La Roche-en-Ardenne is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg and the arrondissement of Marche-en-Famenne. Lying beside a bend in the River Ourthe, the small town of La Roche-en-Ardenne is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Ardennes.On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 147.52 km², had 4,348 inhabitants, giving a population density of 29.5 inhabitants per km².GeographyLa Roche-en-Ardenne is located between the E25 Liège-Luxembourg and the N4 motorways. More than half of the municipal area (about ) is covered in forests and is arable land, and only has been built on. The division between deciduous and coniferous forests is more or less equal.The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: La Roche-en-Ardenne proper, Beausaint, Halleux, Hives, Ortho, and Samrée. Other population centers include Bérismenil, Buisson, Cielle, Floumont, Herlinval, Hubermont, Lavaux, Maboge, Mierchamps, Mousny, Nisramont, Ronchampays, Ronchamps, Roupage, Thimont, Vecmont, and Warempage.HistoryLa 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 Romans built a fort there following their conquest of Gaul and the Ardennes.