Bütgenbach - viaduct

The Bütgenbach panorama board is located on the former railway viaduct, along the current Ravel cycling and hiking trail. From the bridge, you can enjoy the view over the Warche valley. The Mausheck nature trail is immediately to the left at the foot of the viaduct. If you look to the right, you can see the village of Bütgenbach. The drone photo on the front of the board allows a bird's-eye view and shows that only a narrow strip of forest has to be crossed to reach the lake of Bütgenbach.

The Mausheck nature reserve in the Warche valley is characterised by different natural habitats such as oak forests, semi-arid meadows and wetlands. A signposted nature trail presents various topics related to nature in this idyllic landscape on a total of 23 multilingual boards. The nature trail begins at the barbecue hut of the municipality of Bütgenbach below the viaduct on the road from Bütgenbach to Elsenborn and is around 850 metres long. It leads through an ecologically, very interesting small forest area on the edge of the Warche and provides a view of the wet meadows on the other side of the watercourse, where in spring, depending on the weather, thousands of wild daffodils bloom from the end of March to the third week in April.

Construction work on the dam began in 1929. Many residents in the area found a way of securing a good additional income on the construction site. Up to 200 workers were employed there on some days. No settlements had to give way to the dam; only a few streets were relocated. The main access road from Bütgenbach to Berg was redirected and the path that led directly from the train station over the lake area to Berg was replaced by a new road that led over the dam. The dam was completed in 1932 and the power station started operating just one year later. Annual electricity generation is around 2 million kW/h. In 1995, extensive repair and improvement work was carried out on the dam. Since then, driving over the dam has been closed off to motor vehicles. Further repair work at the foot of the dam led to the lake being completely emptied in 2004. In the 1960s, the reservoir and its banks were also used for tourism. In 1968, the Belgian state decided to build an ADEPS sports centre by the lake in Bütgenbach. By the beginning of the 1980s, the sports and leisure centre complex in Worriken was built in several construction phases. On the shore, the VENNtastic Beach impresses with a sandy beach, children's bay, inflatable water island, trampoline, beach volleyball field and water volleyball field. The leisure and sports centre programme is aimed at all ages. In the Worrie-Club, there are activities for children from the age of three. For older members, there are sailing and surfing camps, as well as multisport programmes. The tourist offer also includes a high ropes course, a zip line, archery and much more. The lake of Bütgenbach is also the starting point for wonderful, well-used hiking trails: For example, you can walk around the lake in a 10-kilometre loop.

Bütgenbach Castle stood on a narrow mountain tongue surrounded by the Warche. Its history is closely linked to that of Sankt Vith and Monschau, as the same rulers ruled here for many years. Walram von Limburg, lord of Monschau and Bütgenbach, is considered to have built the castle in about 1240.  Over the centuries, the castle was destroyed several times and restored by the peasants, often against their will. Drawings only give an idea of how imposing Bütgenbach Castle must have been. The "BUTGENBACH 3 D" app enables you to virtually explore the castle in its original dimensions. Today, only ruins of some walls and a tower on the edge of the dam are visible. The former moat of the castle is currently used as an overflow for the reservoir when the water is high.

The railway line from Weywertz to Jünkerath, opened by the Prussian government in 1912, was built out of military interest to connect the Elsenborn military training area to the railway. A total of 12 bridges were required for the route in the area of the municipality of Bütgenbach. The Bütgenbach viaduct was the most important structure on the route. With its six arches, a height of 30 metres and a length of 104 metres, the viaduct connected the side valleys of Kolberg and Burgfelder. During the First World War, the bridge was almost blown up by a Russian spy in 1916. Another unsuccessful attempt at demolition was made in 1940 by the Belgian military. It was important that this strategically important railway line did not fall into the hands of the advancing Wehrmacht. The demolition was able to be thwarted by a German special unit. When the Wehrmacht withdrew from Belgium, all bridges were eventually destroyed. On 13 September 1944, a German command blew up two pillars of the Bütgenbach viaduct. The Belgian railway operator SNCB repaired the viaduct and in March 1946, trains once again rolled over the restored bridge. In May 1952, the Weywertz-Jünkerath route was then closed to passenger traffic. Freight traffic, especially wood and coal, was maintained until the early 1980s. From 1982, the route was closed. In October 2004, the last train, a special tourist trip with railcars, passed the viaduct. The tracks were removed three years later and since 2014, cyclists and hikers have been able to enjoy the view over the Warche valley between Kolberg and Burgfeldern on the Ravel L45a.

