Malmedy

This panorama board is to be found on the Place du Châtelet, not far from the cathedral, and is part of the historical tour. An aerial photo of the town centre and a map enable you to get your bearings better in Malmedy with its rich cultural heritage. 

The monastery dating from 648 lost its religious assignment with the French Revolution and was then used variously, among other things as a prison and an Athenaeum (gymnasium). Today, the Malmundarium presents itself as the cultural and touris­tic heart of the town of Malmedy. Carnival workshop In the carnival workshop you can immerse yourself deeply in the folklore of the town: music, photographic animations, traditional costumes, documents, diverse objects and an information terminal present the carnival tradition in all its facets. Paper workshop Paper had a good deal to do with the positive aspects of the development of the town. The history of this noble invention, which has made such a special contribution to the dissemination of knowledge, began in Malmedy in about 1726, when the first paper mill was set up on the banks of the Warchenne. Temporary expositions All year long, expositions on different topics are presented in the gallery “MonArt” and the spaces in the attic. Animations, activities and guided tours A team composed of animators and multilingual guides offers school activities and guided visits adapted to your wishes.   In the paper workshop, the history of paper and its manufacture are explained in a quadrilingual tour with the aid of archive documents, models and films. What is paper? Where does it come from? How is it made? Can it be recycled? These questions and others too, are answered in an attractive mise-en-scène. Leather workshop   The world of leather manufacture, from the 16th century to the present day, is explained in an attractive presentation, which appeals to various different senses: feel, smell, read, and play. The physical encounter with the material leather is spectacular. An interactive column-mounted computer terminal, documents from archives, tools and films make a visit to this workshop a vivid experience. Cathedral treasure chamber The treasure, which was housed in the Malmundarium, contains many different works of religious art. Chalices, censers, a monstrance from the first half of the 17th century, valuable sculptures, paintings, manuscripts and textiles can all be admired here, and much more besides. Historium On the second floor, in the attic, the Historium collates the essential features of the history of the town. From the foundation of the abbey in 648 by St. Remaclus until the end of the Second World War, all the main events in history are explained in a clearly illustrated way.   Opening hours July - August: 10 am - 6 pm - 7 days a week

The original abbey was built around the end of the 10th century. The heavily symbolic edifice was destroyed in 1689 by the troops of Ludwig XIV. After the French Revolution, the place of worship, rebuilt as from 1776 to plans made by the Liège architect Antoine Galhausen, was used first as a parish church and then as a workshop for joiners and cabinet-makers, before being sold in 1818 to the town of Malmedy and being given the status of a cathedral in the 1920s. The cathedral fascinates people with its simple, straight-lined outward appearance and its plain yet high-quality décor. Interior simplicity The simplicity of the exterior can also be seen in the interior. The interior of the church, bathed in light, was influenced not least by the Liège stucco artist François-Joseph Duckers, who was responsible for the greater part of the décor, for example such as the ornamentation of the cupola and the depiction of the Assumption at the front of the choir. Windows The glass windows of the cathedral date from 1951. The windows of the choir section represent the six saints Peter, Paul, Quirinus, Remaklus, Gereon and Helena in the form of medallions. Organ The organ is regarded as the showpiece of the cathedral. It was built from 1780 to 1783 by the Liège organ builder Mathieu Graindorge and later restored on several occasions. Timber pulpit Timber pulpit in the style of Louis XIV dating from 1779. High altar High altar in marble dating from 1877. Silver reliquary busts Silver reliquary busts of St. Gereon and his companions. Holy shrine The wooden chest with the reliquary of St. Quirinus dating from 1698. Altar of the Virgin Mary Marble altar of the Holy Virgin dating from 1773. Confessionals These four confessionals from the cathedral date from 1770.

In 1901, the paper producer Jules Steinbach (1841-1904) had a magnificent town hall built for the town of Malmedy. The entrance leads into a large foyer in white marble with a colonnade.

In 1901, the paper producer Jules Steinbach had the Lang Villa built for his third daughter Juliette. The décor of the house is fascinating on account of its many details, such as mascarons on the facade, mythical creatures in wrought iron, dragons, fish, and a majestic pelican above the entrance door as a symbol of sacrifice.   Today, the building houses the office premises of various departments of the municipal administration

In the 17th century, these timber crosses were erected on one of the steepest sections of the route to Chôdes. In 1728, the Capuchin father Albert de Dinant had them replaced by a large cross and a chapel. In 1873, the old stations too were replaced by 14 new ones, and they still form the way of the cross today. The present neoclassical reliefs by the Aachen sculptor Carl Burger were unveiled in 1913. Opposite the chapel that belongs to this way of the cross, a path leads to the belvedere with a view out over the town and its surroundings. A nature trail enables visitors to discover the impressive flora of this place, including Norway maples, larches and limes, walnut trees, beeches and ash trees.

