the walloon churches of the barrier

The eglises wallonnes de la Barrière

Towards the end of the War of the Spanish Successionthe France signed the Treaty of Barriers with United Provinces This treaty granted the United Provinces the right to establish strongholds in various towns in the Austrian Netherlands (Charleroi, Furnes, Ghent, Menin, Mons, Namur, Tournai and Ypres).
Walloon churches were established in these towns following the arrival of Dutch soldiers. These churches welcomed many French Protestants who came to have their children baptised or their marriages blessed, which they could no longer do in France following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
The Treaty of the Barriers was denounced by the emperor Joseph II in 1781 and the Treaty of Fontainebleau abolished the Dutch garrisons in 1785.
source ; http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89glise_wallonne