Its territory corresponded largely with the present-day provinces of Belgian and Dutch Limburg.

It was created on 1 October 1795, when the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège were officially annexed by the French Republic.

The two regions had long been governed together and referred to collectively with both names, but the original Duchy lands were not part of this new entity.

The department was subdivided into the following three arrondissements and cantons: After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the department (excluding Niederkrüchten and Herzogenrath which were assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia and are located in the present-day state of North Rhine-Westphalia) became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, as the Province of Limburg (with a part of the Roer département).

By 1839 it was settled that the Hasselt canton of Limburg, plus significant parts of the other two, went into Belgium, while the rest remained in the Netherlands.