The so-called 'puddingstone' is a sedimentary rock which is thought to have formed 295 - 250 million years ago and consists of innumerable pieces of rounded rubble. It is unique in Belgium. It has a length of 22 km and a width of 2.6 km.

Like the town hall and the Lang Villa, this house too was designed by the Malmedy architect Fritz Maiter for the paper producer Jules Steinbach. One special feature of this villa are the two towers, which put one in mind of a small castle. Until 1956, the villa was the headquarters of the Belgian National Bank. Today, it is owned by the town of Malmedy itself.

This three-storey patrician house, Villers House, is one of the most beautiful houses in Malmedy's cultural heritage. The unique building, built in 1724 by the tanners Elisabeth and Joseph Dester, has survived the centuries with its original interior design. Wooden panelling, stuccos, Delftware and large canvas paintings bear witness to the expertise of the craft guilds of the 18th century. In 2006, Villers House was added to the list of the extraordinary cultural heritage of Wallonia. It reflects not only the taste and a certain refinement, which was typical of the 18th century, but also the economic output of the tanner families, which contributed to the prosperity of the town.    Hunting room The first floor features the hunting room, the largest and most opulent room in the building. Enormous canvas paintings adorn it. The large hunting room is the heart of this patrician house. There are hunting scenes to be seen everywhere, and they offer an incomparable visual spectacle. As in the 16th and 17th centuries, the fireplace played an important decorative role in the Meuse-Rhenish houses of the 18th century. The way the fireplace was designed followed the stylistic trend and drew on various building materials: carved wood, wood and marble in combination with Delftware or in the Delft style, and a fireplace frame in cast iron or brass. The tall, double, ornamented doors have a fine decoration of shell-shaped ornaments and natural patterns. The décor above the door consists of a carved wooden frame with a painting.   The hunting room has a beautiful glass chandelier. These chandeliers were very widespread in patrician houses and bourgeois living rooms. They were made in Namur, in Bohemia (for imported parts), or in Liège. From the 16th century onwards, the town was a major producer of glass in the Venetian style. The first chandeliers of this kind appeared in the mid-18th century. The music room This small room, right next door to the hunting room, owes its name to a small stage, which may have been used for the performance of quartets. Again, it's the decoration that makes this room so special and beautiful. As in the hunting room, large paintings cover the walls. The motifs depicted on the canvases are homogeneous and focus on the diversity of the fauna and flora. The marble fireplace comes from Saint-Rémy. Near Rochefort, the abbey of the town mined marble that was among the most beautiful in all Belgium.   The kitchen The kitchen is equally remarkable. Time seems to have stood still here. With its black, heat-resistant tiles, which feature warriors' heads, the enormous fireplace attracts everyone's gaze. Delft stoneware adorns somewhat more than the lower half of the walls, that section being topped by an impressive mantelpiece dating from the early 18th century. An old water pump and an old bluestone tub hint at the dynamism that presumably once held sway in this room. Through one of the windows, we can see the little garden, which endows the house with a poetic atmosphere.

The town boasts three bandstands. They are evidence of the fact that music has always been of special importance in Malmedy. What is special about the bandstand on the Place de Rome is the way it is modelled on nature – the branches and twigs seem to be growing out of the cement.

The industrialist Jean-Hubert Cavens and his wife Marie-Eli­sabeth tried to improve the circumstances of the people. In 1835, they financed the construction of the orphanage, which remained in operation until 1958 and is used today as a 'house of me­dicine'.

There are already mentions of this, Malmedy's first bridge, in texts from the 13th century. The oldest version of it, presumably made of timber, was built to replace an old ford. From 1619 on, the first stone bridge was built with seven round arches, but because of constructional deficiencies, it had to be renewed from the bottom up in 1765 – this time with material from the quarry at Mont. From 1744 on, various statues of St. John of Nepomuk, the patron saint of bridges and seamen, sat enthroned on the parapet. The current version was designed in 1976 by the artist Jean Thèrer on a commission from the festival committee of Outrelepont.