The Ravel route L45a is a junction of the internationally award-winning 125-km-long Vennbahn cycle path from Aachen (D) to Troisvierges (L). Both routes run on former railway lines and therefore guarantee relaxed cycling without any noteworthy inclines. The 38.5-km-long line 45a branches off the Vennbahn cycle path in Weywertz and leads via Bütgenbach and Büllingen to Losheimergraben (D). There, it connects to the Kyll cycle path, which extends over Jünkerath and Gerolstein to Trier. The 106-km-long Eifel Easy Ride, a racing bike round trip with little incline through the Eifel, also leads along the Ravel. Sights include the lake of Bütgenbach, the Westwall and the numerous panoramic views of the hilly Eifel.

Today's St. Stephanus parish church was built in 1932 according to plans by the Malmedy architect, Henri Cunibert. The juxtaposition of neo-Romanesque architecture, Christian symbolism and historical relics gives the building a surprising harmony and extravagance. The four corners of the bell tower point exactly in the four cardinal directions and the 12 pillars in the central nave of the church refer to the 12 apostles. The old parish church, built in various phases from the 12th to the 18th century as a Gothic building, was partly demolished in 1938 (tower) and 1951 (central nave). Several valuable pieces have been preserved from the furnishings of the former parish church. Mention should be made of a Romanesque font from the 13th century with four human heads, a Gothic holy water stone from 1560, a communion bench made of bluestone (18th century), the tombstones of Jacob von Reiffenberg († 1567) and Johann Reinhard von Bulich († 1593), a Cologne Madonna from the 14th century and a monstrance from the 15th century.

The historical tour through Bütgenbach offers impressive insights into the history of the town through the ages. At 10 so-called towers with star-shaped information boards, walkers along the route can read about the history of the place. For younger children, a question is presented at each location that enables an age-appropriate exploration of the history of Bütgenbach. The starting point is the Bütgenbach Tourist Info in the market square. A leaflet on the route and a questionnaire for children are also available there in three languages. The route is designed to be accessible for people with reduced mobility and can be explored in a shorter and longer variant.

The listed manor of Bütgenbach is a four-wing rubble work building in the centre of the village and the oldest building in the municipality of Bütgenbach. The property can be documented up to the 15th century. The main parts of the manor buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries. At that time, the Bütgenbach manor was a fiefdom of the county of Vianden. Later owners were the von Reiffenberg and von Baring families, who are remembered by the well-preserved coat of arms stones from 1623 (north wing) and 1754 (gate construction of the main front on the east side). In addition, the manor was the seat of the magistrate and the court. The court was composed of the magistrate, the 7 lay judges, the court messenger and the court clerk. The simple peasants, who were appointed as lay judges by the magistrate, the highest court lord in the village, could pronounce death sentences themselves. These were then carried out on the gallows not far from the Bütgenbacher hut. From the beginning of the 1990s, the manor, threatened with decay, was converted into a nursing home for the elderly. Only the front wing of the manor between the two arches remained the property of the municipality of Bütgenbach and is used for cultural purposes. Artists use the rooms in the front wing for a variety of temporary exhibitions.

In earlier times, the market square of Bütgenbach was a wetland. In order to be able to use water from the well better, the area was surrounded by masonry. In the vernacular, the place serving as a cattle trough and washing area was called Vennborre (Vennbrunnen). In summer, the farmers filled their barrels here to provide the cattle in the pasture with water. At the beginning of the 20th century, Mayor Emil Kirch suggested that the market square in Vennborre should be laid out and lushly planted. A bronze bust in the market square honors the meritorious mayor. In the 1950s, the Vennborre was built over with a kiosk. Since then, the well water has been running into the sewage system. Nowadays, the market square is a green haven and a popular meeting place in the middle of the village. Locals and guests celebrate the fair, St. Martin's Day, the horse blessing and numerous other festivities, concerts and markets in the market square. They compete at mini golf and the little ones can play in the playground nearby.

