountains. Godfrey of Bouillon once possessed the dukedom of this name. He was Duke of Lower Lorraine, and Bouillon was bestowed upon him as belonging properly to the county of Ardenne. In order to supply himself with funds for his expedition to the Holy Land, Godfrey mortgaged his duchy of Bouillon in 1095 to the bishop of Liege. After the estate had been held for many years by the bishopric, the houses of la Marck and La Tour d'Auvergne laid claims to Bouillon, but in 1641 relinquished their pretensions to the bishop of Liege for 150,000 Brabant guilders.
In the war of 1672 France conquered Bouillon, and Louis XIV gave it in 1678 to the Che valier La Tour d'Auvergne, his chamberlain. After this time it belonged to the house of La Tour until the Revolution, when it was taken from them in 1792. The last possessor, Godfrey Charles Henri de la Tour d'Au vergne, died December 1812. By the Peace of Paris, in 1814, the dukedom was included in that of Luxembourg, which had fallen to the King of the Netherlands. The title of Prince of Bouillon was assumed in 1792 by Philip d'Auvergne, captain in the British navy, and he continued to bear it till his death in 1816. The congress which met at Vienna in 1815 appointed commissioners to investigate the comparative claims of this nobleman and Prince Charles of Rohan. They decided in favoi of the latter. By him it was sold to the Netherlands in 1821, and on the division of the kingdom at the revolution of 1830 it fell to Belgium. Consult Ozeray, 'Histoire de Bouillon' (Luxembourg 1827).