Editing La Roche-en-Ardenne (section)

==History==
La Roche is believed to have first been settled in the [[Neolithic]] era. There is a Celtic archaeological site dating between 850 and 520 BC. The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] built a fort there following their conquest of Gaul and the Ardennes.<ref name="History">{{cite web|url=http://www.la-roche-en-ardenne.be/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=61&lang=en|title=History|accessdate=4 April 2010}}</ref>

The [[La Roche-en-Ardenne Castle|town's medieval castle]] was in use between the 9th and 18th centuries. It provided protection to the many barges that plied their trade along the local river systems. It may have been the site of a [[sporting lodge]] of [[Pepin the Short|Pippin]], and certainly the counts of La Roche held it in [[fief]] from his descendants, the [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian]] rulers. In the 12th century they sold it to the [[List of monarchs of Luxembourg|counts of Luxembourg]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

In 1331, permission to build city walls was given by [[John of Bohemia|John the Blind]], King of Bohemia and Poland and a Count of Luxembourg.<ref name= "History"/>

In [[World War II]], the town was occupied by both [[Nazi Germany|German]] and [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces, suffering severe damage. Freed by Americans in September 1944, the town was recaptured by the Germans in December, during the [[Battle of the Bulge]]. The subsequent Allied bombing raids resulted in the town being reoccupied by Americans once more in January 1945, but left much of it destroyed and 116 residents dead. An American [[M4 Sherman|Sherman M4A1]] tank and a British [[17pdr SP Achilles|Achilles SP 17pdr]] are displayed as monuments to the town's liberation.<ref name= "History"/> In town also is a memorial to the [[82nd armored reconnaissance battalion|82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion]].<ref>[http://en.tracesofwar.com/article/14867/Memorial-82nd-Armored-Reconnaissance-batallion.htm tracesofwar.com Samrée, Belgium Memorial 82nd Armored Reconnaissance batallion]</ref>

In 1976 there was a merger of administrative districts in the area that resulted in the municipality of La Roche-en-Ardennes. [[Beausaint]], [[Halleux]], [[Hives (town)|Hives]], [[Ortho, Belgium|Ortho]] and [[Samrée]] were joined by [[Cielle]] detached from [[Marcourt, Wallonia|Marcourt]], now within the municipality of [[Rendeux]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.la-roche-en-ardenne.be/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=61&lang=en|title=Governance|accessdate=4 April 2010}}</ref>