The core of today's “pottery cellar” was built in the middle of the 16th century. The then lord of the castle of Rolshausen had the house built from stones taken from the Bütgenbach castle. The house name "A Wewesch" refers to a resident of the early 18th century, the Castle Administrator and Mayor, J. P. Weber, who went down in history as an unfaithful administrator and whose ghost therefore, according to legend, still prowls around. In 1786, the authorised property manager of the von Rolshausen family sold all properties to the highest bidder. Around 1900, the house came into the possession of Mr. Jacob Weynand. His son, Wilhelm, set up a haulage company here in the 1930s. After the death of Wilhelm and his wife, today's “pottery cellar” was born. A businessman from Euskirchen (D) bought the property in 1981, set up a pottery and, in 1985, also a restaurant – only the latter continues today under the new owner. The house is already marked with the old linden tree on a map from the 18th century. The second tree, an oak, is a peace oak that commemorates the victory of the Prussian troops against France in 1871.

In 1932, as in many other villages, a cooperative dairy was founded in Bütgenbach. At the beginning, only 32 farmers delivered their milk there, but the number of members grew rapidly. The milk was collected in the surrounding villages by horse and cart. The Second World War forced operations to come to a standstill. From 1947, the difficult period of reconstruction followed. In the following years, several enlargements and modernisations took place as the butter and milk business flourished. The purchase of two tankers to collect the milk in 1972 illustrates this. Due to favourable economic trends, the number of full-time farmers decreased from 1970, because more and more people were looking for employment on the job market. The decline in farmers was followed by a fall in the dairy industry. In 1980, the Bütgenbach company was taken over by the dairy at Büllingen. The municipality bought the buildings and housed their building yard and the municipal police there. After the building yard moved to Weywertz, the municipality sold the building in 2007 to private individuals who use the premises for commercial purposes.

The village of Nidrum is located on a plateau that gently slopes down into the Warche valley. Because of its unspoilt, varied natural landscapes and vast green spaces, the place is surrounded by idyllic tranquillity. The history of the village can be traced back to the early 15th century. It was not until 1720 that the inhabitants of Nidrum received their own chapel. It was elevated to the parish church dedicated to the Three Kings in 1898. The tower and vestibule date from 1861. The choir and nave were rebuilt in 1904 in a neo-Gothic style. The bell tower was changed in 1935 and 1936. In 1968, the old choir gave way to a new, semi-circular construction. The main altar (around 1907 – consisting of the former side altars), to the left of the altar on the wall: Jesus and the Emmaus disciples (around 1907 – part of the former communion bench); the baptismal font between other parts of the former communion bench (in front on the right wall): Adoration of the Wise Men (from the former main altar); in the back of the church: St. Mary's altar with mosaic picture; the Stations of the Cross in the choir – both works of art date from 1968. On the site of the village cemetery, there is a small military cemetery where 32 Russian prisoners of war found their final resting place. They perished between 1942 and 1944 in Sourbrodt and Elsenborn. Further information: http://www.butgenbach.info/en/explore/touristic-highlights/villages/nidrum/ Further information on hiking opportunities: http://www.butgenbach.info/en/walking/overview-walks/

The tranquil village of Berg, wonderfully situated on a hill above Lake Bütgenbach, offers a unique panoramic view. Numerous linden trees adorn the paths and streets in the village. Historical records indicate that the first settlements in Berg took place around 1530. At that time, the place was known as "Uffemberg" or "Uffenberg" (on the mountain) or in French, "Berg-sur-Warche", due to its mountain location. The Warche, which flows past Berg in the valley, was dammed to form the Bütgenbach reservoir from 1932. The dam is 23 metres high and 140 metres wide. The reservoir contains 11 million cubic metres of water. Attractions: The Berg chapel The Odilia well The village house/school with playground The Kreuz im Konnenbusch The large neo-Gothic cross from the 19th century, which adds another sight to the list of the regional cultural heritage. Further information: http://www.butgenbach.info/en/explore/touristic-highlights/villages/berg/ Further information on hiking opportunities: http://www.butgenbach.info/en/walking/overview-walks/