The oldest house in Malmedy is on the right bank of the Warche in the district of Outrelepont. It dates from the 16th century and was spared by the great fires of 1587, 1689 and 1944. In spite of the wars and some very severe flooding, the house has retained its original, typical character. This tiny Ardennes house was built of clay. The rather tight interior gives it a particularly cosy, warm atmosphere. People's gazes cannot help being attracted by the pretty facade and the original shutters. The house is a precious architectural remnant from long forgotten times.

The Chapel of the Resurrection is located in one of the historical districts of Malmedy. It was built in 1755 to plans made by Gaetano-Matteo Pizzoni, the architect of the Saint-Aubain Cathedral in Namur. Thanks to this new place of worship, the people of 'Vaux' were able to go to mass in their own district. The remarkable octagonal interior of the chapel is illuminated by the three large windows in the facades. The reason why this edifice is still so well preserved today is that it has undergone many lavish restorations. Thorough renovations took place in 1893, 1930/31, 1970 and 1992, and the roof was renewed too. The items to be admired include relics of St. Emerentia, St. Albina and St. Justus.    

This impressive neoclassical building is one of the few remnants of the Prussian regime. After its completion in 1914, it was first used as the official premises of the administrative district council. With the Treaty of Versailles, Prussia had to cede not only Eupen and St. Vith, but also Malmedy to Belgium. After Lieutenant General Baron Baltia had been appointed governor of the region of Eupen-Malmedy in October 1919, the building was finally given a new purpose: it became the palace of the so-called Baltia Government, which came to an end in June 1925 on the final annexation of the area to the Province of Liège. Following a fire during the Second World War, the building was confiscated by the Germans and used as a headquarters. In 1988, it was purchased by the régie des bâtiments. Today, after elaborate conversion and development work, it is used as office premises for the various different departments of the Federal State.

To protect themselves against plundering troops, the citizens of Malmedy built a fortress wall with eight access gates in 1601. One of those is the Grétédar Gate – also known as the 'Gate of Livremont', which lies at the foot of Livremont Hill, one of the first routes via which the town could be entered, though it was difficult to surmount. The first hall on the Place Albert 1er having been destroyed in 1689, the Grétédar Gate was finally given a new function as a hall in 1727. Until 1794, it served as the headquarters of the supreme court, only to be given yet another new function as a town hall by the French. With a brief interruption until 1808, the municipality was to keep its headquarters in the Grétédar Hall. After that, the building was let, leased and privately used, before finally being sold in 1964 to the V.o.E. Malmedy-Folklore.

This small place of worship was part of a leprosy colony that was established here in the 12th century. After a devastating plague epidemic with some 200 victims, the population organised pilgrimages and processions. In 1741, during a time of great despair, Nicolas Lejeune, who came from Faymonville but lived in Cologne, donated a wooden Madonna to the Benedictine monks. In only a short time, this Madonna began to be honoured as 'Our Lady of the Sick'. When, shortly after that, the plague came to an end, the chapel was dedicated to the Holy Virgin. The statue was stolen in 1998 and there has been no trace of it since then. The many votive tablets in the interior of the church still remind us of the Mariolatry of days long gone.

The Waty Barn is one of the few tanning sheds still remaining in the town. Not only the half-timbering design is of interest to visitors, but also the fact that the building bears witness to an industry that was booming at the time: the tanning industry.   Originally, there was a brewery in the building. Later, however, it was used as a tannery, and as from 1930 for grain trading. Since the elaborate renovation work done in 1989, the barn Waty has once again been restored to its former glory.

In 1722, Renard David, the former mayor, adviser to the prince abbot and councillor of the tribunal, had the St. Helena Hospice built. It consists of two terraced houses, in which the elderly ladies of the town could spend the evening of their life in peace and quiet. The chapel that went with it, a work by David's son, was opened on 18 August 1755. Today, the former chapel is used as a mortuary. What was originally the hospice is home to the 'Centre de Postcure des Hautes Fagnes', a home for patients with psychosocial illnesses.

This church reminds one of the settlements of the Capuchins, who laid the foundation stone here in 1623. Apart from its spiritual mission, the order had devoted itself to the alleviation of physical complaints such as the plague and other epidemics. This era came to an end in 1789 with the French Revolution. After the monastery had been used as a town hall, a school and a weights-and-measures office, it was demolished in 1902 and replaced by a girls' school (later a music academy). Only the church was able to be preserved. Today, it is listed as a historical monument. Particularly worth seeing are The Adoration of the Shepherds by the Liège artist Englebert Fisen, dated 1686, and the wooden Madonna figure from the late 17th century, which is attributed to the school of Jean Delcour. The clock, with its double striking mechanism, is by the Malmedy clockmaker Jean Louis Wathelet and dates from 1755.